Flame October 2015
Find us at www.gbuk.org
Ursula
Heather
Scarlet
Russ
Colette
Debbie
Your new committee
Contact us: Chairman (Colette) Secretary (Debbie) Treasurer (Heather) Membership (Russ) Events (Scarlet) Webmaster (Ursula)
@gbuk.org
Torchlight on …
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Members’ beads from last month’s challenge: Page 7-8 GBUK
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Colour testing…Opaque blue.. by Ilsa Fatt
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How to make a twistie
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Annual competition
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GBUK
Page 13
No pressure, no prizes, just fun Make a bead, set of beads, focal, mixed media, on or off mandrel piece using the theme of
or ‘
Post your photos on www.frit-happens.co.uk and/or www.craftpimp.co.uk and/or our Facebook page by All members' photos will be included in the May issue of the GBUK
Jolene Wolfe My glass bead making journey started in the summer of 2007 when my mum bought me a hot head torch, diddy’s, mandrels and glass rods for my 30th birthday. Little did either of us know at the time but her gift would change my life forever.
I cleared a tiny corner workspace among the junk in the garage and spent hours down there playing and experimenting with my new addiction. My first were terrible, misshapen and sharp at the bead holes, but I was totally hooked.
Not long after that I took a brilliant 4 day class with Di East and Sally Carver at Studio 19 in Leicester. The course was jam packed with tips and techniques. I learnt so much from these two amazing women. It was a brilliant experience that totally shaped the direction that my bead making journey would take.
Over the years I have been very fortunate and taken classes with many of my glass heroes, Andrea Guarino, Dora Schubert, Pati Walton and Leah Fairbanks.
In August last year I packed my home studio and moved the studio lock stock and barrel and in to a very special space in Ruislip, North West London. The new studio has been converted out of an ancient cart shed belonging to a 13th century wooden barn on a protected heritage site. The barn is the oldest surviving wooden barn in London. It is such an inspiring and serene place to work. My youngest child has just turned 5 years old and at school all day and so I am now bead making there full time.
When a children’s charity, Be Child Cancer Aware, brought the Beads of Courage programme over to the UK in 2011 I was very keen to get involved and began to make regular bead donations. I have also organised and run two 24 hour bead making marathons with the most amazing group of bead making friends in my home studio (garage at the bottom of the garden) to raise awareness and funds for BoC and of course to make beads to donate. In the new studio I organise Beads of Courage open house days where some of the kiddos and their families can visit the studio, see how Act of Courage beads are made and meet a few of the glass artists who are passionate about Beads of Courage. In February this year I was inducted into the Beads of Courage Hall of Fame and invited to send a bead for permanent display at BoC HQ in Tucson.
Molten glass absolutely fascinates me. The thing I love most about working with glass is that the potential for experimentation is endless, there are always ways to improve, new techniques to learn and fun things to discover.
Website www.kitzbitz.com Blog www.kitzbtzartglass.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KitzbitzArtGlass
‘Recycled beads’
Debbie Dew Greenhouse glass
Condessa Welsh Liquor
Colette Ladley
Welsh Cream Liqueur Bombay Gin
‘Orange’
Colette Ladley
Ursula Mann
Heather Kelly
Scarlet Leonard
Vetrofond orange dreamsicle dragon eye Debbie Dew Ursula Mann
Coming soon
GBUKmarket
A dedicated online marketplace for all your beads. Each member will have their own shop. One basket, one checkout for multiple members’ purchases. No more to pay - cost inclusive with your membership fee (must be a current member to qualify) Sell your beads, sculptures and gifts online
Colour testing
by
Ilsa Fatt
Opaque blue I thought I had lots of different opaque blue rods, but this testing made me realise that I actually only have two shades of blue, a royal blue and a pale blue, slightly verging on lavender.
Effetre Mid Blue Effetre mid blue is a very rich colour, far darker than the Effetre transparent mid blue. It works well as a fine stringer, keeping its definition and opacity, with a tendency to separate out, leaving a dark line in the middle. CIM Ming CIM Ming is the same tone of blue, but is semi-translucent. This isn’t noticeable when Ming is used as a base bead, but it really shows up if it is used as surface decoration, meaning that it only really works as decoration on pale backgrounds that themselves blend well with blue. Used in this way, Ming is well named. I have some old willow pattern plates, and the slightly blurred blue pattern is has exactly the same quality of Ming over a white background. Effetre Periwinkle and CIM Grumpy Bear Effetre Periwinkle and CIM Grumpy Bear are pretty much identical in rod form. When made into a bead, Grumpy Bear is slightly darker and more streaky. They work well as a base for either transparent purple or neutral/purple-ish blues. They are both true opaques, and work well in stringer form. They react oddly with Rubino Oro, and can turn grey-ish if used as a base for it. I once used Periwinkle in a murrine under a layer of Triton. The Triton turned the Periwinkle a nasty shade of yellow. So a bit of care is needed when using these colours with silver glass. CIM Chalcedony CIM Chalcedony is a semi-translucent version of this pale purple-y blue. As with Ming, it works best as a base bead, but unlike Ming, the translucency shows strongly when used as a base, giving the bead a watery, calm quality. CIM Chalcedony shouldn’t be confused with the very different COE 96 Gaffer Chalcedony, which is a multi-coloured striking glass. The CIM colour is just plain blue, and stays that way. None of these colours has any noticeable reaction to, Ivory other than a bit of bleeding at the edges, and a slight dark internal line.
Left to right: Effetre Mid Blue CIM Ming Effetre Periwinkle CIM Grumpy Bear CIM Chalcedony
Dichroic focal bead with Mid Blue and Grumpy Bear decoration.
Paddle twistie A rod of glass for the base colour, white is a good colour for starters. Two transparent rods for either side of the base, try aqua and amethyst. Form a gather on the end of the base colour rod, about the size of a small grape. Allow the gather to cool for a few seconds then press flat to make a paddle base. Remove the chill marks by flashing the paddle in the top of the flame a few times. Form a gather with the first transparent glass, again about the size of a small grape. Press this gather onto the lollypop base and flame cut above the gather. An alternative way is to stripe the transparent colour onto the paddle, overlapping the stripes as you go, leaving no gaps. Flatten the gather with a tool or carefully melt smooth then flatten. Repeat with the other transparent rod on the opposite side of the paddle.. Your gather should now look like this. The base opaque glass will tend to pull out of the middle of the gather when you pull the cane so add some clear to the end of the gather before attaching the punty. A punty is an object used to attach to your glass but isn’t part of the final object. It can be a mandrel, a chopstick or the flattened end of a glass rod. A soft glass punty is liable to melt so some use a thin clear borosilicate one. Attach a punty to the centre of the clear glass and wait for the paddle to firm up. Flame cut the original rod off and apply another small amount of clear. Attach a second punty to the centre of that side. Heat the paddle starting at the punty ends and moving to the middle. Keep the paddle turning and melt smooth without letting the mass twist. Some tips for getting the gather ready to pull: Do not stop rotating the gather. Whether in or out of the flame, continue to rotate. Take your time. Rotate the gather slowly and watch the heat colour. Don’t get the paddle too hot as it will start to droop. Do not pull or push the punties. Hold the punties gently and allow them to pull in with the glass. The gather may begin to twist before you are ready to pull. Watch for this and untwist as it occurs. Remain calm. If your glass feels like it's out of control, remove from the flame and let it cool a bit before going on. When the gather is smooth, heat thoroughly and whilst still rotating, come out of the flame and wait a few seconds (count to five) before twisting. Slowly begin twisting the gather, rotating one hand one way and the other hand the other way.
Troubleshooting: Pulling too fast – the twisty will be thin and the twist stretched out Twisting too fast – twist is too tight, it may become thin or bumpy Pulling too slow – the twistie will be thick, bumpy and short Twisting too slow – bumps and not twisted enough. When your twisty has been pulled and twisted, allow to cool and use cutters to cut the twisty off the punties at either end or flame cut the punty off the end. As always in lampworking practice is the key. If the twisty doesn’t come out the way you expect, refer to the troubleshooting to work out why. Twisites are well worth the effort of practising as they have a myriad of uses – melted in to a focal, flowers, pleat beads and wave beads. Experiment with colours, try reactive colours, mix opaques and transparents. Make a gather of glass on the undipped end of a mandrel. Marver into a tube. Stripe down with other colours. Attach a punty and melt smooth, try not to let the tube twist. Once smooth remove from the flame, allow to cool (count to five) and twist and pull. Colour combination suggestions: Opal yellow, EDP, copper green Opal yellow, rubino, intense black Rubine, EDP, coral Clear, deep black or white More complex: Nile green, rolled in iris amber green frit, 3 lines intense black, encase in clear (vine cane, used for leaves and stems) White, stripes of rainbow transparents
Next year’s themes are:
and The deadline for entries is 28th February 2016 More images to get you thinking …
A specially commissioned blend of GBUK colours brought to you and dispensed on special occasions …
GBUKfrit
So how did it go? To be honest with you, it went quietly. There weren’t a lot of stalls, or a lot of members. It was, however, a lovely venue where we could light torches, lovely craft stalls by local crafters, plenty of parking spaces and a cafe on site selling tea, coffee and cake. We will discuss whether we will hold another next year, but we’d like your input. We don’t know what you need or want if you don’t let us know.
Do you have a tutorial or article to share with members? Contact secretary@gbuk.org.
www.gbuk.org