One Thing Leads To Another

When I first pulled these colors into this combination, what I imagined they would be as beads was completely different than what they turned out to be. When you scroll down to view this post and you see the beads, I am imagining that you are going to shake your head saying "no way are those the same colors". But they are! Granted, I didn't stick to just these four colors. I added ivory as well, and transparent ink violet and transparent straw yellow too. Those colors really enhanced the others though, they weren't the color combo deal breaker. Just one color did that.

See that color second from the left? Yeah, the one that looks as if it could be a hollow tube. That is a beautiful new color called "Streaky Pink". When I saw it I thought "ooohhh streaks of pink, I bet that is really pretty." I think I thought it would do a little sumthin' sumthin' like my cotton candy headpins. I found the color so intriguing and tempting that I decided it would be the first color I used when methodically working my way through all those 30+ color combos I shared. (Do you know how delighted my OCD alter ego, Carrie, was when I told her we would do that? Very very happy, indeed.) So, Sunday morning, first thing, I locked myself in the studio feeling that it had been far far too long since I last torched. I pulled the rods above and the extras I mentioned. Then, set to work.

The minute the streaky pink hit my torch flame I knew we weren't going to get along. I knew this color... it is that color. E.D.P. Yeah, evil defecating purple. It craps on all other colors and doesn't care. It ruins beautiful beads and doesn't feel remorse. NO, it has nothing to do with the skills of the artist using it. It is the glass. This glass sucks. OH, and what is that color in the center? Rubino Oro. You can't get too more opposite glasses in my opinion. EDP needs a near reduction flame (propane heavy, cold flame). For me, that brings a film of metal to the surface that I can easily etch off to reveal a lovely rich purple. The rubino oro needs a hot oxygen rich flame, but not too hot or you burn off the gold in it. A reduction flame turns rubino oro black. Insert frustrated grumbling and table kicking and a couple of choice swear words under my breath when I put this rod in the flame and it frosted the transparent ink it was next to and went a funky bleached out purple.

Okay okay, I am a professional glass artist. I can handle this. I refuse to let EDP get the best of me. I could to make this work. So I just went for it. I came up from the studio 2 and a half hours later with a dozen hollows soaking in the kiln. I had the feeling that they would come out as some of the prettiest beads I ever made, or the ugliest.

drum roll please,







Oh. My. Stars. I am so glad I made these beads! I didn't know how much I wanted/needed them, not how I saw in my head, but just like this. They are perfect and I love them. And they have already been wired up into and amazing necklace for my book two pitch. I called them "Swiftly Bound". I think they turned out pretty-ugly. The kind of ugly that is actually pretty and insanely hot right now. I love their random streaky goodness. They are rustic and hearty. I thought I wanted them to look like a fantastically viberant sunset but this works just as well.

Any happy/annoying/delightful/frustrating accidents happening in your studio these days?