Basic shapes...

[MardiGrasGlass]

Is there a prescribed order that one should implement when learning to bead?

When I was younger and in art lessons, we had to perfect shading a cone, sphere, and cube before we could go on to bigger pictures.

Does anyone prefer a special order of shapes when teaching so that students build their technique?

[blueyez]

Is there a prescribed order that one should implement when learning to bead?

When I was younger and in art lessons, we had to perfect shading a cone, sphere, and cube before we could go on to bigger pictures.

Does anyone prefer a special order of shapes when teaching so that students build their technique?

I'd say learning how to make a perfectly balanced bead with puckers would be a good place to start. Also barrels and completely round beads with no pucker. Those still give me a bit of trouble at times.

[MardiGrasGlass]

It is the strangest thing... when I am working with black, I can make the most perfect bead, with the perfect puckers or dimples or whatever. Any other color just downright sucks... Although I was watching some tut's on youtube today and I dont thing I am placing the bead in the right place. Since I started, I would heat the intersection of the rod and the mandrel, instead of heating the rod so the glass flows to the bead. And more often than not, I would have the rod "freeze" up and I'd have to sit there and reheat the rod until I could continue to turn the mandrel.

I kinda skipped the basic shaped bead and went right to cylinders and bicones. And after playing for a week, now I am wanting to get down to business and start "serious" learning...

[Raven Wylder]

Chris, try heating a mm or two above the intersection of the rod and the flame and keep it there. The glass below should be molten enough to flow and not seize on the mandrel while your heating more glass to flow.

I've found black to be one of the more denser glasses (works with both trans black or the dense black). That would probably explain why it's easy to make the round dimpled beads. Try the same with white and clear or any trans. White will melt faster and harder to control, and clear should be in between the two.

Now for shapes: perfectly round, centered, and dimpled beads (make them in every color you have - it's great practice and a way to have a sample of the glass). Once you have that down, same criteria, centered and dimpled just different shapes: barrel/olive, cylinder, cone, bicone, disc, square, after that it's pretty much whatever shape you can think of.