1 - Plain, 2 - Plain (reduced), 3 - w/ Silver Leaf, 4 - w/ Silver Leaf (reduced & encased), 5 - w/ Silver Glass Frit (reduced), 6 - w/ TerraNova2 Frit, 7 & 8 - w/ Tuxedo, Copper Green, Opal Yellow, Ivory, Peace
Like Okey Dokey Artichoky, Spring Willow is transparent when it's hot. However, after it cools down, it is decidedly opaque. It is a little streaky, and can also strike to a sort of brownish/yellow colour in a patchy way.
When Spring Willow is reduced, it develops a patchy, brownish surface colouration.
Spring Willow fumes a little yellowish/brownish when silver leaf is applied to its surface. The silver leaf also goes a little brown, and lays flat on the surfgace without balling up and disappearing the way it does on some other colours.
When the silver leaf is reduced and encased, it does two strange things. First of all, the colour of the silver lightens right up to a blueish silver. Secondly, the Spring Willow turns pink. I have no explanation for this at all, but isn't it cool?
Putting silver glass on Spring Willow isn't a great way to use up those colours you paid $80+ per pound for. The reduction colours get sort of blotchy and weird-looking (and kind've clash with the colour of Spring Willow) and I didn't have a lot of success getting my TerraNova2 frit to strike.
Note: Apparently some people like what happens when you reduce silver glass on Spring Willow and the associated fuming reactions, so you might want to try it yourself to see. I'm not one of those people, but you might be!
mmmm... reactions.
On top of Tuxedo, Spring Willow looks very translucent, and looks more blueish grey than green. This isn't a reaction per se, but it is interesting.
Copper Green, Opal Yellow and Peace all separate on top of Spring Willow.
When Spring Willow is used on top of Copper Green, the Copper Green takes on an intense turquoise appearance, and doesn't get that odd greyish hazing on its surface.
Opal Yellow makes Spring Willow turn an orangey-yellow colour. When the Spring Willow is on top of Opal Yellow, the Opal Yellow pops up around it in cheerful yellow halos.
When you put Ivory on top of Spring Willow, it develops a dark line reaction that is fairly dramatic - it develops in a shaded ring sort of configuration, meaning that you get three colours instead of just the typical two. You can see in the left-most bead above that the dots and stringer lines have a clean Ivory area in the centre, surrounded by a darker brownish aura, finally all surrounded by a dark brown line. Neat!
When you put Spring Willow on top of Ivory it stops looking light green and looks more like a turquoise. The colour it turns is a mottled greyish green-blue, and it develops a jaggedy dark line reaction with the Ivory underneath.
Again, I don't have anything fun to share made out of Spring Willow because of my annoying kiln problems. Hopefully I will have some new beads to share soon.
I'll have to beg to differ with you on the reducing glass. Check it out with plain Psyche. Between the quirky orange/pink blush and haloing around the psyche it's a winner in my book. Just my 2 cents....
ReplyDeleteYou're right... we are going to have to agree to disagree. I don't like that reaction at all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting though! :)