Puttering

I am still working on the research project that I am doing to help out someone else, but I have had two opportunities to fiddle with my new glass supplies!  (I will start researching in more depth later, of course.)  For now, I am just trying to get a feel for the movement of the glass and the things that it can do.  Also am just dabbling with the variety of tools and cool things like frit that came with the kit I was given.  Hopefully in a few weeks I will get a chance to really sit down and focus on getting good shape to basic beads and then will work on things like dots from there.

One thing I LOVE having is the rod warmer (http://www.devardiglass.com/supplies.htm).  I took a class at Pennsic several years ago and made one bead.  It was fun, but the talk about shocking rods (shattering them when I cold rod gets put into the heat too quichly) scared the life out of me.  The rod warmer has totally alleviated that fear and I can really just enjoy playing.  (I will note, however, that if it is exceptionally cold, you can still break a warmed rod just because the ambient temperature just sucks for working glass.  lol) 

My workspace. I added some fireshield along the wall near the rod warmer and annealer, as well as some stone blocks as a back rest and under the equipment. On the left hand side, I have most of the marvers hanging on the wall.

Beads from the first day. I am actually happy with the purple round one enough though it was just a tester! The little misshapen bead on the safety pin is the one that I made in the Pennsic class some years ago.

Second try: The left was done in a leaf press. I did not have enough glass to fully form the design. The next is not actually shaped as well as the pic shows, but I loved the applied frit! The lime one I am happy with and will use. The last was just playing with technique with an opaque core bead, on which was applied a couple of bad dots, which was then encased in clear glass and I poked in the dots and swirled it. (I LOVE the look of the clear overlays on beads. I want to get good at this!)