Can't make fancy glass work! :(

[Shirley]

I've got raku - I get baby sick

I've got caramel apple - I get slightly caramelly baby sick

I've got Moroccan swirl - I get putty

I've got DH I haven't used, Terra on standby, and I don't want to waste it.

Ever feel like you haven't got a clue what you're doing? Oh, I've read all the threads and comments I can find.

[glassworks]

hi chap, don't despair - who lives near you?...

Q

[Shirley]

No one who works on a hothead, Q. Came across someone at a local fair recently and to be honest the stuff she was showing was pretty rough anyway.

I'm just trying to do too much too soon. take no notice.

[Carol]

I'm on a hothead Shirley & I really struggle too! I've had 1 or 2 half decent beads with the reactive stuff but loads of disappointments too, including Raku, Silver Rattan & DH. I've made some stringer with the DH & just try tiny amounts, the Gaia was the only one that really did anything! Don't lose heart, just try tiny bits until you get the hang of it (that's my plan anyway!!)
Izzy (I think it's Izzy anyway) gets amazing results on a HH, maybe she'll be able to help?

[Shirley]

I love Izzy's stuff, and I often look for her comments first about making the glass work. To be honest I'm a bit like a kid in a sweet shop still, trying everything when I should really settle on one thing and get that to work.

Shall we start a group for those who are experts at making baby puke coloured beads?

[Dragonfire Glass]

just to make you feel better Shirley - this was my first Terra bead (badly encased)


then I made this one, really bad & I burnt the clear!

[dinah46]

I'll join the group - guilty as charged of trying to run with fancy glass before I can walk. Here's my second effort with terra on a hothead - first was just poo coloured!

The photo is actually quite kind to them. The first is terra over clear, then opal yellow then ivory. One just terra and 2 beads using Sam's lovely frit over an effetre violet

Diane

[beadysam]

The one over ivory is nice.  There's some good reactions going on and a subtle, muted rainbow of colour, I really like that a lot.

[LesleyMac]

Don't worry Shirley we all have the same problem, personally I want to try everything and all at once but there aren't enough hours in the day.  What I find is that I try something, fail, move onto something else and then a few weeks later go back to it and hey presto you have improved without even realising and suddenly its much easier. There is no replacement for just keeping practicing, really once you understand the glass then your creative artistic side can flourish but nothing you fail at doing is wasted, its all a huge learning curve.  You will laugh at yourself in a few months time but by then you will have found something even harder you want to try.  Half the fascination is that there is just so much to learn and so many techniques to master.  We all know exactly how you feel but you have to go through each stage and there is no easy route although certainly someone actually showing you a technique speeds the whole process up so perhaps you should book a course with someone if you can afford to.   

[astringofbeads]

Shirley don't get disheartned your beads are great! There's lots you can do on a HH, I was on one for many months till I swapped over a month ago. Now the raku thing. This is hard to get a result with unless you do the super cool ( ice block under the marver type of thing) super heat . BUT I picked up a very good tip on LE specifically for HH users. If you make a base bead, add the raku and melt in, then heat heat heat till it goes almost transparent, and gravity swirl it, take it out of the flame and let it cool for a mo and it should be black, you can then encase it and you should get some lovely colours.(It may go into the kiln black but don't let that put you off!) if you don't want to encase then twizzle the bead in the back of the flame gently, take it out and watch some colour appear let it cool and repeat the twizzle bit a few times. Not sure why the gravity swirling bit works, but it does!

[dinah46]

Thanks Sam, I do quite like the ivory one but I'm longing to get the blues from the terra.

Lesley I hear what you're saying but I still want everything to work now - immediately I have to learn patience.  I know how long it has taken me to get used to my fusing and the different effects of different glass so I don't know why I'm not as patient with the lampwork. But I know it's PPP.

Diane

[LesleyMac]

If I have learned nothing else from Lampworking I have learned patience Dinah.
I am the most impatient person ever born I reckon but also I am determined, I guess you need both.
Listening to newbie's we all hear ourselves several months ago.   

[Shirley]

Thanks, guys, that's a bit reassuring. I will go ahead and order some more fancy glass, ready for when I can make it work Actually, I won't wait, I'll play with it as soon as I can get it. I'll certain give the raku another go in the meantime.

Dinah, you sound just like me!

Lesley, sometimes I forget I've been doing this for less than 3 months 

On the plus side, I did use rubino for the first time last night and didn't boil the pink out of it, and I managed to swirl some glass in a variation on the seaside bead.

[Caroline]

Shirley- are you using a foil coller on your hothead?

i struggled to use special glasses on my hothead but it is possible, Mary had to show me how to use the double helix glass on my minor but i'm sure you'll get there soon

[Shirley]

No collar yet, Caroline, although I keep thinking about it! TBH I think I just need to slow down and concentrate on one thing rather than trying everything out and expecting it to work straightaway!