Here's the stuff from the last two days, did a couple more pipes and some pendants today I'll try to put up tomorrow. Take two of the wrap and rake silver fumed spoon, gave the last one to a friend: Stuck a reversal ball on the end of this spoon and blew it out into a single form: Used the rest of the pull on this wig wag dish: Mushroom pendant: Implosion pendant done on tubing: And another with a silver fumed mushroom stuck in the bottom: And another: And another with a trapped air bubble: And of course another tube implosion: And yet another mushroom pendant, gotta do one a day atleast: Catch ya'll soon!
There seems to be an endless library of techniques for making this stuff. You start with different sizes of clear rods, color rods, and tubing, they are manipulated with the flame through a combination of heat, gravity, centrifigual force, blowing, tools, etc. This is my interpretation, I'm sure a more experienced flameworker would be able to explain it all better. But for implosions basically if you are doing them on a rod you gather up a large ball, press it down into a disk, place colored glass dots/design/pattern on the face of the disk, and melt the disk back down into a ball by heating the edge of the disk and letting the glass flow inwards, you can change your results by compressing the glass down more onto a graphite pad or melting it in at certain angles, letting it droop, etc. Implosions done on a rod are more correctely called compressions. I've started doing them on tubing though, I just start with a 2-4 inch section of tubing connected to a smaller bore blowtube to start with. I've been heating about a 1/3 of the tube and blowing it into a decent bubble, doing my dots/design (you can do this before blowing a bubble or don't even blow a bubble for other effects) and then melting the tube down slowely from the end of the bubble twoards the blow tube, this causes the glass to melt inwards to itself doing the implosion effect and at the same time chasing out the air in that part of the tube. You want to include as much clear glass as you will need for a lense as well. And then the same will apply as if you did it on a rod, you can tilt it, let it droop, compress it down, to get different effects. Then I do a cold seal (temp seal) with a punty (rod used as a handle) to the back of the pendant, heat and stretch the rest of the tube off while at the same time blowing a hole in it so I can tear it away safely. Then you really just have to remove or melt in any excess glass without trapping air. And that's about it for those two techniques. I don't mind trying to answer any questions people have.
Here's yesterday's work. Spoons: Four jellyfish pendants: Tube implosion pendant: Cheer's y'all more to come of course!
Did a few things the other day, including my first millie pull, it was just a simple signature millie too small to really photograph well. Here's the other stuffs. Pendant: Spoon with implosion mib: One-hitter: One-hitter with silver fumed horn: Also ordered some asia pink colored tubing and some green too, and some GonG joints to play around with. More to come!
Got some GonG joints in to mess with, no special graphite holder tool yet though so will have to wing it: Also got some Asian pink and blue/green tubing in, 25mm heavy wall to have fun with; More to come!
New sturfs. Mushroom pendant, some random sparkle over yellow: Wrap and rake implosion pendant: Another implosion pendant: Spoon with marble: First oil dome: Cheers y'all more to come!
Sick pieces!! I love the horns on the spoons, and the mushroom in the bubble on the oil dome. You're really making progress, with each post your pieces look better and better.
Moar work. Carl Sagan millie encasement, got some air trapped around him but was focusing on getting a good solid backing color, backed with GA Eclipse (black): Steamroller, birthday present. China pink tubing, silver fumed, with mushroom, dicro, Carl Sagan millie, and Panda millie marbles: Cheers y'all more to come as always!
Thanks man! I got some more pics to put up soon! Also my current studio is moving a distance from me so I won't be able to work as much, so when I do work I will have to make the most of it.
Work from last weekend. Silver fumed color changing spoon with marble: Silver fumed spoon made from 25mm green tubing. Has a yellow encased with sparkle mushroom marble and an extended carb. Largest spoon I've made yet. Cheer's yall! More to come, waiting on new studio to be setup.