I just got my Terra today! I'm on a Hothead and actually, I got a gorgeous purple right off the bat! I've been doing some reading on LE lately, in preparation. Someone (maybe Sarah Hornik) said to heat it a lot and then cool to a no-glow state, then heat a bit again for a brownish color, then repeat to get the good colors to blossom.
Well, I'm confused, because I got no brownish color, only the most amazing purple! When I tried repeating the process, the color actually became less and less. Go figure.
On my next practice bead, I did exactly the same thing (I thought
)
and it came out almost all a pale greenish color. Where'd the purple go??
On the third bead, I used a base of regular ivory and just did little swipes on it with the Terra. The color developed immediately! It was stunning until I thought I'd try to get more out of it by repeating the cooling process. It's still pretty, but lost some of the magic.
Then I did a black base with simple dots. I couldn't for the life of me get any color reaction, so I tried encasing. Then these lovely, pastel hues appeared.
Anyway, here's the thing. I tried going pretty hot, but actually, I found the lower the better! You know when the HH is so low, it seems like it's on the verge of going out? Well, I got the best color when the flame was just a little more open than that. So from 1-10, I was working at about a 3-4.
Of course, I ordered from the odds/shorts sale, so the rod I used happened to be like, a 3mm. Maybe that makes a difference somehow, since it obviously heated quicker. I'll post some pics when I get them out of the kiln.