I thought I planned for that.

Posted on by
Reply

I was showing you the progress of this pendant I was working on, and I think I mentioned how much I liked the colors.

I did not mention that I was particularly happy with the turquoise color. If you work with soft glass in a flame you know that the turquoise glass can be a bit of a challenge. The opaque turquoise can tend to go gray in the flame…something about the metal crystals being brought to the surface? It is easy enough to get rid of on a bead by soaking it in a solution. I was happy that I wasn’t going to have to do this with MY pieces!

But look what came out of the kiln:

My heart sunk. I was so sure I had dodged the metallic icky bullet. I guess my kiln atmosphere had other plans. I have been very careful to create tiny color chips for reference when I need to pull more color but also to make sure that nothing funky happens to the color in the kiln. Doesn’t it just figure that the ONE time I fire the piece and the color chips together that this happens? That’ll learn me.

Did I mention that it takes a LOT of time to set one of these up? ::sigh:: So, rather than pitching it, which is what would have happened with a bead, I went into fix-it mode and managed to come up with a way to recover it.

I still like how the turquoise looks before firing so I will continue to pursue the perfect shade. But for now, I like it.

Onward to working out the settings to make these wearable.

Watch it evolve…

Posted on by
1

Moving right along, this was my progress yesterday:

I also started another piece but there is not much of that to show. Wouldn’t it be fun to watch a time lapse progression? I may need to think about that.  Maybe on the bigger tile.

I love how the colors are turning out and can’t wait until after they make it out of the kiln. The kiln fuses the bits to the surface, burns off the glue that makes the design appear more cloudy before firing and fire polishes any jagged edges which also allows the color to be more bold.

Almost done with this phase!

First Micro Mosaic Pendant for Sale

Posted on by
2

Below is the start of a pendant that will be in the “more affordable” line for those who want a piece of greatness but can’t afford the $450 chicken foot.  I haven’t decided if I want to try selling them online yet because I really do want to have a nice display at the ISGB Gathering Bead Bazaar at the end of July. These pieces don’t happen in 20 minutes so I can’t be cramming in the last week to get inventory made.

(click for larger view)

If you are wondering about the Big Toothed Women tile, I haven’t started laying out the design in glass yet because, after about 6 attempts at a flesh color cane I’m not quite sold on my choices yet. Sometimes the preparation for a piece can be just as time consuming as the actual making of the piece. As you can see from above though (and if you know glass colors that are available commercially) taking the time to get just the right color mixes and layering pays off big time in the end. (and these will be even more vibrant after they take a ride in the kiln).

As a friend once taught me when I was working at his restaurant, the 6 Ps. Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance, where I would change Performance to Product in this case. So, remember that, if you want your work to look cohesive:  Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Product. (whatever piss-poor means)