Working with Van Gogh

[kimberly]

......................

[JavaGirlBT]

Thank you Kimberly. Your beads are gorgeous. I can't wait until my studio thaws so I can play with this awesome glass.

[josielv]

Kimberly, those are yummy!!! I don't have any van gogh yet, but this sure makes me want some!!!

[josielv]

I got to hold 2 of your beads over at suzy's the other day. One of them was round, I a long tube with a seahorse on it, and the other was green base flattened with a seahorse on it. BEAUTIFUL!! I just had to tell you that!!

[tasminann]

Kimberly, when you add the clear, is that stopping the reaction for that spot, similar to what happens with r-108?

[squid]

Kimberly - Lovely beads. Do you do the twists as you progress?

[dragon myst]

beautiful !

[squid]

Do you use bottled oxygen or an oxycon? I wonder if on my oxycons I can get a truly oxidizing flame.

[villa design]

*drool* Wow those are gorgeous Kimberly! I just got a pound of van gogh from Ron. Now I can't wait to play with it!

[CO_Phantom]

Hee. I have a funny story about my glass from Ron. I ordered a bunch of their colors (and I SO can't wait to play with them...thanks for the tips, Kimberly!!) I got 3/4 lbs of a clear glass, unlabelled. And I couldn't find my DaVinci anywhere! I had DaVinci2 and it looked nothing like this mystery glass. So, I emailed them and said, hey, I'm missing 3/4 lb of DaVinici, but I have 3/4ish lbs of a clear color that looks like diamond clear....

They emailed back "the clear stuff IS the DaVinci...if there is not a reduction environment in the furnace when it's pulled it turns out clear."

DUH! Now I feel stupid. =) I just thought I'd share.

Thanks for the tips on VanGoh! I am looking forward to getting those blues/purples out of this!

-Amy

[lavendar420]

Those beads are so colorful & fun! I've had good luck with this glass over ivory, encased with clear. but, i generally use lausca to encase, and am getting incompatibility cracks more often than i like with this technique. what clear are you using with the van gogh?

[tasminann]

Squid has a good question -- I am having a heck of a time with Van Gogh and DaVinci2 -- I'm wondering if my oxycons aren't putting out enough oxygen to get that really oxidizing flame.

[tasminann]

Try the diamond clear from R4 for a clear glass -- it is sooooooo nice!

[Hayley]

I use a Bobcat on one oxycon and have no problem getting colors out of Van Gogh thanks to Kimberly's tips on the Silver Colors thread! Thank you Kimberly! Now I just have to get into your Seattle class I am first on the wait list for . . .

[swanseafarm]

Gorgeous!

I can't afford VanGogh glass right now but I sure enjoy looking at your beads, Kimberly!

[Mr. Smiley]

Thank you Kimberly for posting this and for all your help at the show.... AND FOR THE GORGEOUS BEAD!

[tasminann]

*sigh* I am Van Gogh challenged. I just tried and got mud once again. Ok, I'll be fair -- I saw some pretty pretty colors at one point, but before my very eyes the blues and greens turned to...brown mud.

I saw the nice colors right after I pressed the bead, but before I could even fire polish it the colors changed on me.

[squid]

Thanks Kimberly

[ukiacat]

Thanks Kimberly, for starting this thread and explaining how you deal with this glass. I was just reading a section in Drew Fritt's marble making book the other night and it ties in with what you are doing. I'm not a marble maker but his book is very informative in regard to lots of things that also apply to beads. I keep it by the bed and I flip through it when I'm not quite ready to go to sleep. I happened to open the book to a section that focuses on boro that has silver in it. It explains how the silver works in glass. It talks about a nuclei and how the silver forms crystals that give the range of color in the finished work. The article explains that some silver glass forms the crystals easily, some glass forms the crystals and then loses them easily; according to how the heat is applied. Some need major amounts of heat to form. Some silver glass has a property that makes the color permanent once you achieve it. Other glass has to be cooled between heat applications in order to keep the color.

That's just a recap of what I read. But it got me thinking about the R-4 glass and the frustration of working with it when you don't understand what you are doing. Or, worse yet, the frustration of being successful one time and not the next. Unfortunately, the silver glass doesn't come with instructions as to which way works best when trying to form the crystals that give us the color in that particular glass.

I think Kimberly has hit on the fact that this glass needs lots of heat to form the silver crystals that produce the color.

I need to read the section in Drew's book again in order to get it to stick in my brain. I think, once I absorb it, it will give me a road map of what to try when I experiment with new silver colors. All this is a long way of saying that I recommend the book "Torchworked Marbles Vol 1", it might help you if you work with silver glass a lot. On the other hand, we also have treasures like Kimberly who guide us!

[ukiacat]

P.S.....does anybody else see the amazing fuschia color in the flame that forms around the rod when it is being melted????? I sure hope I'm not the only one who notices this . I haven't read any mention of this but I see it every time I work with it. It actually scares me so that now I wear a 3M respirator mask when I play with this glass [which has only been twice so far].
J

[ukiacat]

Originally Posted by kimberly

Yes, I see it each time. I also see it when I work with the Diamond Clear. I am wondering if it comes from lead. The mask is a good idea.

Okay, it's a big relief to know I'm not the only one who sees the fuschia color!!! Thank you Kimberly!!!! And thanks for confirming my theory that the R-4 must be like the silver boro and my feelings about Drew Fritts book!!! I feel like I won the lottery
J

[ukiacat]

Originally Posted by kimberly

SNORT!!! ROFL!!!! Well, it was a pretty small lottery!!

Hey now.....I'd rather win a class with you but I'll take what I can get

[Ekkie]

Thanks for the tutorial Kimberley. I was pretty frustrated with Van Gogh but can't wait to try again now. The colours in your beads are amazing and beautiful.

Jenn

[tasminann]

What frustrates me is that I also work boro and can get DAP to strike in boro, as well as get Caramel to those lovely pink shades. But Van Gogh doesn't like me (nor does DaVinci2).

However, there is still hope for me (I think). It wasn't until the other day that I finally was able to get raku to do it's thing for me. Hopefully it won't take me 2.5 years to figure out Van Gogh!

Kimberly, you're just going to have to come to Florida and do a class!

[DesertDreamer]

Thanks, Kimberly! It was a delight talking with you and seeing all your gorgeous beads! And yes, thanks to you, I did buy a bundle of Van Gogh. I'm printing this out!

[killerbeedz1]

I worked this set a about a month ago. At first I was dissappointed because I thought it turned out too dark, but once I put it in the sunshine all the colors pop out. Although I wish it would photograph better.

[Pat]

Thanks for the tutorial Kim. It helped me right away. The heat/cool is the trick. I think this is my favorite glass. It can't be encased in anything but the clear R4 makes. Compatibility issues I guess. It took a month but I finally got my clear and made some more. I hadn't thought about spot touching with the clear.

[Pat]

Do you treat the Divinci 2 the same way. I tried to reduce but I know this isn't what it's supposed to look like. Ack.

[lavendar420]

damn, i hate the idea of buying clear glass for that much money! ((sigh)) its is soo pretty though. i now have a great pile of beads to show my beginner students what incompatibility cracks look like, with wonderful rainbow action. maybe i'll try unencased...

[hannahbeads]

Has anyone gotten these beautiful colors with a hothead? If so, I would love to see pictures!!