Playing with Reactive Silver Glass

I've always loved reactive silver glass, as a lampwork bead buying addict they were always the first beads I searched for when browsing for new beads to buy.  The effects and colours that can be found in some of  these beads are just WOW!!  So when my lampworking journey began you can probably guess that some of the first glass I bought was the reactive silver glass.  I bought a single rod of some of the colours that I loved - Double Helix Luna, Ekho and Terra.  I also discovered TAG glass, the same kind of glass but by a different company Trautman Art Glass, also with amazing colours so I bought a few rods of that too!

Little did I know how difficult this glass was going to be to get those amazing colours that I loved!  Look at the piccie below, this is how that glass starts off...beige, colourless!

I read and read and read some more about how to get this glass to work, every time I went to the studio to work I would persevere and try again - nothing happened for me, all I got were poopy beige colours or lots of 'nothingness' - sooooooooooo frustrating!

These are some of the first beads I made using a tiny bit of Double Helix Terra 2...a tiny bit because this glass is omg so expensive! haha

Not great are they considering the next picture shows how they are supposed to turn out...

Image taken from Off-Mandrel.com

I wouldn't let this glass beat me and I kept on trying!

FINALLY! I got somewhere...The above beads were all made with Terra 2.  Now to get the others to work.  That would be easy now, right?  Erm, nope! 

Each silver glass likes to be worked differently, some like it hot, very hot, some like lots of propane, some prefer very little propane, some like to be worked high up in the flame, others prefer it low down in the flame.  PAH! I gave up, I stuck the rods in a jar at the back of my work bench and didn't touch them again for a few months.  I'm not a quitter so they eventually worked their way to the front of my bench again and I decided to have another play.  Still nothing, I felt like I had tried everything and was so frustrated.  I had a chat with my lampworking friend Debs about it the next day.  She talked me through it and found a video on YouTube that she thought I might find useful for working with the TAG glass.

I watched the video a few times and the next day went to play some more!  I wasn't hoping for much to be honest...

I followed the artist, Dawn Scannell on the video word for word...OMG it was only flipping working! I couldn't believe it...after all these months of poopy coloured beads, I had finally got it to work!!

Look what came from the kiln that day...the most gorgeous beads made with TAG Dalai Lama glass!

And the next day...TAG Fire Lotus!

I was so, so, so excited and happy!! I finally got it to work after months and months of trying...Thank you Debbie Dew, you're a star! 

These beads were made using Double Helix Ekho

And this focal was made using Luna 3

There are still loads of different colours to try, so guess what?! I ordered some more hahaha...Just need the nice Mr Postman to bring them now, the waiting is killing me ;0)

Thought for the Day:  NEVER GIVE UP!