Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Not So 'New' Anymore....

but Gaffers G109 - Chalcedony is still coming up with stunning 'new to me' effects and reactions depending on which form it is used in. I love the way that in frit form you can get the tones ranging from blue/greens through to the purples & fuchsia pinks in a very small space.

I adore how forgiving it is. Even on a stiffer transparent base glass that requires extended working in the flame while shaping, you will still get some colour. If you somehow lose all of the colour, by letting it cool until all glow is gone from the bead (even to the point you are worried it's going to crack) then bringing it back into the flame and giving it some concentrated area's of deep heat you will get some colour back - more subdued versions of the first strikes, but colour none the less.

Being a 96coe it is more tolerant of heat & cool cycles. This is something you notice immediately, as there is literally no shocking when you first put a cane into the flame (I say 'literally' as I have had one fat 10mm cane pop a fragment off the end once). Of course this also ensures that it is a lovely glass to use in larger beads as you have a longer delay between times that you have to hit those ends with some insurance heat.

To date I have also used it successfully over 104coe base glasses, and have had no failures or incompatibility cracks.
To borrow Rifie's phrase, "it's raku on steroids"..... with attitude!
Fortunately for me it's nothing like raku - I get consistent colour from this wonderful stuff.


G109 Chalcedony Frit

4 comments:

Jinx Garza said...

Wow, that is GORGEOUS Deb! Can't wait to see more.

rosebud101 said...

I love that glass, too! It's amazing. So far, I've only used shards from KnattyDreadz, but those shards produce such wonderful colors! Wow!

Deborah Lambson said...

You've got me wanting to try this stuff Deb..none of it my stash yet, and that's crazy.
Look how beautiful it is..fantastic.

Paula said...

Delish!!