Test Results :: Yellow Opalino

1 - Plain, 2 - Plain (reduced), 3 - w/ Silver Leaf, 4 - w/ Silver Leaf (reduced & encased), 5 - w/ TerraNova2 Frit, 6 - w/ Silver Glass Frit (reduced), 7 - As a particularly sickly-looking floral (Core of Slytherin, Yellow Opalino Petals), 8 - w/ Copper Green, 9 - w/ Tuxedo, 10 - w/ Opal Yellow, 11 - w/ Ivory, 12 - w/ White

Effetre Yellow Opalino isn't nearly as ugly as I thought it was. I mean, in the rod, it is pale, sort of translucent and really, really yellow. I'm not usually drawn to yellow. The rod colour reminds me of Easter chicks, and I'll go ahead and confess that I've never really wanted to melt or wear an Easter chick, either.

I made these beads a few weeks ago, then got all caught up in the craziness of moving and didn't get around to posting them. I did get a really wide range of colour and texture from the Yellow Opalino. In Bead #8, it's sort of a mottled semi-translucent colour, which is very different from what I got in Bead #5 which is more of a butter yellow with a hint of pink, which is different again from the burnt mustard colour of Bead #2.

I nicknamed this colour 'Yop' while I was working with it, because I am apparently too lazy to even repeatedly think both of the words of its excessively long name. I am going to have to do a lot more messing around before I really feel like I know this colour, but here are some of the things I think I know about Yop after our first date.

Reduction
Yop darkens when you reduce it. (Bead #2)


Opacity
In a thin layer, Yop is translucent, but is still recognizable as itself. (Bead #7)

The reason this floral turned out so terribly is because when it's hot, Yop is invisible on Clear. It's not like White where it's invisible for a while but comes back quickly enough that you can see it before you poke the flower's center. Instead, the Yop plays hide and seek until the bead is too firm to poke, and you sort of have to do it blind. Infuriating! But I really like translucent flower petals, so I will no doubt give this another shot.

Reactions

Silver leaf seems to turn a pinkish brown colour when you melt it onto Yop and leave it on the surface. Something has also influenced the Yop and coaxed it into a more buttery, creamy version of itself. Now this is a yellow colour that even I can love! I'm not sure here if it was the silver that influenced the colour/opacity change or if it was the heating and quick cooling of pressing it that did that. Only more testing will yield that little kernel of knowledge.

In the bead on the right, the silver leaf under Clear and over Yop has taken on a sort of pinkish hue. This was interesting and a little unexpected. I understand from various sources that it's not generally considered a good idea to encase opalinos because of cracking concerns, but this little bead seems to have survived so far. I still don't think I'd risk it in a big, complicated bead though.

I'm going to conclude that there are better ways for me to use my silver glass than to pair it with Yop. Again, in the bead on the right, reducing the bead seems to have brought a more intense yellow to the Yop. Ick.

The reaction between Yop and Copper Green is pretty neat.  On the Copper Green side of the bead, the Yop lines and dots have a faint halo around them, and the Copper Green has settled into a kind of mottled, aged effect that is sort of strange. Between the two colours in the middle, a whitish line has formed. On top of Yop, Copper Green looks like a dull, mottled grey-green colour and has developed a dark outline. Under the Copper Green, the Yop is a cloudly yellow somewhat darker than the unmelted rod.

There are two interesting things about this Yop and Tuxedo combination. First, this is the bead where Yellow Opalino looks most like the unmelted rod colour. It's virtually unchanged, and I have no idea why because I don't recall working this bead any differently than I did the other ovals. Second, Tuxedo webbed into the Yop a little bit in the centre.

The reaction between Yop and Ivory is sort of greyish and dirty looking, but for some reason, it appeals to me. If it was an opaque colour, perhaps only the edges would be affected, but because the Yop is translucent, you can see the reaction through the dots and stringer. On the Yop side of the bead, the Ivory has separated and formed a thin, crack-like line through the centre.

I didn't bother to do a solo picture of Yop with White or Opal Yellow, because not much really went on in those ones.

I made some other beads with Yop -- at least I think I did.  They're sort of buried at the moment, and don't stand out in memory as anything you'd really want to look at anyway.  I am going on a bit of a palette junket and putting the Yop aside for a bit, but when I get back to it I will definitely try to post some decent beads. (Details on the junket to follow sometime soon)