A hole NEW WAy TO LOOK AT LARGE

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1 regional tutorial Canada A hole NEW WAy TO LOOK AT LARGE hole MANDRELs by Cheryl Brown Photographs by Cheryl Brown. This summer while traveling in southern British Columbia, I made my annual stop at Bavin Glassworks in Invermere. There I found a clever modification to some large-hole mandrels. There were a variety of sizes of these modified mandrels which had a hole drilled perpendicular to the mandrel. I was extremely excited and purchased one of each size, of course! Introduction by Amy Waldman Smith, Canada, regional director. Cheryl Brown was born and raised in Northern Alberta, Canada. She is a self-professed silica junkie. She began her lampwork obsession in 1999 after taking a course at Red Deer College in Edmonton, Alberta, but did not set up a studio until 2004 when she could no longer resist. Cheryl is an active participant in Canada s first ISGB Chapter the Aurora Borealis Fireflies. Her dedication to glass beadmaking and to the Fireflies is shown by the fact that she regularly attends meetings even though it takes over 4 hours for her to drive there! I had always been attracted to large-hole beads, but had not found a way to string them that didn t seem to interrupt their beauty. All stringing seemed to show was the stringing materials over the glass, which was not aesthetically pleasing for most of my designs. The following tutorial will show how to successfully use these modified mandrels to produce great large-hole beads with a hidden hole for stringing. Materials: Glass color rods Stringers of choice Small mashers Large hold mandrels with cross- drilled holes for small mandrels) Tweezers 32

2 1 Step ONE Preparations A large hold mandrel (pipe type) with a cross-drilled hole for a small mandrel is welded onto a smaller mandrel for better ease of rotation. Ensure all mandrels are predipped and dry. It is essential that all bead release is dry or the steam will travel up the rods and get extremely hot. If you are using the largest mandrel with the stick-type mandrel to hold this is not a problem, as the steam dissipates without reaching your fingers. 2 Step TWO a-b Select your core glass and heat your mandrels so they are glowing. You will be laying down your base color, keeping in mind that you will have to go around the sides of the perpendicular mandrels. Prepare a gather of glass that can be controlled to lay down halfway around your mandrel, and then will stay warm enough to pull around the perpendicular mandrel and contact the other side. 2a You will make several passes with a gather around your bead on either side of the mandrel that protrudes. Keep in mind that you need enough glass on either side of the protruding mandrel so that it will not crack and still looks even with the center part of your beads. Initially your passes will stick out but as you melt them down they will start to get closer to the small protruding mandrel. 2b Always check the thickness of your glass application around the bead as this technique is not as forgiving as regular bead making. The extra mandrel makes it more challenging to get the glass to flow to fill in spots with less glass. 33

3 regional tutorial Canada continued 3 3a Step THREE a-b Continue to apply as much glass as you desire for thickness. Then proceed to melt it as evenly and as smooth as possible. Step THREE c I utilize my small mashers to help move and smooth the glass to maintain evenness throughout the melting process. Step FOUR a-f Check your glass distribution from all angles to ensure it is evenly distributed around the entire mandrel. When you are happy with your base bead you can proceed with decoration. I have employed a base dot pattern using white and then periwinkle stringer finishing off with cobalt raised dots. 3b Step FIVE To remove the bead from the mandrel pull the small mandrel out first. Be careful not to bend it on the way out or it is really hard to get in for the next use. 3c Once the small mandrel is removed, the large-hole bead will slip off the base mandrel. 34

4 4 4d 4a 4e 4b 4f 4c 5 35

5 regional tutorial Canada continued 6 Step SIX A variation of the round bead make it square. Step SEVEN a-c Here are some finished pieces that show several stringing possibilities: 7 Aqua and Pea Green Bracelet 7a Blue White and Periwinkle Demo Bead Bracelet 7b Pea Green and White Bracelet 7c Pea Green matching Pendant on Chain 7 7a 36

6 7b 7c 37

7 regional tutorial Midwest 1 DESERT BLOOM BEAD by Louise Little Photographs by Louise Little I have been making variations of this bead for about 10 years now, and it is still a favorite to make and to sell. Try using different colors of glass, enamels, silver foil, frit, and dichroic glass and each bead will be unique. 1a Materials: A dark transparent glass teal was used in this bead A light transparent glass aqua was used in this bead White stringer A silvered glass Triton by Double Helix Glassworks was used in this bead Dichroic strip cyan copper was used here Goldstone stringer Cubic Zirconia (CZ), 2mm Cushion press or graphite paddle Step ONE Lay down glass on your mandrel the length of your desired bead. To apply glass to a mandrel, I like to use the technique taught to me by Kristina Logan. My first wrap is a donut shaped bead that I flatten out. I then apply a large gather of glass to the lip or edge of this wrap. Then I apply heat to this lip to stretch and flatten the glass over onto the mandrel. Applying glass this way forces any air bubbles out and helps you develop perfect puckered ends. Continue applying wraps, heating, and marvering until the desired length is reached. 38

8 Step TWO Add some contrasting color before the second layer. After I lay down my base for the bead, I use goldstone stringer, silver foil, enamels or latticino. This step adds depth to the final bead. Make sure to melt it in. Step THREE Add a second layer of glass to build up your bead shape. I add the second layer of glass the same way as the first layer except this time I start in the center of the bead and work out to each end alternating the wraps. This technique assures that the bead stays hot. Step FOUR Add glass for the surface decoration. I swipe on the dichroic glass and the silvered glass around the middle of the bead. I add the glass here because I want a tabular shape to this bead. Melt this layer in and use a tungsten pick to arrange it. At this time, you can also add more stringer. When this layer is melted in, I marver the bead to the final desired shape. For this bead I make a football shape on the mandrel. Step FIVE Flatten the bead to form a tabular shape. Heat up the bead until it becomes molten, but doesn t loose its shape, and press it into a tabular shape. There are several ways to make a tabular shape. The easiest, and the way I made these beads for years, was to lay the bead on my graphite plate and press it while it was hot with a graphite paddle. 39

9 regional tutorial Midwest continued Step FIVE a I like to use this Jim Moore tool because it adds a slight curve to the bead and the edges thin out. Step SIX Add the bloom. In the upper right hand corner of the bead apply five dots in a circle with the white stringer. With a hot flame (add some oxygen), I heat up the flower, pointing the heat directly to the center of the five dots, and melt the dots in. You should see the dots migrate a little to the center where the heat has been directed. While the area is still hot, use a tungsten pick to indent the glass at the center of the bloom. Step SEVEN Add a cubic zirconia for the center of the flower. Heat the center of the flower again and push a 2mm cubic zirconia right into the indentation made previously. TIP: Make sure when you purchase CZ s that you buy stones labeled cast in place. These stones can withstand the heat of the flame. And to easily add a cubic zirconia as the stamen of a flower, glue your stone first to the top of a mandrel. I use a 1/16" mandrel and Elmer s glue. Make sure the pointed part of the stone is up. Then I put the mandrels in a coffee can filled with sand until I am ready to place the stone into the hot glass. When you insert the stone, the glue burns away and you have a perfectly placed stone. Some more desert blooms. 5a