Wednesday 27 July 2011

Some Effetre Testing

Tuffnell Glass sent me lots of new Effetre colours to have a play with!


I'm in Sunbaked mode at the moment, so I thought that style would be a pretty good place to start.  This pic shows all the testing colours with silver wire, shiny.  


And these are the same beads after etching.


Marmorin: a pale streaky green, a similar shade to CIM Dirty Martini
Green Mint: a darker green, came out looking very reduced and grey but etches to a gorgeous shade, very similar to Copper Green
Green Metallic Copper:  Also known as Neptune, apparently - now that's a much catchier name!  Works similar to Silver Black and Silver Plum - a light reheat brings out a satin effect.  Appeared over-reduced when I got it out of the kiln, but that may be down to the atmosphere in my kiln.  Gorgeous deep green when etched - see the bigger bead further down the page, that has kept some of its metallic coating.
Mudslide: strikes pale then dark, similar to Tongue Pink Striking Terracotta ... must try this with silver!
Calico: I think I read that Calico is opal yellow over rubino? Its a fun colour, very streaky, great for organic lovers!
Caribbean Sea: Similar to Calico, this is an opaque blue with a transparent core and goes wonderfully streaky when worked.
Pinky Winky: great shade of pink, although apparently the inside is periwinkle - I didn't get much of the blue yet, need to play more.
Light and Dark Zucca: I love these colours, really rich shades of orange with lots of variation.  They etch really nicely.
Sediment: very streaky, organic mushroomy colour, etches great.
Alexandrite: Oooh pretty!  Reacts a little with the silver wire.
Mimosa Yellow: Well, its certainly yellow!  


Mimosa Yellow over white ... oh wow, now that's actually a much nicer yellow than I first thought (I'm just loving this cabochon, think it may have to go to my mate George and have a little shiny silver wrapped round it ...)


In this lentil Alexandrite is on the top and CIM Heffalump on the bottom - they're very similar but the Alexandrite is a little paler and creamier, a little more streaky.


Lentil with Marmorin on the top and Green Metallic Copper aka Neptune on the bottom.  The 'Neptune' has grey reduction patches so I etched the bead and love the result!  See my Flickr album for the pic.


Both these beads are made from Neptune.  I spent a long time gently reheating the larger bead to bring out the satin sheen - I don't find that more oxygen or more propane make a difference, it just seems to be down to heat rather than chemistry.  


In the previous photo they're quite grey, but after etching the brightness of the green shows through, with interesting metallic patches on the larger bead, which I etched more lightly than the smaller one.


Finally, I made some ring toppers.  The bead on the left has a Calico centre, its so streaky, there's no need to do anything to it!  The petals are opal yellow and Reichenbach purple rose.  The bead at the top has purple rose in the middle with Calico on the petal tips.  The bead on the right has a Caribbean Sea centre with sky blue and aqua petals.


I was also sent Vetrofond Odd Pearl Grey. I really like this shade, it fills the gap between Effetre dark and light opaque grey and etches well, although its rather sensitive to silver - I shall turn the oxygen up a bit next time!  


A layer of silvered ivory stringer prevents the silver reaction and really suits this colour.






More pics to come when I've played some more.  Do keep an eye on my Flickr Glass Testing album if you're interested.

2 comments:

  1. Lovely blog Julie thanks for the info - I've fallen in love with the carribean sea!

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  2. last bead looks like it has mercury escaping
    your work is just lovely!

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