Kiln Harvest and Lani Ching Tool

Today's Fresh Glass Beads... And a tool I've had on my work table for ages but am now in love with!

Confession time: My name is Holly and I have an addiction. I.... am a tool hog! I love tools. Maybe it's leftover from my childhood obsession with my dad's plumbing tools but I've often owned more and better tools than the guys I've dated. Glass is the perfect venue for a tool hog....there's always something newer and better! It's my embarrassment over this that keeps me from talking about tools very often. But I have to with this.

The proper name of this tool from Arrow Springs is The Lani Ching Shaper. And before you run out and buy it, let me tell you, there is something newer and better! I've had mine for years...probably since I took Lani's class in 2008. But I only recently figured out how to use it and why it's so wonderful. I only wish it were a bit longer so I could use it with my long skinny beads I love so much.

First of all, this all goes back to the dot challenge... My goodness! Is that silly challenge ever going to stop teaching me something???  It was early on when I was struggling with consistent sizes and I was taking a break. I picked up an ancient issue of the Flow Magazine and Craig from Arrow Springs had written a piece about the new Cylinder Speed Shaper. I read that and got back to work... and noticed the Lani tool on my desk.

Before, to shape a cylinder, I had been using a brass mold with very shallow sides...kinda like the opposite side of the Lani Shaper... which I rarely use. I find I have to make a specific size bead to have that side work for me.  But I immdidately recognized the value of marving two sides a of a bead at once and the slanted groove side does just that!

Suddenly, making a huge cylinder was easy!! I had struggled with volume control and keeping things centered before...but not with this tool! And messy ends are GONE!

And here we go back to the dot challenge. While I didn't use tools in that...I learned something about repetition. While I'm a total dropout on the 2nd Challenge as I get ready for my Trunk Show... I am making LOTS of the same basic cylinder! I've had several regular customers request that I make wine stoppers / bottle openers as gifts this year. So every session...I've been making substantial cylinders...look back through those fresh glass photos if you don't believe me!

By making this same shape over and over, I've taught myself so much!

• Footprint is vital when making beads to a specific size. 
• Once that footprint is set, unless I do something stupid, it's really hard to actually mess it up!
• Marvering two sides at once really helps keep the bead centered perfectly! 
• Volume control is also easy breezy... heat a little where there is too much glass and a lot where you want the glass to go. Marver in the Lani Shaper and viola! 
• Heating and marvering each end one at a time off the edge makes a bead that can stand up on it's own! 

Here are how I marver both ends:

I'm certain the Lani Shaper gave birth to the cylinder speed shaper and the Arrow Springs video of the speed shaper in action is pretty darn cool to watch. And yes, the speed shaper is on my covet list. But either one is a nice addition if you are making cylinders. These are "must have" tools!!

Kiln Harvest 11.14 and 11.15

Still working on the Trunk Show, so here's from fresh glass beads to ogle....

And a funny little aside for you. On Glass Beads Daily, when we do a lampwork artist profile on "Space Out Sunday," one of my favorite questions is always, "Do you space out on the torch?" I don't think many answer this question honestly because... we play with fire. My favorite answer so far and the one that rings truest to me is from Aimee Milan of Polychrome Beads. I think EVERYONE spaces out a bit at the torch! My goodness!!! We're waiting (and waiting and waiting) for glass to melt!

I ALWAYS space out! Whether it's thinking of the next bead for what bill I have to pay... my mind WANDERS! And... here is the result:

One of these things is not like the others...  Now you know why I make big beads!

Mind of Her Own

I've participated in the making of many glass beads that I swear have a mind of their own! I wanted to make a ghost once...she drooped into a heart every time I reached for orange transparent! And so...I cased her pink and she became one of the largest most dramatic hearts ever!

Such was the case with the 1st base for the Wardena bead! Before adding cremains, I ALWAYS check the base bead: Is it the right size, shape, is there enough glass (volume control)? And how's the bead release behaving? Can it handle all the layers it's about to receive?

The first base bead that I was hoping would be a Memorial bead had some tell-tale cracks in the release and I simply didn't want to risk it with cremains! So I strated grabbing for stringers. See??? It pays NOT to clean off your desk every year day!

I really LOVE this bead!

The way the Opal Yellow blushed...

The moody flowers

The Uh-Oh Bead

These beads may not be the best example to use for this topic. I can't say I particularly like them even... Yes, they are that metallic but... just not right for me.

But I did have one of those forehead slapping moments when I made them! I love beads that teach me a lesson!

This was a lesson in production work...something I don't do very well but...in this economy, if I get an order, I can't really afford to turn it down. I was making about a thousand 37 letter beads for a group. The work was repetitive and tedious. And they were pressed beads.

As it always happens with my brain...sometimes I zone out and put too much glass on the mandrel. While sometimes I can fix that...volume control is a mad skill to have! Sometimes the bead over presses the mold on the mandrel and it's time for a water bath. OR is it???

I realized that the largest round mold I have was just bigger than my square press. So... what could I make with ivory and black? I had a metallic black stringer on my table and I used these as my experiment beads. As luck would have it, once I figured out what to do with an over-pressed bead...I only had three uh-ohs!

And while I'm not in love with these, I AM in love with the idea. I know I will never sit down to do production work again without thinking of what to do with the mistake beads. Most pressed beads begin with a fairly basic color. Keep a jar of similar frit or an interesting stringer, a larger mold or press nearby and even the uh-oh beads can be keepers!

What do you do with your uh-ohs???

Stretchin'

My last few torch sessions have been a lesson for me in what I can do.  Sometimes a customer makes a request and my first instinct is.. "I can't do that."

And then I stew on it for a bit... grousing about the lost work...wondering what people see in my art that makes them think I can do anything...feeling like I have no skills at all.

Months can go by. Then one day, it just hits me.

"Try it," that little voice whispers.

"But I can't, " I whine.

"Just try. See what happens... you never know," it pleads.

"NO!" I argue.

"TRY IT!!!" it screams.

And so it goes until it hits me at just the right time.

One customer asked me to make a cross. I've never made one; don't have the commercial press that is available for crosses. And that voice said, "How did they make them before there were presses?"

I gave a surprisingly technical answer! Which made me realize, I DO know how to make a cross. And so I did. I loved it! Unfortuantely, my hiking buddy called just as I was fire polishing and ... it cracked. But, I know I can do it... and I can do it again!

The other bead someone inspired me to stretch and create was a small, TINY version of my breast cancer goddess beads. I simply told her...I don't do small beads. Then I was making scads of boobies for a custom order last week. I got distracted and added WAY too much glass to the mandrel. Normally, I will pick small amounts off to deal with volume control issues. But it was a bit too much for that. So I started to think about what I could make with that smallish blob of ivory on my mandrel.

And there was that voice again, "Try it!"

So with nothing to lose but time, I tried a small goddess! And she's so cute!

She is for sale, made to order, in my Etsy shop.

I'm very thankful for customers that push me to try new things. They are a tremendous asset when my muse is otherwise occupied!