Practice, Practice, Practice Creating Hollow Glass Beads

As I continue my "Practice, Practice, Practice" work with hollow beads, I have some results of recent work to share with you.

The technique I used was creating the two sides of the bead on a 3/32" mandrel and then connecting the two sides and closing the gap. Shaping the bead in the heat and allowing the internal air to heat up and inflate the hollow resulted in the bead sets below.

First up, This hollow features CiM Bewitched. This glass is a "streamer" glass with a clear base with indigo and purple streamers. 

It created the hollow and shaped it into the sphere and then added the dots of Double Helix Kalypso.

 Just a touch of reduction brought the multiple hue metallic shine to the surface of each dots. The spacer beads are CiM Bewitched.

I was lucky to get a CiM Seconds rod bundle back in April at Nortel and I have started to try a few of the rods in this selection. 

The first unlabelled rod in the bundle looks like possibly CiM Nymph or Persian Green.

This is a simple hollow that shows the misty color so beautifully.

This next hollow was simply made with with the same as above with some streams of CiM Amazon Misty and Double Helix Melia. 

The striations of the silver glass created a pretty mother of pearl reaction that has just a hint of a sparkle when it is closely observed. 

It is unfortunately that it is very difficult to capture in a photograph. 

The spacers are CiM Aiko, a vivid transparent teal green that compliments the hollow focal bead.

The next bead set is simply CiM Aiko. I am pleased with this hollow!

It is such a beautiful vivid transparent teal green. 

The spacers are also CiM Aiko.

The next rod I tried in the CiM Seconds Mystery bundle created these hollows sets below. 

As the rods are not labelled, I am guessing that it may be related to Cerulean or another CiM transparent aqua blue.

A lovely trio of hollows with matching spacers!

This glass does have some micro bubbles suspended in the glass... like little bubbles in the ocean!

Finally, a bead set with a single hollow with 2 spacers on each side.

How do you think I did with my session of hollow bead making?

These will be going up on Etsy over the next day or so.

It looks like CiM Aiko, Cerulean and Nymph are not currently available. 

CiM Bewitched is showing in stock in the online shopping cart at Nortel.
Reach out to Jean or Jennifer at Nortel for your glassy needs!

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Hollows - On My Annual Technique Pursuit of Creating Hollow Glass Beads

About once or twice a year, I spend a day working on making hollow beads. 

Usually I end up with some wonky egg shaped hollows as my technique is not the most efficient for heat control.

I am fortunate to not having any disasters or explosions of glass, but my end result beads are certainly not perfect - Is that what they call One Of A Kind? 😉
I am still in search for the best technique to consistently create hollows. Suggestions from my fellow glass artists is always welcome!

This post will show the various hollow beads from my Easter break.
My goals for each bead was:
- Clean Bead holes
- Some expansion of each hollow bubble
- Each bead survived a night in the kiln and emerged with no cracks.

Let's take a look at the beads!

 

CiM's Lake Baikal is one of my favourite glasses. I love the striations of red and blue that run through each rod that transmit wisps of lavender within the blue base glass.

These 3 hollows are pure Lake Baikal with the centre bead wrapped with 99% fine silver wire. These beads range in measurement of 22.4mm to 28.6mm hole to hole.

On the same blue theme, CiM Jetstream was the main glass in these two hollow beads.

 

 

One bead, egg shaped, was wrapped with 99% fine silver wire measuring 26.9mm hole to hole.
The other bead has CiM Ming added to each bead end measuring 31.6mm hole to hole

This bead was my most success in creating a round hollow bead shape. It was created on a base of CiM Leaky Pen. Leaky Pen is a very dense transparent glass that in hindsight should have been diluted with clear to show the true color in the hollow round. 

 

 

I placed a wrap of Double Helix Psyche silver glass around the centre, a couple wraps of 99% fine silver wire and melted it in to secure the silver droplets. This bead measures 18.4mm X 21.7mm.

These next two hollows are bright for spring composed of CiM Scotch Broom glass with silvered ivory stringer decoration. CiM Scotch Broom is a luminous golden yellow with varying degrees of transparency/opalescence. These range in size of 17mm to 21.1mm hole to hole.

 

CiM's Beeswax Misty is a soft pale misty opal yellow that can strike to a deeper amber depending on the time and temperature it is worked. In this hollow, the centre glass was shouldered with Double Helix silver glass known as OX 459, an emerald green luster that shines to a metallic sheen when reduced. The gentle wrap of 99% fine silver completes the bead.

Finally, two hollows of bright green for sunshine days of summer!
CiM's Budgerigar is a candy colored yellowy green misty opal that creates the hollows of these two beads.
Hollow 1 is a simple one with a wrap of 99% fine silver wire measuring 21.8mm hole to hole.

 

 

Hollow 2 is measured 25mm X 25mm with streams of Double Helix OX 459 melted in and reduced to create the reactive golden streams for this one of a kind bead.

Each hollow bead would look great on a simple chain!

Glass availability at the time of this post may be available through Nortel. I purchased Lake Baikal there recently. Budgerigar, Scotch Broom, Beeswax Misty, Leaky Pen and Ming are showing as available in their online cart. Jetstream may be available at other CiM distributors.

I purchase my glass from Jennifer and Jean at Nortel in Toronto. Reach out to them for your glassy needs.
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#cimbudgerigar
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@nortel_glassgirl

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2021 Color - Carefree Ltd Run

Carefree Ltd Run is another of the new streamer glasses offered this year by CiM - Creation Is Messy. Carefree is a clear glass base with green, purple, and blue streamers.

I have found that these streamer glasses are beautiful to work with and I enjoy making hollow beads with them.

These simple hollows are made with this glass and the streamers are seen faintly through the bead's circular sphere. 

Definitely want to try this again with shoulder beads of a darker transparent or reduction silver glass.

Til next time.
D.


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