Beadbijoux by Leslie Deaunne

Lampwork Glass Colors for Christmas Designs Is there a more quintessential combination of colors to represent Christmas than the traditional emerald green and ruby red? Nope. There is not. I've done the whole 'vintage' Christmas theme with more muted burgundies and olives. A deep maroon and hunter green also work well with traditional home decor. Lime green is always a fun twist to brighten things up - especially if you are fond of the grinch. My personal preference is icy blue and white with snowflakes and icicles ... because I like to match my love for all things blue - even when it comes to holiday decor. Metallic golds and silvers always reign supreme and when it comes to glitzing things up for Christmas, the more sparkles the better. Ironically emerald green and ruby red are two colors that I never gravitate towards. Ever. I bought 1/4 pound of these colors when I first started lampworking (15 years ago) and I STILL have some left. That is how infrequently I use them....

Lampworking Soft Glass Color Reference Red is not a color I tend to gravitate towards. Whenever I pull it from my glass stash I usually just stare at it aimlessly trying to figure out what to pair with it. Then it goes back in its little cubby ... until I feel guilty that it never gets attention like the other colors do ... and I pull it out again,  only to repeat the cycle . But Fall is another story. When mother nature paints a gorgeous picture outside your window full of reds and yellows and greens and blues, then you know it is time. The red glass will have its day. Red, orange and yellow are a natural pairing as they are on the same side of the color wheel. Red and turquoise have been a popular combination for southwest designs. Red and green are together frequently at Christmas. But put them all together and it's like the most perfect woolly sweater ever made. It's as if Fall just opened up the gates and poured itself all over the studio. And really, who doesn't swoo...

Lampworking Soft Glass Color Reference I've been doing a half-baked job of taking notes when I make beads ... but I am on a mission to catalog all my bead sets and the glass colors I use to create them. There are three driving reasons for this:  First , I have a hard time remembering what some colors look like after they've been worked in the flame and I want color charts that I can quickly reference. So I do it for me . Second , I am working on my first e-book of color recipes. Since I cannot lampwork fulltime, e-book sales will help continue funding my glass habits. My hope is to build a library of resources so even when I am unable to make art, I can keep my business going.  Finally , I want to share my knowledge and experience. Early in my beadmaking I asked other lampworkers 'do you mind sharing what color that is?' Some were gracious with their knowledge, others were not. And while yes, I do plan to compile much of this information into for profit e-books, I st...

Lampworking Tips & Techniques Update 2023: The secret of Reichenbach Mystic glass is worthy of a re-post ... especially given I just started using it again and went through my trials and tribulations of the past - although I caught on much quicker this time . This glass really does like to be encased . Not only does encasing help protect it from devitrification, but it also highlights the translucent nature of the glass and allows the light to pass through - resulting in an opal and pearl effect that really showcases the beauty of glass. The added fancy of Mystic Beige is that it can appear more white or more cream depending on how much you thin it out with clear and how long and hot you work the bead. The pillows from before [shown below] were worked hotter and longer and slightly reduced for the silver glass effects. Those beads came out a lovely caramel cream - especially where they reacted slightly with the silvered glass.  The new barrel beads I made just this week came ...

Lampworking Tips & Techniques Update 2023: This post is worthy of being re-published because I forgot everything that I used to know. Okay not really, but I hadn't used any of my Reichenbach Mystic glass for a very long time. When looking for a nice ivory glass to pair with my denim blues ... I instantly grabbed my Reichenbach Mystic Beige. And then proceeded to devitrify the snot out of it when marvering it around in my beadrollers. And then I remembered everything that I used to know . Reichenbach Mystic Beige does not like being marvered. Or pressed. Or generally touched with any tool other than the flame itself. I went back and re-read my own post and decided to set down the marver and round those babies up with gravity the old-fashioned way. Being married into a German family I've been hearing for years just how superior the Germans are at just about everything [eyeroll]. I figured they must make some pretty spectacular glass too so I went ahead and bought myself a s...

Fused Glass Coldworking Equipment As a glass artist ... the glass is only half the art. Little did I know when I began my glass journey that my skillset would expand to include the usage of saws, drills, grinders, and flat laps. Nor that I would have such a deep understanding of abrasives and grit numbers. Or that even as a glass artist, diamonds are still truly a girl's best friend. Glass is an amorphous solid and tends to naturally round off to a thickness of 6mm when brought to fluid temperature and allowed to cool to ambient room temperature. Unless you dam off the glass and force it into a different shape and thickness, it will have rounded corners and a slightly convex surface. I prefer depth and movement in my glass tidied up in a crisp, clean, squared off package. If you are like me, then consider expanding your studio equipment to include these essentials: Diamond Saw :  You can use a tile saw with a diamond blade if you are just cutting slabs and squaring off edges. If y...

Lampworking Tips One of the most frustrating but mesmerizing aspects of glass is that it can sometimes be unpredictable. If you are a master of the science, this will work to your advantage and you can harness the power of the strangeness in ways that make incredibly beautiful and unique art. If you are more of a WYSIWYG [ what you see is what you get ] kind of player ... then the surprises can be frustrating. Effetre 591212 Pea Green Take Pea Green for example. It behaves strangely. This color is like a super spreader or something and goes wherever it darn well pleases when you get it really hot or work it too long. And the color likes to pool and create interesting striations and super saturated dots. Not always, but especially if it is layered on top of certain glass (like transparents). It either sinks in or spreads away and can often be challenging to control. Effetre Pea Green and Lapis I haven't claimed to master this glass. It throws me for a loop every.single.time becau...