The prep work consists of pulling three canes, a simple milli,
a twisted cane, and a striped cane. The milli is made by gathering three
colors, one over the next. Keep the glass being gathered over relatively
cool so the colors don't mix. Then impress a score into the gather (I
use a butter knife or file, an optic mold is the easiest way). Then fill
in the score mark. I usually use a dark transparent that I have pulled
into stringers to do this. Repeat as many times as needed. Try to keep
the scores fairly deep and even. Then thinly case the whole gather with
the same transparent. Using a marver heat and shape the gather into a
football shape. Attach a handle so you have a sturdy handle on each side.
Heat the football concentrating most of the heat in the center part, which
is thickest. When it is evenly hot to an orange yellow hue, and is pliable.
Remove the gather from the torch, wait for a second or two to let a skin
form, then pull it down to 2 to 3mm. This type of milli can be purchased
from most glass suppliers.
Make the twisted cane by striping different colors on a 10mm clear
(in this case greens). Then clear is striped on, between and over the
colors. As with the milli cane a football shape is formed, handle attached,
the gather heated, but as you pull this cane the ends are twisted in opposing
directions to make the twist. If you find yourself loosing control of
the gather when you try to pull it heat it a little less or let it cool
more before you pull. This requires developing a feel and ability to read
heat base.
Make the striped cane by clear coating a gather of opaque glass
and pulling it to a 2mm stringer. Make a gather of a contrasting color
and stripe it with the stringer. This gather is formed and pulled as the
other canes. Pull it to a diameter of 2 to 3mm.
The Technique
Start the technique by attaching a milli chip to the end of the
striped cane. I preheat the milli chip on a hot plate.
I use tweezers to pick up the milli. Then in a sharp, small, neutral
flame the chip and the cane are heated and joined together. (Fig.1) Heat
is gently applied to the tip until it fuses to the cane and forms a ball.
(Fig.2) The flame is then turned up to a larger neutral flame. A gather
is formed on the end of a 10mm rod. The gather is formed into a tear drop
shape either with marver or by heating and allowing to droop. The tip
of the cane with the milli on the end has to be flashed in the flame occasionally
to prevent shocking
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Allow the gather on the 10mm to chill momentarily then heat the bottom
third. Just as the tip of the gather approaches white-hot and becomes runny,
heat the tip of the milli cane to orange, remove it from the flame. As the
milli cane passes from orange to dark red, remove the 10mm gather from the
flame. Hold the 10mm rod with the gather pointing down. Push the tip of
the milli cane into the gather to a depth of about 1/4 inch. (Fig.3) Wait
for a moment to let the glass flow around the cane and eliminate air bubbles.
Then push the cane into the gather. As it hits the cooler upper section
of the gather it will roll outward, forming a mushroom. Pull down slightly
at the end of the push. (Fig.4)
Fig.3
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Fig.4 |
Let it cool just enough to stiffen then flame off the striped cane.
Pick up the twisted cane and heat and wrap it around the bottom off the
bead. Twist the twisted cane as you apply it so as to twist it tighter.
Take a 4 or 5mm clear and heat and wrap it around the bead at the bottom
to even out the shape. (Fig.5) As you are doing all these things you have
to take time to reheat the 10mm handle were it joins the tear drop gather.
This point wants to shock and crack. If it does crack, and it often does,
attach a punty to the bottom of the bead and fuse it back together in the
flame.
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Fig.5 Fig.6
At this point I pick the side that looks best. On the opposite side
the bead is heated and then laid down in some aventurine frit. The frit
is melted in and a background color is added. (Fig.6) The bead is then flattened
slightly (not so much as to crush the mushroom) and formed into a pleasing
shape. A punty is attached to the bottom of the bead. The top of the bead
is heated, removed from the flame, and pulled down to 5 to 6mm. (Fig.7)
I let this cool until it is stiff, then flame it off leaving a 1/2 to 3/4
inch thin section to bend into a hook. A pair of round needle nose jewelry
pliers is used to bend the heated section and touch it to the back of the
bead then tugged straight. (Fig.8) The pliers are removed and the touch
point is heated to fuse it to the back. As the hook is allowed to cool for
a few seconds heat the pliers in the torch. When the hook is stiff grab
it with the pliers and snap off the punty. Flame the punty mark smooth in
the torch.
(Fig.9) When the bead is
cool enough not on take on shelf marks put it in the annealer.
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Fig.7 Fig.8 Fig.9
Jellyfish
The jellyfish bead is only a little more difficult to make. We will
cover having multiple occurrences of the pushing technique in the same piece
so we can have more then one jellyfish in a bead. The jellyfish has two
parts, the mantle that is formed by creating a milli, and the tentacles,
that are made of a multilayer striped cane.
The milli for the mantle is something I still play around with. There
are so many different types of jellyfish. A store bought milli can be used
but I will describe my latest experiments so you can give them a try if
you like. Alabastros have a nice translucent quality to them. They are also
prone to thermal shock and must be preheated in the kiln to a temp of 1000degF
or they pop off the rod. Get a gather of white opaque and case it thinly
with red, pink, or coral. Case over that with white. Pull this out so you
have 6" of cane about 3/8 in diameter. Set this aside in the kiln with
a handle out so you cane retrieve it. Get a gather of white alabostro going
and transfer it to a 10mm handle. Gather clear over it so the thickness
of the clear is the same as the diameter of the gather of alabastro. This
should end up being about 3/4" in diameter. The cane made previously
is removed from the kiln. One side of each cane is heated and are lightly
pressed together. The smaller cane is nipped off even with the end of the
gather with a pair of end nipper pliers. Clear is striped on each side of
the applied cane. The same is done on the opposite side. This is repeated
so that four equally spaced additions are made. Clear is striped into the
valleys to fill out the cylinder. This is marvered out and evened up. A
stripe of alabastro white is applied over the center of the valleys. Clear
is gathered over this then a layer of white opaque. Scores are impressed
into this and filled with transparent light turquoise. Finally a thin layer
of transparent light turquoise all over. Pull this down to 3 to 4mm.
The cane for the tentacles is started by first making two filigree.
A gather of white is cased over thickly with clear and pulled down to 3mm.
The same is done with a gather of alabastro white. A gather of light pink
is rolled through gold adventurine and cased over with gold pink (rubino
oro) and pulled down to 4mm. A gather of clear is started, the pink cane
is striped on 4 side and clear is striped over it to encase it. The filigree
are laid on alternating with each other all the way around the gather. They
are applied by heating a strip on the gather and one side of the filigree,
then laid on gentle and snapped off at the end of the gather with end nippers.
These are applied this way to keep them round so they look more like tentacles.
Fill this out with clear to form a cylinder. Pull it out to 3 to 4mm.
The jellyfish are made in much the same way as a mushroom. Place
a dot of opaque white on the end of the tenticle cane. A piece of mantle
milli is joined to the tentacle cane and pushed. At the end of the push
the striped cane is snapped off with end nipper pliers. Clear must be gathered
over the end of the bead so that the fish float. When the first jellyfish
is completed a handle is attached to the bottom and the original handle
flamed off. This is set aside in a 1000degF kiln to keep it from shocking.
Another jellyfish is made the first is retrieved from the kiln and the two
joined together. This is heated and shaped, the bottom handle removed. A
sea floor is added to the bottom by inserting a gold, green, or blue piece
of adventurine. Millis are added to simulate other sea life. Some green
twisties are applied to the back. A piece of blue dicro is added to the
back and cobalt blue transparent applied over it. These are all techniques
I learned from the Patti Walton Aquarium video. The bead is then shaped,
hooked, and put in the annealer.