Another koi splashing around with some simple round beads. The lovely blue is a perfect compliment to the fresh CiM Butternut featured in the koi design.
Showing posts with label color. Show all posts
Showing posts with label color. Show all posts
Experimenting with Surface Decoration
The combination of materials to create a new color which wasn't originally in the mix is always an exciting find. Detailed notes help one to recreate the reaction at a later date. I would highly recommend flameworkers to keep a studio journal of sorts. Enjoy!
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Cotswold, Serenity, Merryweather, Sacre Bleu
Cotswold Ltd. Run is a muted turquoise. The opaque glass reminds me of CiM Quetzal, but with heavy gray undertones. The glass feathered nicely when paired with fine silver foil and an Lapis Ivory. No shocking or bubbling occurred during testing.
Color Guides
Finishing up detailed color guides for the upcoming workshop. The abundance of information can be a little overwhelming, so I like to have cheat sheets for students to refer to later. It only takes a moment of distraction to miss something important.
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Spook, Enchanted, Venus, Siren, Poolside
Colors from Left to Right: Spook, Enchanted, Venus, Siren, Poolside
Venus initially looks to be a pale pink in rod form, however when the glass meets the flame a light peachy amber hue emerges. Light hazing occurred during testing. See photo above for bead sample.
Spook is a heavenly white. The glass remains clean and crisp when paired with other CiM colors. Over a Effetre Pastel White base, the glass mimics Mother of Pearl. No shocking or bubbling occurred during testing. The glass does not reveal any hint of red, other than a pale pink glow when paired with purple. The glass becomes murky when combined with Rubino Oro.
Enchanted is a pale pink lavender. When compared to Effetre Transparent Dark Lavender, the new CiM color has a lighter plum hue (see sample photo below). Light hazing occurred during testing but cleared up as the glass became molten.
Colors from Left to Right: CiM Enchanted, Effetre Trans. Dk Lavender
Siren is a pale transparent green. The glass seems to color shift during the final flamepolish on the hollow example bead. During the initial testing of the ribbed round, the glass remained clean and crisp in color. There was a bit of initial hazing during the flamework process. No shocking or bubbling occurred.
Poolside is an exciting new addition to the CiM family. The vibrant transparent teal has an electric look in bright light. The glass held crisp lines during sculpting and the color remained clean when paired with fine silver and silver reactive glass.
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Byzantium, Meadow, Ecru, Musk, Allspice
From left to right: Byzantium, Meadow, Ecru, Musk, Allspice
Musk Ltd. Run is a transparent, honey-kissed, mountain dew. The vivid color is very similar to Effetre Kelp 090, but Musk is slightly more intense. No shocking or bubbling during testing.Allspice Ltd. Run is a cinnamon alabaster. Extended flameworking yields a rich, woody blush to the smooth finish. No shocking or bubbling during testing. (Pictured above)
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Slate, African Violet, Jet Stream, Cleopatra, Ceylon
From left to right: Pulsar, Royal, Jet Stream, Cleopatra, Ceylon
Slate Ltd. Run is a pale gray blue. The subtle transparent glass reminds me of a Midwestern sky before a Spring thunderstorm. The stiff glass presses easily and holds shape nicely while adding intricate surface decoration. No bubbling, hazing, or shocking during testing.
African Violet Ltd. Run is a rich, transparent purple which is true to it's name. The intense color is difficult to capture in a photograph. Similar to most transparent colors, the glass holds shape well to create a solid base bead. The glass would best showcase it's vibrant color as an encasement over a light base color.
Ceylon Ltd. Run is a transparent, smoky topaz. No hazing or bubbling during testing. Very clean and crisp. The stiff crystalline glass has a lovely slightly pink glow. Much darker than CiM Chateau which has a amber tint, Ceylon's color is more muted leaning toward a more neutral spectrum.
Jet Stream Ltd. Run is slightly lighter version of Royal Ltd. Run with a soft kiss of navy. When used to encase fine silver, the glass flowed nicely without being too stiff. The fine silver foil remained bright and clean without reaction.
Cleopatra Ltd. Run is a vivid amethyst. The dark purple leans toward the red-violet region on the color chart. Like most transparents, the glass is stiff. The rich hue can easily be showcased when used to encase a lighter base color. No shocking, hazing or bubbling during testing.
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Velveteen, Pistachio Ice Cream, Toto, Tamarind, Experimental
Colors from left to right: Toto, Pistachio Ice Cream, Velveteen
Velveteen Ltd. Run is an alabaster beauty. The glass begins as a soft caramel with slight pink undertones. When flamepolished for an extended period time, a burgundy blush blooms in the glass. Truly a unique beauty in the CiM line. No shocking or bubbling.
Pistachio Ice Cream Ltd. Run is well named. The opaque glass has a soft gray-green hue which will pair nicely with any seasonal palette. The versatile color was a joy to work with. No shocking or bubbling.
Toto Ltd. Run is a rich tortoise brown. The glass initially is a bit muted in color, however when flamepolished for an extended period of time, a deep, rich golden-brown emerges. A very desirable color for sculpting or organic forms.
Another view:
Colors from left to right: Olive, Pistachio Ice Cream, Velveteen, Toto, Tamarind
Experimental Ltd. Run
Experimental Ltd. Run is a clean, crisp transparent. No bubbling or hazing during testing. When used for encasing a silver rich glass during flameworking an implosion technique with gold mica, the glass flowed nicely. In comparison to Effetre 004, the CIM glass is buttery soft and encases easily, where the Effetre is sift and a bit unforgiving.
CiM experimental is on the left and Effetre 004 is on the right.
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Class M Planet, Denim, Mockingbird, Splash, Halong Bay
Pictured above from left to right:
Class M Planet, Denim, Mockingbird, Splash, and Halong Bay.
Denim is a transparent backpack blue. The color exhibits the perfect color of denim blue with a nice balance of gray, but without any green. No shocking occurred during testing. Light bubbling/fizzing occurred, but quickly corrected itself. (Pictured above in the comparison photo.)
Mockingbird would best be described as a soft gray otter in color. The transparent color is akin to CiM's opaque Nimbus in hue and saturation. No shocking or bubbling occurred during testing. (Center bead, pictured in comparison photo.)
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Quetzal, Yellow Brick Road, Painted Hills
Pictured above from left to right: Painted Hills, Yellow Brick Road, Toto, Garnet, and Emperor.
Painted Hills is a warm vanilla color. Initially, the glass is milky white when heated, but the soft golden yellow tone begins to bloom as the glass cools. A beautiful addition to the CiM family. No shocking or bubbling occurred during testing.
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Aloha, Elf, Blue Arrow Frog, Prairie Grass, Garnet
Aloha is a vibrant tropical blue. The slightly darker than turquoise Fremen, the opaque color reminds me of a spring Bluebird. The glass was easy to mold. No shocking, bubbling or color distortion occurred during testing. (Turquoise accent color in the Koi cabochon pictured below.)
Koi Cabochon features Aloha, Elf, and Blue Arrow Frog.
Elf is a cheery, Holiday green. A darker version of CiM's new Pixie, the glass is shaped with ease. With extended working, only slight gloss streaking occurred. No bubbling. Minor shocking occurred during testing which can be avoided by pre-warming rods. (Elf is featured as the lily pad detail in the Koi cabochon. Pictured above.)
Ogre Toe set features Prairie Grass, Garnet accent rounds.
Garnet is a dark, berry-stained red. The glass easily strikes with little effort. The rich color blooms into a saturated blood red. From Valentine's Day to Halloween, this glass is perfect for fun Holiday designs throughout the entire year. Counting the days until the release date! (Accent rounds in the Ogre Toe bead set.)
Prairie Grass is a happy, citrus green. Akin to Elphaba this color is not streaky with extensive gloss striations. No shocking or bubbling occurred during testing. (Main color in the Ogre's Toe bead.)
Creation is Messy New Color Testing: Blarney Stone, Pixie, Spearmint, Dragon, Envy
Pictured from left to right: Blarney Stone, Pixie, Spearmint, Dragon, and Envy.
Blarney Stone is a vibrant grass green. The glass was easy to shape and mold. Unlike other heavily pigmented greens, the glass did not fizz uncontrollably during testing, even with prolonged flame exposure. An envious color addition to the CiM palette. No shocking occurred.
Pixie is a bright alligator green. The elfish color addition nicely fills the color transition from green to green-blue in the CiM palette. No bubbling. Very minor shocking occurred during testing. (See comparison photo above)
Dragon a blushed avocado green. The baring many
similarities to Ogre, but with a more intense saturation of sage green.
Easy to shape and extremely forgiving. No bubbling or shocking occurred
during testing. (See comparison photo above)
Organizing Rogue Rods
Have you ever pulled a rod from the glass cabinet only to find you can't remember the correct spot to later store it? With variations and over 300+ colors in the CoE 104 family comes rogue rods. Here are a few tips and tricks to correctly reclassify pesky rods lingering around the studio.
Intense Black vs. Transparent Black: Pull a think stringer of the rod, approximately 1mm. If the stringer shows a transparent dark purple/black when held to a bright light, then the rod is transparent black. A fine stringer of Intense Black will remain opaque in a bright light:
Transparent Pinks: A few years back, I had 3 batches of transparent pinks become mixed. I placed the rods on a sheet of white paper to verify color differences in a bright light, however it was impossible tell the colors apart. In frustration, I bundled the glass and placed it on a shelf for later. By accident I notice the end segments of the rods were different colors. Taking the bundle outdoors in the bright sun, I was able to separate the colors by looking at the sliced end of the glass:
The Shadow Technique: Transparent glass allows the light to shine through, casting a shadow. The shadow projected on the foreground surface is unique to each color wavelength. Notice the difference in the shadows of the CiM Testing photograph:
Intense Black vs. Transparent Black: Pull a think stringer of the rod, approximately 1mm. If the stringer shows a transparent dark purple/black when held to a bright light, then the rod is transparent black. A fine stringer of Intense Black will remain opaque in a bright light:
Transparent Pinks: A few years back, I had 3 batches of transparent pinks become mixed. I placed the rods on a sheet of white paper to verify color differences in a bright light, however it was impossible tell the colors apart. In frustration, I bundled the glass and placed it on a shelf for later. By accident I notice the end segments of the rods were different colors. Taking the bundle outdoors in the bright sun, I was able to separate the colors by looking at the sliced end of the glass:
Side view of sliced ends:
The Shadow Technique: Transparent glass allows the light to shine through, casting a shadow. The shadow projected on the foreground surface is unique to each color wavelength. Notice the difference in the shadows of the CiM Testing photograph:
So when in doubt, try a few of the techniques to help sort things out. Feel free to comment or send me an email with further questions.
Enjoy, Heather
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