handmade

Big Daddy

The last few times at the torch I’ve been trying to work small, as you can see the smallest hollow bead is approx. 11x16mm. As customers keep asking if they could get smaller hollows, I thought it couldn’t be too hard to make them smaller…Yesterday, I couldn’t take it anymore and my hands decided to try and make the biggest hollow yet- it measures in at 37x49mm, which is nearly 2 inches across. And this made me think what else I could make bigger- smaller sculptural focals, perhaps? Who knows, the big daddy took me more than 30 minutes on my Minor torch and it was a decidely delicate dance keeping it warm enough. It’s always nice to feel my creativity start to percolate and see new possibilities.

In Love with Ekho

I must say that Double Helix’s newest silver glass, Ekho, is a new favorite for me. It is a striking and reducing glass, and it keeps wonderful iridescent effects under encasement. There are some particularly talented artists that have played around w/ success in getting different colors, etc. Hayley, Karolen and Steph are three that come to mind right away.

They were encased w/ Double Helix’s Aether clear which is only available once every few months since Jed and Julie have a stringent standard of quality- I got a half pound of seconds and wish I’d bought a pound or more since I’m blowing thru it at an incredible speed because it is such a nice clear. You would never know they’re seconds comparing them to other clears like Effetre or Diamond Clear.

Deets: These were Ekho encased opal yellow w/ dots of clear, reduced and then encased. Easy peasy! It’s so tricky to catch the iridescence.