And another day at the torch

I was still curious about the silver brown reaction on black and so had to give it another try.

This is much more what I was expecting. This time, I was sure to reduce the finished bead, just waved it through the flame and this is what happened.

I thought it required encasing, but I didn't do any of that and a gorgeous reaction happened all on its own.

I haven't made any vessels for a while and my selection was looking a little slim, so I had decided to work on a few of them.

This is the first one I made. A green opalino base with some sprinkles of spring frit. green scrolled stems with little candy flowers dancing on them.

I was so anxious to show this that it really isn't finished. It'll get wired and a cork or maybe a fancy top will be applied. Same goes for the last vessel on this page.

To the left, you will see two different views of, in my opinion, one of the most interesting vessels I have ever made.

It's interesting and beautiful.

The base is a grey-blue opaque glass and the handle and "decorations" are made of silver plum. Silver plum is a very cool purple glass that blooms in the right flame to become silver.

The decorations on the vessel are shards, which are a very thin pieces of a bubble that is blown with the glass and then broken when it has cooled. The pieces are applied very carefully so that the shards will just melt onto the shape rather than ball up from too much heat.

After everything is on the vessel, it is flashed in the flame and the silver appears. It is like magic happening before my eyes!

Finally, I have been thinking of making a new moon vessel.

I formed the vessel and then began the moonlit sky. The stars skimming across the sky are fine silver wire, melted in to become spots of shining silver in the lapis sky.

The moon was added and then I thought some filmy clouds would make this moon vessel different from the others I have made in the past.

I remember one night, long ago being with some friends looking up at the sky. It was full of wispy clouds and the moon just sailed along through the clouds, never completely covered, but dancing in and out of the "veils". One of my friends called it a Hamlet moon and ever since, when I would look up and see the moon peeking in and out of clouds, I think of her and that long-ago night.