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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Will the real Lover Boy please stand up?

Torch chemistry is an astounding thing, since that is the only explanation I can come up with for this.  Effetre lover boy is a pastel that is billed as a lavender blue with pink streaks, and that is what it is in the test bead shown on Frantz Art Glass' site.  That was what I was expecting, not taking into account that she is using a oxypropane torch and has torch chemistry down to a science and I am using a HotHead and even if I knew how to control torch chemistry I would not be able to effect it much.  I know to work certain colors near the end of a cylinder and to turn the flame up or down on others but other than that it's up to the fire gods.What about this color?  Lavender blue? Not so much.  A very pretty color?  Definitely. 
First off, the initial melt.  It turned grey like a coral.  Not at all what I was expecting and it gave me a hint about how this color was going to react.  I don't know what Effetre had in mind, but I bet this was not it.  But I love it.  Embrace serendipity.
1 is plain.  Some lavender streaking near the ends.  Not very noticeable with my dinky bead.
2 is encased with clear.  The clear acts like a magnifying glass on this and it is a very pretty bead.
3 is with silver foil melted in.  Ahhh.  You're starting to get there.
4 is with silver foil, melted in and encased in clear.  I'm not sure if the picture really does justice to the bead.  It is really pretty, with pink and grey and black and silver and green.
5 is with copper red green.  I had to check a couple times to make sure I knew which end was which, but the left side is the lover boy.  Shoulda used plain copper green, but the cylinder was new and I didn't want to blow chunks of the very thick copper green rod all over the worktable.
6 is with ivory.  No reaction.  What ever this is, it isn't a gold or silver based color.  What is coral based on?
7 is with CiM tuxedo.    Nice separation on the pink.  I wonder what it does with intense black?
8 is with DH aurae, reduced and encased.  The aurae is very pretty.  The pink not so much, since there is a green  reaction just visible on the top left corner of this bead.  What is this color?
9 is with aurae, reduced and left unencased.  The pink is looking orange.  It's gotta be a coral.
10 is with plum silver scrolls, reheated gently.  Again orange.  It's gotta be something in the silver color.  But silver itself didn't do this.  Hmmmm.
11 is with EDP.  No reaction, and the combination is not specifically ugly, although I can't see using it. 

This color is indeed a mystery.  I like it a lot.  I will probably buy more if it is available when I run out.  I'll test it again before I try anything fancy on it, since experience is a great teacher, and by then I might know how to properly work this amazing pink.

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