Test Results :: Black Pearl

1 - Plain, 2 - Plain (reduced), 3 - Plain (reduced & encased), 4 &5 - w/ Tuxedo, Copper Green, Opal Yellow, Ivory, and Peace

Precision 104 glass and I have not had a very extensive relationship, but I have deep love for this colour. Precision Black Pearl is a really beautiful reducing silver glass colour that reduces to a cloudy and variegated range of blues and greens and even a shiny oilslick that exudes a rainbow of other colours.

To reduce Black Pearl:
Once you've shaped your bead that includes one or more Black Pearl elements, you should let it cool ever so slightly and then turn down your oxygen until you have an orange/yellow candle in your flame but there is still some blue surrounding the candle, and give the bead a little bath in the reduction flame near the top of that orange candle.

As with all reduction colours, it is better to do a few quick passes and check your progress after each one than it is to potentially overdo it. Black Pearl goes blue first, and then progresses through to green and gets cloudier after each pass in the flame. It is not a fast process, so you don't have to be too worried about accidentally overdoing it, but go slow until you get the hang of it.

Black Pearl keeps its reduction under clear, but it does not really develop a mother of pearl look to it.

I did not reduce these beads because I thought that would make it easier to really see the reactions.

Copper Green goes a dark, greyish pink on top of Black Pearl, with a bright yellowish outline. On top of Copper Green, Black Pearl develops a bit of a ragged appearance that  has a faintly pink outline. The Copper Green also takes on a shiny pinkishness all over in this combination.

Opal Yellow on top of Black Pearl develops a dark border which is ringed by a bright silver line. The same reaction appears when the Black Pearl is used on top of the Opal Yellow except that it is inside out -- the silver line is on the inside of the stringer rather than the outside.

Ivory and Black Pearl have the same reaction as Opal Yellow and Black Pearl except that the reaction is stronger and sharper. Like with Opal Yellow, when Black Pearl is used on top of Ivory, you get the same reaction except that it is inside out.

On top of Black Pearl, Peace turns yellow. When Black Pearl is used on top of Peace, you can see a little yellow develop on the surface of the Peace.


Here are some fun beads that include Black Pearl:

I used Black Pearl in the background of this mushroom bead, underneath all of the surface decoration, so you can just sort of see it peeking out here and there.

 

These goddess beads are both made from solid Black Pearl. You can see here the cloudy blue reduction and some surface oilslick effect.

 

And finally, these sets are made from Black Pearl and Opal Yellow. I love these two colours together a lot.

Test Results :: Absinthe

1 - Plain, 2 - Plain (reduced), 3 - Reduced & Encased, 4 & 5 - w/ Tuxedo, Copper Green, Opal Yellow, Ivory, and Peace

TAG Absinthe was sort of a new experience for me, because I've not used very many reducing silver glasses that behave this way. You can absolutely not use this glass the same way you'd use Double Helix Triton or Gaia. If you just wave this briefly in a reduction flame, nothing at all might happen. It doesn't get shiny, no matter what you do to it.

I am not an Absinthe expert any more than I was a Kalypso expert, but this colour is more of a striking colour than a reducing colour... it just happens that you have to do that striking in a reduction flame. I was wearing my magnifier when I made these beads, and if you do that you can actually see the haze burning off the surface as the glass strikes in the flame. I was sort of amazed, because I guess I'd never worn the magnifiers while working silver glass before and didn't realize it would be so visible. It is like slowly chasing a glow across the surface.

So, to successfully get some colour out of Absinthe, I followed the following steps:
1. Get it on the mandrel and get it the shape you want in a neutral flame.
2. Let the bead cool significantly outside of the flame.
3. Turn down your oxygen to get a reducing flame with a narrow, brushy orange candle.
4. Reintroduce the bead to the flame, and heat the surface slowly all over, watching the haze burn off.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until the bead has all the colour you want.

I found that Absinthe struck to blue first, and then green with subsequent strikings. I didn't even try to go past green, so I don't know if it does anything else. I'll have to play around with it a bit more this weekend. I also found that it didn't change at all in the kiln, so it's a really WYSIWYG colour.

I work on a Nortel Minor with a 5 lpm oxygen concentrator. Depending on your setup, your results may vary from mine, and your approach may have to be slightly different.

I guess its possible that I fried my clear on this bead, but I don't remember doing that, and it's not a thing that has really happened to me with the Uroboros clear noodles I've been using. As a result, I am at a bit of a loss to explain the weird bubbly hazing in this bead but totally willing to entertain the idea that I did something unfortunate. Absinthe keeps its reduction under clear, but there is absolutely no iridescence, so don't do this looking for a mother of pearl effect.

Copper Green wants to be pink when you use it with Absinthe. You can see this in the bead on the left in a really pronounced way, and to a lesser extent in the bead on the right.

Opal Yellow on Absinthe can result in the 'Angel Effect'.  the dark line surrounded by silver line effect that is so neat in the bead on the left. Opal Yellow doesn't have a really strong Angel Effect with Absinthe because it happens sort of intermittently between these two colours, but...

... with Ivory it is really pronounced and consistent. Even better, the Ivory sort of curdled inside the stringer work in the leftmost bead making the lines look even more ethereal. When Absinthe is used on top of Ivory, it gets a light tracer line around its edges, on the Absinthe side of the fence. I am not sure what it would look like if it was reduced from here, but I'll try that next time I use Ivory and Absinthe together.

I was surprised, but not much happened between Peace and Absinthe. Usually, Peace fumes yellowish when I use it with silver, so I was not expecting it to hold its whiteness as well as it did with Absinthe. It might be that I would have gotten that yellow fume if I'd reduced the bead, though.

Regarding the term 'Angel Effect' - I think the first time I ever saw this term used to describe this particular type of reaction was by Dix Harrison on Lampwork, Etc. in this post. I am going to tag this post and all other instances where I find this reaction with the words 'Angel Effect' - thanks, Dix! :)

Here are some fun beads that include Absinthe. What a neat colour :)

Test Results :: Isar Blue

Kugler Isar Blue is a really beautiful blueish teal opaque glass. This particular batch is a hair bluer and a hair darker than it was when it was marketed by Arrow Springs as ASK Aloe Vera, but that may just be a batch variation thing with the particular rods that I have purchased, because it is meant to be the same colour.

1 - Plain, 2 - Plain (reduced), 3 - w/ Silver Leaf, 4 - w/ Silver Leaf (reduced & encased), 5 - w/ Reducing Silver Glass Frit, 

6 - w/ TerraNova2 Frit, 7 & 8 - w/ Tuxedo, Copper Green, Opal Yellow, Ivory, and Peace

I see ASK glass being sold for more than $80/lb, and I don't really understand why people would want to spend that when they can buy the new batches of the same colour numbers for less than $50/lb. I hope it is because those older batches have something really special and not that it is being sold to newer beadmakers who just don't know any better.

Anyway, I suppose I should just try to focus on the glass.

When you reduce Isar Blue, it develops a schmutzy, unbeautiful, greyish film. This is the same kind of film that develops on top of Copper Green and Dark Turquoise, except that it only happened with this colour when I reduced the glass. Normal working conditions don't seem to produce this effect.

Isar Blue is a fairly streaky colour, so if you're looking for perfect uniformity, you should find something else to melt.

Silver doesn't do anything too weird when it is left on the surface of Isar Blue, but if you reduce it and encase it after adding the silver leaf, Isar Blue undergoes a pretty weird transformation to a yellowish, alien green.

Isar Blue is a gorgeous base for silver glass. I got brilliant colour out of my TerraNova2 frit.  Unfortunately, its blueish greenness doesn't do much for reduction colours -- at least not reduction colours of the blue and green-hued variety. There just isn't enough contrast.

As I mentioned, Isar Blue is a pretty streaky colour, and you can see that pretty clearly in these test beads.

On top of Tuxedo, Isar Blue develops a concentrated dark line in the centre of dots and stringer lines.  When Tuxedo is used on top of Isar Blue, the Isar Blue rises up arouond it in little halos.

Copper Green and Isar Blue have similar reactions - on top of Copper Green, Isar Blue separates and forms a concentration line, and when it is used on top of Copper Green, little halos of Copper Green pop up around it. On top of that, the Copper Green develops a pinkish hue and goes sort of shiny.

Isar Blue bleeds into Opal Yellow when used on top of it.  When Opal Yellow is used on top of Isar Blue, no real reaction is visible.

Isar Blue and Ivory form a dark line reaction.  When the Isar Blue is used on top of Ivory, the line is subtle and sticks close to the Isar Blue. When Ivory is used on top of Isar Blue, the line is wider and lighter in colour.

I didn't notice much of a reaction between Isar Blue and Peace in either bead.

Here is a Goddess Bead and an Organic Lentil using Isar Blue. I really enjoy this colour! Even by itself in the Goddess bead, you can see all kinds of fun streakiness and curdling.

Test Results :: Supernatural

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 and Peace

Effetre Supernatural is a very interesting colour. All by itself, it's a little boring - just streaky grey and white. However, reducing it, using it with silver and using it with other colours can change its appearance. I think I like it best reduced and with silver leaf. You'll see why, below.

It's not evident in the test beads, but superheating Supernatural brings out turquoise streaks, I'm assuming because it makes the copper in the glass separate from the rest of the colour. You can't see that in my test beads, but it is evident in the goddess bead at the end of this post.

You can see here in the spacer on the left the whiteish grey streakiness of Supernatural. When supernatural is reduced, it develops a translucent pinkish red coating.

When I used silver leaf on top of Supernatural, it fumed the Supernatural a yellowish colour. Additionally, the silver has turned a blueish colour. It's rather pretty, actually. When the reaction is reduced and encased, most of the prettiness goes away and it just looks like a whiteish coating surrounded by yellowish and pinkish patches, which is way less appealing.

When I reduced silver glass on top of Supernatural, I gor a brownish, yellowish fuming from the Supernatural, all around the frit. This is a pretty neat effect. On top of Supernatural, my striking silver glass frit got an interesting strike - I'm not thrilled with the amount of strike, but I am intrigued by the fact that each bit of frit seems to have developed colour in little patches. This makes me want to try it again, for sure.

Supernatural is a streaky colour, so in most cases above, it's not easy to see if there is a reaction. However, a few things come through loud and clear:

• Copper Green turns darker and pinkish when Supernatural is used on top of it.Supernatural gets a brown line around it when it's used on top of Opal Yellow. This line does not seem to appear when Opal Yellow is used on top of Supernatural.
• There is a reciprocal dark line reaction between Ivory and Supernatural. This dark line appears regardless of which colour is used as the base.

Here are some fun beads with Supernatural:

Supernatural's streakiness and its tendency to reduce even in a more or less neutral flame are both evident in this goddess bead. You can see the deep, turquoise streaks, the grey mottled streakiness of the glass itself and the patches of brick-red reduction here.

Here, I've used Supernatural both in the core of the bead under transparent light aqua and silvered, in the mushroom cap and stem.

Test Results :: Mint Lozenge

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 and Peace

CiM Mint Lozenge is a light turquoise/blue semi-opaque. It is bluer than CiM Kryptonite (my test results here), and is quite a lot bluer than CiM Sea Foam (my test results here). It is greener than Effetre Sky Blue Opalino.  Mint Lozenge is very transparent when used in a thin layer. Mint Lozenge is the colour I think of when I think 'Robin's Egg' blue.

While Mint Lozenge is unique in terms of its hue, it behaves almost exactly the same way as Kryptonite does with the same basic reactions. It is not as highly reactive as Sea Foam.

Like with Kryptonite, Silver leaf disperses on the surface of Mint Lozenge and develops a crazy greenish yellow haze around it. Not so attractive, but quite interesting.

When the silver leaf is reduced and encased, it has an encased shiny patina under the clear with some ethereal blue halo effect around the silver. This effect is pretty beautiful in person.

Mint Lozenge, like Kryptonite, is a nice base for striking silver glass. Reducing silver glass looks neat on top of it as well, except for that sick green fuming thing. The surface colour of the Mint Lozenge gets very discoloured when silver glass is reduced on top of it.

Mint Lozenge causes separation reactions in Copper Green, Opal Yellow, Ivory and Peace. The reaction is reciprocal, so when you put Mint Lozenge on top of those colours, you get a neat halo effect. These reactions are pretty consistent with the results I get for Kryptonite but are much less dramatic than the reactions I got with the same colours when I tested Sea Foam.

In addition to separating Copper Green, Mint Lozenge also seems to make it want to turn pink around the edges where the two colours come into contact.

I didn't get much of a reaction with Tuxedo, although the Tuxedo sort of thinned out and looks a little blue where I used it over the Mint Lozenge.

This bead has a base of Mint Lozenge over CiM Indigo (test results to come). The Mint Lozenge is pretty transparent in thin layers, but it has a beautiful softening effect.

 

Test Results :: Army Men

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 & 8 - w/ Tuxedo, Copper Green, Opal Yellow, Ivory and Peace

CiM Army Men is a very, very streaky colour. It is also really pretty, very close to the same shade as ASK Aloe Vera / Kugler Isar Blue. This colour is greener and greyer than Commando. It is a very soft opaque and the working consistency of it is beautiful.

Army Men is a relatively stable colour, and doesn't seem overly reactive. It's gorgeous in vine cane.

Here, silver leaf on Army Men gently yellows the army men, but seems to just sit on top of it in a lacy pattern. When the silver is reduced and encased, the yellowish green aura that it emits is sort of icky looking, but also kind of intriguing.

Army Men seems to be a better base colour for striking silver glass colours than it is for reduction ones.  The reduction frit has yellowed the Army Men quite a bit, but the reaction / results are otherwise unremarkable aside from a few haloed frit bits. The decisive green halos that popped up around the TerraNova2 frit are much more interesting. The TerraNova2 frit struck nicely here, in the purple/blue ranges. I think if I'd struck it again there's be more blue.

Most of the blotchiness you see in the bead on the left, above, is the result of Army Men's streakiness. Army Men seems to not be a very reactive colour at all. Here is a short list of the reactions I see in these beads, however the reactions are very subtle:

• Copper Green on top of Army Men looks pinkish and shiny.
• Opal Yellow on top of Army Men strikes to a pinkish-orange colour in the centre of dots and stringer lines.
• A gentle, thin dark line springs up around Army Men when it is placed on top of Ivory.
• Army Men seems to thin out a little and spread on top of Peace.
• The separation and streakiness of Army Men is most apparent in the beads above with Tuxedo, Ivory and Peace.

Here are some fun beads with Army Men:

  

 

  

Test Results :: Canary

Warning: Very Yellow (again)

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, Opeal Yellow, Ivory and Peace

CiM Canary is the second loud yellow (in a series of loud yellows) that I've reviewed from this most recent batch of CiM colours. Like Submarine, Canary is not really very opaque.  It's also, however, not very semi-opaque and it would be more accurate to describe it as a 'streaky opal' colour.  While working, Canary is a little sensitive to boiling, although you can't really tell in the finished beads.  Working a little higher up in the flame solves this problem.

If you follow this blog, you may notice that the paragraph above is almost a direct copy of the words I already wrote about Submarine, but there's a good reason for that (apart from me just being a little lazy 'cause it's hot out). They are almost exactly the same, except for some subtleties in their reactions with other colours. Most of the reactions that are interesting are the result of colour combinations that I feel don't really belong in the world, but maybe you will like them.

On the CiM website, the pictures of the Canary paddle make it look like it is a little more orange in colour than it actually turns out to be after you work it.

Like with Submarine, silver turns brown on top of Canary. The yellowness of the Canary does not seem as easily diminished with the addition of silver as the yellowness of Submarine was.

Like Submarine, Canary is much nicer with the reducing silver glass than it is with TerraNova2 Frit. The main difference here is that while I was able to get some decent colour out of the TerraNova2 frit on top of Submarine, on top of Canary it seems to have turned black/grey in places and has not struck very much at all.

Tuxedo bled into Submarine and turned it a greenish colour, but it doesn't really seem to do that on top of Canary. In fact, some of the dots of Tuxedo don't even show up very well in the bead on the left, above, and instead just look like grey circles around themselves. However, Canary on top of Tuxedo does have a slight greenish cast to it.

Copper Green and Canary have a reciprocal dark line reaction. With Submarine, this reaction was very crisp and defined, but with Canary it is sort of spready and not of a consistent width. The Copper Green itself exhibits the same tendency towards a pinkish colour that it did with Submarine, but without the shine.

Opal Yellow, Ivory and Peace all separate on top of Canary and form a double line, with some translucency in the middle. The Opal Yellow shows this effect the most prominently, and if the colours were nicer together I'd be really excited about that reaction.

Fun beads with Canary:

Here I used Canary as the core of my vine cane, and rather like the resulting way in which the cane has behaved, getting a dark line up one side almost like a real leaf or blade of thick grass. This is a perfect way to use Canary, since it has an interesting, desirable effect and you also don't really need to look directly at the yellow once it is safely hidden by the outer layers of the cane.