How Far Can I Stretch the Chalcedony....

At this point up to 80mm! Not quite the look of a sunrise though ;o)

Carnival Twist

I'm not entirely sure whether I ruined a perfectly good bead or quietly started heading in a new direction.
I've always enjoyed the twists & raised dots on others beads, but I feel that I dont get it quite right when I attempt it.

And I thought my dots were evenly melted in s-i-g-h.
Guess who had the wrong Didy's on - the ones without her magnifying lenses.
Can you say 'stoopid'?

Silent Offering

Chalcedony Spacers

or as I prefer to call them "Accent Beads".
In this case they are space fillers, since I have just realised that I haven't posted all week!
I'm super pleased with how the colours came out in this smaller set, which until now I have found somewhat more challenging than getting the colours to pop on the bigger beads.

Beads that have flown the coop

I have a few beads that are currently winging their way to the USA - their deadline to get there was yesterday.
I know I would have heard if they had, so I'm picking that they didn't make it in time.
I was rather thrilled with some of these beads - they were big (at over 50mm long) & nicely shaped.

Unfortunately I didn't have time for anything but the quickest of photo's before sending them on their way, let alone thinking to measure or name them.

Bead #1

Bead #2

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.

Into the Deep - Using G109 Chalcedony Frit