Test Results :: Kryolith White

Lauscha Kryolith White (LAU380) is a stiff, white, opaque glass. I wanted to like this colour, because due to some online marketing of the glass on LE, I had in my head that it would have awesome opacity and would be pretty with silver. It turns out that both of these things are true, which is nice, but there is an absolute vacuum online about this colour's incompatibility. That seems like an important omission.

It doesn't matter that this colour is nice with silver or that it is great with silver glass and beautifully inert when used with other colours. It doesn't matter because anything you make with this White and any other glass colour will probably break within a week of you making it. And this problem doesn't just occur when you encase it. I made some tricolour dot beads with flowers and stripes and various other designs with this colour, Effetre Periwinkle, and CiM Lapis. With my magnifier, I can see tiny little incompatibility cracks wherever this colour meets something else. Interestingly enough, I can't see the cracks when I photograph the beads and view the full-resolution image at 100% zoom, so there's no point in posting them here.

Beads where I used this colour in tiny amounts on the surface of another colour and didn't layer anything on top of it have survived for a couple of months, but I don't know how to feel optimistic about their long-term chances given the magnitude of the problems I observed.

Like with Reichenbach White, this made me sad and disinclined to put a lot of effort into a write-up. But, I made these test beads, so you might as well see them.

Kryolith White does not change colour when you reduce it.

Kryolith White doesn't so much fume yellow with silver as it does turn the silver yellowish on top of it. There's a little yellowing of the base glass, but to a much lesser degree than with Peace, White, or Reichenbach White.

Here, you can see that Kryolith White makes a pretty base for silver glass, but I won't try this again because of the compatibility problem.

Copper Green, Opal Yellow, and Ivory all separate on top of Kryolith White. In spite of it being a stiff colour, on top of Opal Yellow and Ivory, Kryolith White spreads out quite a lot.

There's not much else to say about this. Kryolith White is a tease. It has behaviour and properties that we want and need in a white glass, but then also has the behaviour we can't tolerate in any glass colour that we're going to use in designs that contain more than one colour. I will probably stick to using the least expensive, most reliable opaque white glasses in my work: Effetre White and CiM Peace.

Test Results :: Apple Green

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

Lauscha Apple Green (Green Apple?) is a pretty nice colour, but sadly, it's another colour in our 104 palette that doesn't really like to be encased. This is the first Lauscha colour I've had this problem with, and I am pretty sad about it. If you look back through the rest of my Lauscha tests, you'll see that I haven't had any issues at all with Cocoa, Olive, Thüringen Herb, Dusty Lilac, Faded Rose, Orchid, Latte Macchiato, Peach, Nuclear Brownie (Buckhorn w/ Silver) or Steel Blue.

This colour is so reactive and vibrant, though, that even not being able to encase it doesn't put me off it completely. Like a lot of the Lauscha opaque colours, Apple Green is actually more like a superdense translucent colour. In thin layers, you can sort of see through it. Also like a lot of the other Lauscha opaque colours, Apple Green is quite reactive and likes to thin out and spread on top of colours like Peace and Ivory.

Silver leaf on top of Apple Green sort of clings to the surface as a lacy, grey film. When the silver is reduced and encased, it forms a more solid whitish blanket over the surface of the Apple Green. However, about a week after I made the bead on the right, unpleasant spiderwebby cracks started to develop in it.

Silver glass develops colour well on top of Apple Green. My reduction frit got great colour on top of Apple Green, and I think the TerraNova2 frit has great potential on top of it as well.

Apple Green seems to be a fairly reactive colour. I've gotten reactions here in these test beads with every other colour except for Tuxedo.

On top of Copper Green, Apple Green develops a light outline, which I think is actually the Copper Green showing pale right next to the Apple Green. You can sort of see, in the bead on the left, how there is a thin band of turquoise surrounding the Apple Green and then a much darker turquoise in between the dots and stringer lines. This is because the Copper Green has separated. On top of Apple Green, Copper Green develops a darker outline, and looks very concentrated, dark and teal.

Apple Green also makes Opal Yellow, Ivory and Peace separate. This reaction is much more pronounced in Opal Yellow, but is visible in Peace and with Ivory to a lesser degree.

I've made some beads with Apple Green, but it was quite a while ago and I'm not really sure where I've put them. Things will be back to normal here in a few weeks and I'll work on getting some newer results posted. I have some more of the new CiM Limited Runs ready to photograph, as well as test beads for Opal Yellow, Copper Green and CiM Phoenix.

Test Results :: Peach

1 - w/ Silver Leaf, 2 - w/ Silver Leaf (reduced & encased), 3 - w/ Silver Foil, 4 - w/ TerraNova2 Frit, 5 - w/ Silver Glass Frit (reduced), 6 - w/ Silver Glass Frit Stringer, 7 - Plain, 8 - Plain (reduced), 9 - w/ Copper Green, 10 - w/ Opal Yellow, 11 - w/ Ivory, 12 - w/ Peace

Lauscha Peach is a very pale, subdued peach transparent glass.  It is a little reactive with silver, although not on the same scale as Light Brown Transparent or Straw Yellow, and has a beautiful consistency.  It is not particularly prone to boiling.

Silver leaf melted onto the surface of a Peach bead is not terribly interesting, just looking like random greyish surface discolouration, however when the silver leaf is reduced and encased, it takes on a shiny, ethereal appearance under the encasing layer with a tinge of lavender to it.

When Peach is applied over silver foil, the silver foil turns a rich gold colour.

Peach is an average base colour for silver glass frit.  Nothing exceptional happened, but there was no epic fail either.

Here I used frit stringer made from Peach and silver glass reduction frit (Kronos, Psyche, Gaia, Elektra) to encase a core of Peach, and then encased the whole thing with Clear.  The resulting striations are interesting, but don't have much colour to them.  I got much prettier results with this technique with Effetre Straw Yellow, Effetre Light Brown, Effetre Pale Green Apple and CiM Mojito, but this less colourful result has possible uses as well.

   

 

And here is Peach with Copper Green, Opal Yellow, Ivory and Peace.  Not much to report here in terms of reactions.

I haven't made anything very fun with Peach yet, but I still have a couple of rods left so I will try to get something posted in the next couple of weeks.

Test Results :: Dusty Lilac

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 - w/ Tuxedo, 8 - w/ Copper Green, 9 - w/ Opal Yellow, 10 - w/ Ivory, 11 - w/ White

I have tested quite a few of the Lauscha Milky Way colours now, and this is one of my favourites.  It has some magic in it somewhere!

Lauscha Dusty Lilac is a pinkish lavender colour, and although it is probably translucent in thin layers, it was not possible for me to keep the translucency of this glass while working it.  It is reactive with silver, it does fun things with both Copper Green and Opal Yellow and it is a pretty colour all by itself.  I'm a sucker for these purply pinks though.  Seashell Swirl and Vetrofond Pink #3 are the other two pink glasses that I can't get enough of.

When silver leaf is melted into the surface of Dusty Lilac, the silver turns a golden colour and sits on top of the surface of the glass in a very definite gold swath with winking silver sparkles in it. It also fumes the colour of the Dusty Lilac to a shade somewhere in the triangulation of brown, yellow and orange.

When the silver is reduced and encased, it looks less yellow -- there is just a faint tinge of yellow in the encased silver. Where the silver touches the Dusty Lilac around its edges, an ethereal blue halo has developed. Also in this bead, the silvered, abused and encased Dusty Lilac looks very vibrantly pink and purple instead of like its natural lavender-pink self.

Dusty Lilac and silver glass are friendly with one another.  On the right, I got some colour out of my TerraNova 2, and the striking silver glass frit has not discoloured the bead at all.  In a real bead where time has been taken to properly strike the TN2 I feel sure the results would be better. 

In the bead on the right, it is interesting how the Dusty Lilac has fumed yellow underneath the reducing silver glass frit, and the frit has done some interesting things on top of it as well, seaparting in places and developing a darker yellow outline.

There is no reaction between Tuxedo and Dusty Lilac, and both colours make nice, even stringer dots and lines on top of each other.

When Dusty Lilac is used on top of Copper Green, it develops a light turquoise outline and seems to keep the Copper Green from doing that army green sheen thing it so loves to do.  However, when you use the Copper Green on top of Dusty Lilac, a very bizarre reaction is evident.  The Copper Green sort of lazily separates so that it looks teal in the middle and brown around the edges and then it develops an additional whitish outline around the brown and teal.  Nifty.

Dusty Lilac spreads and thins out on top of Opal Yellow, which is interesting because Opal Yellow is the softer glass and is the one out of these two that I would expect to spread.  On top of Dusty Lilac, Opal Yellow separates into three distinct 'phases' - a translucent lavender line in the middle of the dots and stringer lines surrounded by a more normal shade for opal yellow, and then surrounded by a yellowish brown outline.  You can see in the middle of this bead how the Dusty Lilac has fumed the Opal Yellow to a brownish yellow colour as well.

Dusty Lilac is weird and spready on Ivory, too.  In this case it seems even odder because it seems to float on top of the Ivory and some of the Ivory colour rises up around it to help our eyes see that illusion.  On top of Dusty Lilac, Ivory separates such that a translucent line and dot is visible in the middle of the stringer lines and dots.

And, with Peace, Dusty Lilac reacts similarly to how it reacts with Ivory only much less dramatically.  It does not have the same floaty quality when used on top of Peace.

A fun bead with Dusty Lilac:

Test Results :: Nuclear Brownie

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 - w/ Tuxedo, 8 - w/ Copper Green, 9 - w/ Opal Yellow, 10 - w/ Ivory, 11 - w/ Peace

Lauscha Nuclear Brownie is also called Buckhorn With Silver. I am having some trouble understanding these results of mine, because the last time I used this glass it seemed like a much darker colour.

For instance, I made this bead in December 2008 with the exact same batch of Nuclear Brownie as I've made these test beads from (I'm cringing showing it to you, but what the heck - it's not like I'm creating any masterpieces today, either, and I need to show something).  The brown colour in this bead is Nuclear Brownie, and it is much, much darker than the Nuclear Brownie in any of these test beads.  All I can figure is that this colour must strike darker with repeated heating, cooling and abuse with tools because it took me about 5 times as long to shape a bicone in 2008 as it does today, and it's still not a fast process.

Nuclear Brownie is gorgeous with silver.  Silver leaf melted into the surface of this colour creates a gorgeous, wispy spray of silver and really interesting variations in the surface colour of the bead.  On the right, in the bead that I reduced and encased, the silver has taken on a shiny iridescence and has also become decidedly pinkish in colour.

In these beads with silver glass, my favourite thing that happened is with the bead on the right and the silver glass reduction frit.  (I am currently using a blend with Kronos2, Gaia, Elektra, Triton and Psyche all mixed up in equal proportions)  I love the way the fritty bits develop that webbed outline and the way the frit has separated and colour-changed so that it looks like peacock feathers through a kaleidoscope.

Tuxedo is nice and crisp on top of Nuclear Brownie.  On the Tuxedo side of the bead you can see how milky the Nuclear Brownie went.  No shiny line though as I 've been so prone to getting lately with just about anything and Tuxedo.

The Copper Green side of this bead is a little freaky, with its striations of turquoise amid a muddy grey-green-pink background.  The Nuclear Brownie stringer work is very bright in colour and more yellow than the same colour on the other side of the bead, and it has developed almost a white outline around it wherever it touches the copper green.  Where the deep striations of Copper Green are, the rich turquoise colour of it are seeping into the Nuclear Brownie.

On the Nuclear Brownie side of the bead, the Copper Green line develops a super-thin double outline around the Copper Green stringerwork.  The inner part of that double outline is a brownish purple, and the outer line is a light Ivory colour.  This is a very interesting effect indeed.

 

 

In all of these three beads (Opal Yellow, Ivory, Peace) the other colour has separated on top of the Nuclear Brownie and in all three cases is a very interesting reaction.  However, Nuclear Brownie is not really good stringerwork material and seems to not look quite right no matter what you put it on top of.  (Click the pictures to enlarge)

Here are some fun beads with Nuclear Brownie:

Test Results :: Steel Blue

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 - w/ Tuxedo, 8 - w/ Copper Green, 9 - w/ Opal Yellow, 10 - w/ Ivory, 11 - w/ White

Lauscha Steel Blue has to be one of the most interesting opaque colours I've tried. I love Lauscha Cocoa and Lauscha Olive as well, but the hue of Steel Blue does something to me. All three of these are interesting to work with -- stiff while you are melting them, but spreading wildly on top of other glasses, translucence on top of some colours, and fun with silver glass.

The addition of silver is a transformative experience for Steel Blue, making it look completely unlike itself.  Here, in the bead on the left you can see that the silver has turned gold, and wisps and webs its way over the surface of the bead.  You can also see, in that same bead, how the Steel Blue itself has gone super-dark, except in a couple of areas where the silver has blown a royal blue blush through it.  In the bead on the right, the silver leaf was reduced and encased, and all of the visible Steel Blue looks more of a royal blue colour than Steel Blue's typical, deeper hue.  Also in that bead, the silver has taken on a dull greyish-lavender colour.

Steel Blue makes a very interesting base colour for silver glass. My TerraNova2 frit did all kinds of pretty blue and purple things on top of Steel Blue, and the reducing silver glass frit just went sort of crazy, and turned the visible surface of the Steel Blue base a kind of oily teal colour.  Nifty.  I particularly like the way the reducing silver glass frit has bloomed on top of the Steel Blue.

There is no noticeable reaction between Steel Blue and Tuxedo.

I love colours that make Copper Green do this.  A lighter, turquoise line springs up around Copper Green wherever it touches Steel Blue.  Also, the Steel Blue stringer lines and dots spread a bit on top of Copper Green and have more translucency than you'd expect. Some magical ingredient in th Steel Blue prevents Copper Green from getting that shiny, metallic patina on it, too. Other colours that spring to mind that are this much fun with Copper Green include Lauscha Cocoa, Lauscha Faded Rose, CiM Charcoal, CiM Ming (in it's own wacky way), REI Mystic Grey-Blue, Lauscha Olive and CiM Slytherin, although that's hardly a definitive list.  What do all of these colours have in common?  Good question.  Apart from how much they love Copper Green, I have no idea.

Opal Yellow is seriously yellow with Steel Blue.  And curdly when used underneath it.

On top of Steel Blue, Ivory gets a fine translucent line in the middle of stringer lines and translucent pinpricks in the centre of dots.  On top of Ivory, Steel Blue spreads out, a lot, and feathers its colour out into the Ivory base.  This is almost identical to the reactions I got with Lauscha Olive and Lauscha Cocoa when I used them with Ivory.

Nothing interesting to report with regard to White reactions except that when you use White on top of Steel Blue, be prepared for the White to look more blue than white, because the Steel Blue will bleed up through it and change its colour.

Here is a fun bead made with Steel Blue.  I've been using Steel Blue a lot in twisties and other organics, and I think I have a few other pictures I can include once I get the rest of my beads photographed.

Test Results :: Latte Macchiato

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 - w/ Silver Glass Frit Stringer (encased), 8 - w/ Tuxedo, 9 - w/ Copper Green, 10 - w/ Opal Yellow, 11 - w/ Ivory, 12 - w/ White

Lauscha Latte Macchiato is sort of unlike the other Milky Way colours I have tested in terms of how it reacts with other colours.  It ranges in colour from a soft peach to a yellow, depending on how much it is struck and the colour it is used with.  Annealed, it is more like Thüringen Herb than it is like the Milky Way pinks.

Rods of Latte Macchiato are sort of shocky and splintery, so you need to be careful to heat it slowly.  It also looks completely different going into the kiln than it does coming out, which is a little disorienting. Before annealing, this colour looks very translucent and peachy, but post-annealing, it is far more opaque, and displays colours in the range I mentioned above.

I achieved some interesting effects with Latte Macchiato, and while it is not among my favourite Lauscha colours, it is definitely appealing and worthy of further study.

Here, I've put silver leaf over the bead on the left.  The silver has dispersed, and has fumed the surface of the bead with a brown haze.  In the bead on the right, the reduced and encased silver has turned a peachy colour.  This is similar to the reactions I got with Thüringen Herb.

On top of Latte Macchiato, I had a hard time getting decent colour out of my TerraNova2 frit, but I really like what happened with the reducing silver glass frit in the bead on the right.  The frit has bloomed and separated and fumed the bead a little to a yellowish tan colour.

Here, I made frit stringer with my reducing silver glass frit blend and Latte Macchiato.  I like this streaky effect a lot, particularly where the unfritted Latte Macchiato has struck to tan.

There is no noticeable reaction between Tuxedo and Latte Macchiato.  No bleeding and no weirdness.  The Latte Macchiato looks paler against Tuxedo than it does with the other colours I tested it with.

I expected Copper Green to separate on top of Latte Macchiato, and for the Latte Macchiato to help the Copper Green not sheen up the way the other Milky Way pinks did, but instead I got a reaction that is much more reminiscent of how Copper Green behaved with Thüringen Herb.  The Copper Green has developed an army green patina, and has bled into the Latte Macchiato stringer design on the left-hand side of the bead lending it some mottled turquoise streakiness.  The Latte Macchiato on the right-hand side of the bead looks more opaque and a little dirtier than it does in the other test beads.

On top of Latte Macchiato, Opal Yellow separates and develops a thin tranlucent line down the centre of the stringer lines I drew.  On top of Opal Yelow, Latte Macchiato looks sort of diffuse and mustardy.  The Latte Macchiato on the right-hand side of this bead looks deeper and peachier than it does on the other test beads.

 

There isn't really anything all that interesting about Latte Macchiato with Ivory or Latte Macchiato with White. The Latte Machiato sort of disappears on top of those colours, and the Ivory/White lines and dots are crisp and smooth.

Here are some other beads made with Latte Macchiato.  I may add to these because I still have a little bit of this colour left.