Update from the bench...So far it's not going much better than before. Even if I am able to lay down nice, even stringer lines, they seem to be balling up before they actually melt in all the way, leaving me with globs instead of petals. As the glass starts to sink into the clear, the lines gather themselves from the center high point of each line, and if I flatten the maria to try to maintain the shape of the line, it blurs, even with very gentle pressure. On top of that, when I get it all compressed, the clear lens seems to press down on the flower from the top and smoosh the colors all into a flat plane when I go to shape the bottom.
I'm obviously not expecting an instant miracle, but it's a little confounding because I've practiced most of the techniques involved for quite some time; compression/implosion is not a new concept to me, and I've made hundreds of pendants and marbles with murrini, dot patterns, and frit. But when I look at the lacy, delicate and well defined petals and leaves you folks have achieved, I think there must be a basic glass mismanagement issue going on here. What am I missing - any further suggestions?
Thanks
Martha
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