Encased and Shiny Triton

These two sets were in my Etsy shop recently. The first is encased Triton with shiny Triton scroll designs on the outside:To make the core of these beads, I started with a small Triton bead and added a few dots of Kronos, then dots of clear, then more dots of Triton. This gave the core an organic, textured look. Then I reduced it and wrapped a large blob of clear around it. When I melted the clear down, it stretched out the Triton designs underneath. It's difficult to see the true beauty of these beads in a photo. In this photo, you can see the layers a little more clearly:Here is the second set, some Triton rondelles that got a nice pink color:

Large Triton Disks

I've been working this past week at getting my "disk mojo" back. As I said before, some days I can make a spiral disk and some days I can't. I've been practicing this technique for over a year, and still, making nice, round spiral disks is extremely challenging.

I was pleased this week to get a little mojo back and also see my skills improve. I made some large metallic Triton disks, one particularly large at 23mm. The other two in front are 20mm and 19mm:I was able to make the large disks because I figured out how to continuously melt and apply more glass to the disk as I'm making it. Previously, I would melt a blob of glass on the end of a rod and hold it to the side of the flame as I applied it to the mandrel to make a disk. Doing it that way, my disk could only contain as much glass as the molten blob I started with. I couldn't figure out how to heat more glass mid-stream and still keep a decent disk shape. I will try to repeat this next time I'm at the torch, because I had a customer ask me for a 28mm disk last week and I had to turn her down because I didn't have the skill. Maybe I'm finally working up to it now. Making large, perfect disks has been a goal of mine for a long time!

I also have some of my regular-sized disks up in my Etsy shop right now. I have a set of 8 and a set of 10, all sized about 15-18mm:Have a peaceful weekend folks :-)

Blue and Gold Eclectic Set

Another mixed metallic glass set... I can't stop making these, I love them! This one is Triton and Kronos:

:-)

Wrapped Disk Beads

Here's a bead shape I love to make - I call it the wrapped disk. These are Triton:These are Kronos:I love the purples on these beads. There are other colors too, like magenta and gold that aren't really visible in this particular photo. I've never gotten much besides blue and green before with Kronos. I tried reducing the glass a little bit differently than I usually do, which probably why I got the color. I waved the Kronos beads back and forth quickly at the tip of the yellow reducing cones, just like I do to get color from Triton.

Both of these sets are in my Etsy shop.

Triton and Ivory Beads

Triton and Ivory glass have an interesting chemical reaction when they're combined. A dark line forms along the outside edge of the Ivory, and the Ivory gets a crackled, organic look. This set has a Triton base with Ivory scroll designs, in my Etsy shop right now:In May I wrote a blog entry about some Ivory beads with Triton scroll designs. Here's a photo of those beads, which got a very crackled look on the Ivory:

Eclectic Set and a Focal Bead

Here's another one of my mixed sets, this one with mostly Triton but also a lot of Nyx and Kronos. This is one of my favorite sets so far. There are some interesting beads in this mix, and I love the purple color on the bead on the far left. That purple color is from Nyx!This is a Triton/Kronos/Nyx focal bead I made recently. It has a little bit of gold and silver leaf, and it's encased in clear:

Nyx Spiral Disks

I seem to have "disk days" and "NOT disk days." A not-disk-day is when no matter how many times I try, the disks melt into blobs, they're all uneven, they fall over sideways, etc, etc. I don't know why some days I can make them and some days I can't. On a recent good disk day, I made this set of Nyx disks, in my Etsy shop right now:

More... er... uh... Triton!

Are there really other glass colors? I've been dubbed "Queen Triton" by someone on the Lampwork, Etc. message board. The royal Leo in me does not shun this title. :-D

Here are the latest jewels from the throne, two photos of a set of encased Triton beads decorated with raised scroll designs also in Triton:What I love about this set is how the encased Triton turned different colors in each bead. I think it depends on how much heat the bead got and how long I worked it in the flame.

Another set of Triton disk beads, too. I'm getting my disk mojo back:Back to the torch! Happy day everyone!

August: Birthdays, a Good Book, and Triton

It's hard to believe this is my first post in August. I've had a wonderful and busy month so far. August 1st was my daughter's 8th birthday, and the 5th was my 40th birthday!

Also, I've been engrossed in an incredible book: "Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home" by Nando Parrado. This is the story of the plane that crashed in 1972 in the high Andes, carrying a Uruguayan rugby team and their friends and families. The event is probably most memorable for the fact that the survivors of the crash had nothing to eat for two months besides the crash victims. Nando Parrado is one of the survivors of the crash, and the book is his account of the event and his 10-day trek out of the Andes to find help. I was only 4 years old in 1972, but I remember my father telling me about this story. It's very moving. Anyone who has read Nando's book or the other book about the event, "Alive" by Piers Paul Read can probably understand why this story has taken over my consciousness for the past few weeks.

Amidst all of this I've been continuing to make a lot of Triton beads. I'm totally obsessed with Triton! When I sit down for a torch session, all I want to make are these sets:

This is a set of Triton rondelles:

A set of Triton disks:

As you can see I'm obsessed with Triton. I love making the mixed sets. I've made so many mixed sets lately that I forgot how to make the thin spiral disks! It took me 3 days of practice before I was able to get one decent disk again!