Terra Glass Comments on W/C

[CelticGlass]

Some very interesting comments both pos and neg on Wet Canvas glass section.

I have assimilated my own opinion of Terra, but shall keep quiet counsel about it, as the jury is still out.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=423549

[Les]

personally I find that it's' the current moonphase that dictates my success with this glass...well... that and my lucky pants !!!!... lol....

Worth a read through I reckon... thanks Ray

[Billie]

I have a love/hate relationship with it.... I'm sure I do the same thing with it each time but the colour either "pops" or doesn't and I never know what I'm going to get after it goes in the kiln.... I think I prefer raku... But that sentiment depends on my mood   

[CelticGlass]

well... that and my lucky pants !!!!... lol....

Worth a read through I reckon... thanks Ray

Lucky pants be B***ered... I read The World according to Clarkson ..Jeremy... whilst on holiday and he said... when he travels he can get 4 days out of a pair of pants. Inside outside back to front and front to back. Also said one of his camera men claims to get 5 days  

ROFLMAO  

[greenbeadenvy]

Thanks for that Ray. Some very interesting reading there. I'm having my own personal all out war with Terra. I REFUSE to be beaten by a bl**dy stick of glass!! Grrr I shall win you mark my words!! Right then, I am off to try again LOL

[Billie]

I don't want to give up on it either... It just keeps reeling me back in    I'm determined to work it out for consistent results.  It's an expensive glass to play around with, but when you see the results from other peoples work you know it can be done, you just have to find the key to unlocking that secret... and I think the key may change from session to session...    It's like having a charming ex. boyfriend who you know is no good, but you just can't resist that smile... LOL 

[nemea]

Can I add my opinion here as a buyer?

I haven't made a firm decision about it yet. The only terra beads I own are a beautiful set that Mary made (Terra sunset harmony). But it wasn't just the terra that made it so. It was the shape and the faceting of the beads and the fact that they fulfilled a very specific job I had in mind for them. Terra can sometimes look a bit boring (especially when you see it on almost every lampworker's website). I understand that it is challenging and therefore very interesting to work with (trust me if I was lampworking I'd been trying to tame it myself) but from a commercial point of view, I don't think the average customer appreciates the effect or the (high) cost.

So by all means, have a play but don't forget there's lots of wonderful glass out there.

[Billie]

That has me nodding my head.  Good feedback 

[greenbeadenvy]

I would agree that it just aint worth all the hassle but I bought my Terra for a very good reason, a customer has requested 12 focals made from it and thats money I can't refuse LOL. So I shall tame this damn glass if it kills me!!

[nemea]

Gosh Emma, you get customers specifying glass type? And I thought I asked for awkward commissions!

[greenbeadenvy]

Gosh Emma, you get customers specifying glass type? And I thought I asked for awkward commissions!

If only you knew what some of my other customers ask for. I could tell you but you wouldn't believe me LOL

[Billie]

Maybe we could start a "strangest customer request" thread... 

[greenbeadenvy]

I wouldn't even know where to start with mine er.... one springs to mind, she wanted a teddy bear with a robin hood stylee hat on,holding a heart, sat in a frying pan and a matching fairy Tink style one LOL. Of course I said I would do it, my bank balance has no shame

[nemea]

Now I wish you had a photo of that! But I think the idea of a strange request thread is great!

[CelticGlass]

Not wishing to detour too much on matters, I'd like to offer one smidgen of advice on Terra glass workability.

The rods are pulled very thin and most likely to optimize the VFM on sales and margin for DH. Less is more kinda thinking     It may get so you receive even less glass one day because the marketing guys tell sales to pull the wool even farther over your eyes.

Its not what they say, its the sweet music of happy colorful glass we presume we'll get with this miracle glass concoction

The Terra glass canes are multi layered if you look with a magnifying glass on the end. Like Lauscha marble ( Kryolyth ) where the gather is drawn from several different furnaces each having a different metal oxide grade in the batch.

So what does this mean ? When you apply the Terra sparingly, your laying it down several oxide layers thick. All those oxide colors are there, but one on top of another.

For me to get anything like the rainbow we desire, I had to rip the stuff around and unearth the shades beneath. So as well as revisiting the flame to bring certain hints and nuances out... your on a loser if the oxide layer you need, is tucked away under a layer of color that you don't want.

Also and as we read on W/C, there's the risk of the metals causing an unwanted scummy fumed appearance.

So two rules have emerged, if not more... Be agressive with the application, and when your ready to strike the colors after partial cooling, do it fairly quickly and be happy with the first shades that appear. Cos if the shades your looking for and hence the correct oxide layer is not on the top and apparent, then you can reheat and tease it all day and it'll get muddier and muddier until you throw it at the wall.

Be interested to hear more about the results of FH people in due course.