CiM, Zim and Silver part V.....

This is the fifth instalment in my CiM/Zim series of posts and this trio of lovely beads sets show some gorgeous effects.The beads on the left are made with two pretty CiM Glass colours that were both released as a limited run last summer. The golden transparent is called Peachy Keen and the lush opal peach is called Peaches & Cream. I've made some little nugget shaped beads, two plain, two with fine silver leaf, two with a touch of Zimmermann Z096 Gibsey Brown because I so love peachy and chocolaty colours together. 

The seventh bead is one made with lightly reduced Helios made by Double Helix Glassworks which I though would finish this set off beautifully. There is no strong reaction with the silver from either glass, partially melting in has just left a pretty little coating on the surface of the beads.

This next set shows some stunning reactions. CiM Auburn with fine silver leaf and Zimmermann Z821 Olive Brown. I've a short free tutorial here to show you how these were made.

I had quite a tricky time photographing these which I think is quite a common thing with deep red glass. This picture was taken outside on an overcast morning. The reactions between the glass and the silver in these beads is glorious, grey blue, navy blue and even little areas of  a bright royal blue in places that I have completely failed to capture in my photography.

Last up is CiM Thunder Egg with Z671 Mirror Blue. I made this set using the same frit scrolls technique as above but this time without the fine silver leaf. There is something so unpredictable about the colour changing properties of this pretty blue grey opal glass. At first I thought it might be down to flame chemistry but I was careful to keep the flame neutral in the making of these beads. I suspect that the deeper grey beads are ones that have been worked longer in the flame. I will need to do some more testing to be absolutely sure but I really like it.

Jolene x

CiM, Zim and silver part IV...notes on Obsidian ltd run

This is the fourth post in my CiM/Zim series but instead of posting up a few recipes and examples I have decides to focus on CiM Obsidian from Messy Color as I have a bit of a crush on this glass.

This large focal bead has been made with CiM Obsidian ltd run and Zimmermann Z8911 light pea green frit.

First I made the bead using CiM Obsidian then let it cool a little and wrapped it in silver leaf, burnished the leaf on and then burnt it off in the flame then added a little frit. I love how the silver has broken up into little droplets on the surface of this bead.

These next images show where the real magic with obsidian happens and show why I am so smitten with this ltd run glass.

 I used the same recipe as the focal bead above to make this bracelet bead duo but this time I wafted each very quickly in a propane rich (reduction) flame and the resulting reaction is this beautiful peacock shimmer which is so hard to capture in a photograph.

This last experiment was to see if I could capture that peacock shimmer under encasement. The trio of beads shown here were created in exactly the same was as the bracelet beads above but without the addition of frit. I then encased the focal bead with Effetre 006 clear glass. As you can see the peacock colour is lost entirely under the clear layer. The streaky brown you can see in the encasing layer is down to my not setting the flame back to neutral before encasing.



Jolene x

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CiM, Zim and silver....part III

This is the third instalment of my CiM/Zim series of posts and this trio of glassy combinations all involve Messy Color ltd runs.

The beads on the left are made with Zimmermann Z921 Aquamarine frit and fine silver foil over CiM Obsidian ltd run. I have flashed three of these beads through a propane rich reduction flame. The focal was flashed quickly through a light reduction flame and it has taken on a kind of Peacock-ish sheen. The smallest pair have been wafted quickly through a heavy reduction flame. As you can see the organic effects of the fine silver are dramatically stronger and the Aquamarine frit has been has been reduced to a rich terracotta.

This next set is made with CiM Pimento ltd run - a stunning vibrant orangey red that makes me think of ladybugs every time I see it. Two of these beads have a core of Pimento, a touch of silver foil burnished on and burnt off which has then been encased with Effetre 006 clear glass. The other three are solid Pimento, fine silver foil and then have been rolled in a touch of Zimmermann Z7911 Orange Yellowish frit. The colour of this scrummy frit puts me in mind of tinned peaches.

The third set I have to show today is CiM Ruby Slippers ltd run with Z701 Emerald Green Blueish. This set has 3 beads with a core of Ruby Slippers which has been rolled in silver foil and then encased in Effetre 006 Clear. and Ruby slippers strikes very easily and has a lovely strong reaction with the fine silver foil.  To finish this set I have made two beads which are Ruby Slippers burnished silver foil and then rolled in Z701 Emerald Green Blueish frit which looks super dense over rich dark red base glass.

Jolene x
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CiM, Zim and silver....part II

The second in my series of blog posts for testing out CiM (Creation is Messy) glass and Zimmermann frit in combination with fine silver.

The beads on the left are Z861 iris yellow over a base of CiM Adobe ltd run and unique Chai 711793-3 (no frit, just silver foil then encased).  I have only wrapped one half of each Adobe bead with silver foil but rolled the whole bead in frit. The silver foil has reacted wonderfully with the Adobe where it touches the galss and has fumed the rest of the bead to a lovely toffee shade. I couldn't get The Z861 to do anything faux borroish in the slightest but do love how it looks on this bead.

 

This second combination of glass looks wonderful together. I have used a based of unique Butter Pecan 511703-5, silver foil then Z077 dark moss green frit. The focal is only half wrapped in silver to show the subtle fuming effects  on the base glass. I think that the moss green frit looks two tone and gemlike over this wonderful neutral base. The green spacers I have added to this set are Z077 over Sherwood which is a versatile and slightly striated medium green that I use an awful lot for vines and leaves and seaweed.

Next up is Unique Chai (as seen encased in my first set) with Z711 Silver Amethyst. This pull of unique Chai reminds me very much of Desert Pink, a creamy pale pink which is very reactive with silver (but it is about 1/2 the price of Desert Pink in the UK right now). This set of beads turned out so much darker than I thought it would, the Z711 has melted and spread out wonderfully but the colour is so dense that there is only the slightest hint of deep amethyst at all to these beads. I am definitely putting Z711 on my shortlist of frits to try out with some diluting techniques such as making fritty twistie.

There are two kinds of base glass in this set, Unique Adamantium 511874-1 and Smurfy which is a fabulous turquoise. The larger rounds are 874-1 with silver foil and Z092 turquoise frit. As you may remember from my first CiM/Zim post, I am a little bit of a smitten kitten with Adamantium glass and how it reacts with silver and this unique pull of this glass is no exception. Zimmermann Z092 opaque turquoise frit is a very similar but more saturated shade and tone to Smurfy and I have teamed them up together to make subtle fritty spacers.

My last set to show today is another with CiM Smurfy, this time in combination with Z862 extra light beige. I find Smurfy to be slightly less reactive with Effetre CoE 104 ivory than other soda lime turquoise glass so thought it would be a good choice to try out with this pale furnace glass frit. I made three beads wrapped with silver foil and three without. The larger beads with silver show a much darker and pronounced reaction line with the Smurfy but the melted frit is has remained dense and pale in colour as it has spread  and doesn't appear to have been silver fumed. The smaller beads are made with Smurfy and Z862 without any silver and the reaction line is a pale grey.



Jolene x
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CiM, Zim and silver......

This is the first in a series of CiM/Zim posts that I am planning to write, the project will likely span two or three months and will focus on just one single technique that I've been meaning to play about with for ever so long. It is a pretty effect caused by layering silver foil (burnished in well) and a sprinkling of gem like frit over the top of an opaque glass base. I've chosen a number of CiM glass colours to try out with some Zimmermann frit that I bought shortly before production ceased in 2009.

My first combo (above) is CiM Ghee with Z680 extra dark aqua blue. These are definitely jewel like, the silver has caused the Ghee base to darken from a rather pale yellow-beige rod to a rather yummy tan toffee caramel covered in teeny silver droplets. Yum! The Z680 is a shimmering deep teal colour that has spread beautifully and gathered clusters of silver together to give textured lines where the frit has melted and met.

The second combination I tried out was CiM Adamantium with Z095 yellow olive and OMG I think I am in love! I adore how the silver has reacted with the Adamantium to form an organic earthy looking crust. Wouldn't you know it but I had only 1 rod here to play with but this colour is definitely on my shopping list now! I have seen this sort of strong reaction before when I have made silvered shards with CiM Desert Pink but the effect here is even stronger. The look of these beads conjures images of ancient arid landscapes pooled with swamps and marshes. The Shimmering deep green areas are the Z093 frit, which has struck from a pale opaque pastel to this glorious pesto-ish green encircled with silver lines.

My last combination today is CiM Olive with Z8155 opaque white frit. I chose Olive as my base glass as I wanted something that was not going to react at all strongly with the fine silver foil and still show contrast with the frit should that react. The burnished foil has broken up in the flame to leave little shimmering silver droplets all over the surface of these beads which looks very pretty. I had expected a much stronger reaction between the fine silver and opaque white Zim frit but was pleasantly surprised that the white stayed intense and dense without turning yukky yellow. There is some dark line definition at the edges of the melted frit where the silver concentration is greater due to the spreading action of the frit but on the whole I am really pleased with the results.

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