Don't blame the tools

I love glass. I love everything about it, the way it stays transparent when it's cool, the way light moves through it, the way it takes shape... well, to be honest there's not a lot about glass I don't like.

And yet, I watch people trying new glass all the time, desperate to get 'colours' or 'make it pop' or 'sing' or whatever. The new silver glass colours are fantastic in the right hands and yes they do sing and pop and colour up and do everything but wash the dishes and sweep the floor.

And yet...

What's wrong with simplicity? And walking before you run? And getting a grasp of mechanics and techniques. I see more beauty in one single bead made with attention to detail, with a sense of pride in technique and composition than in all the wonky silvered glass blobs out there.

Pure and simple are good. Basic work lays the foundation for progress. You don't get great beads if you don't have a good bead to start with.

Yadda yadda yadda.

For pure perfection of shape and simple application of a basic technique such as frit, take a look at the new beads by Dawn Scannell/Art Insomnia. Simple wound disks of black or raku glass but there's nothing simple about the quality of the construction, wound carefully and with attention to the construction of the layers of glass and then simple application of raku glass frit. And then WHAM! It's magic, that's it. The magic of knowing your materials.

Lots of people put frit on beads but not everyone bothers to understand the structure and reactions of the two kinds of glass.

Before flying, like Dawn, perhaps it's best to spend some time walking and learning how to craft a bead or what you end up with is the glass version of 'all fur coat and no knickers'.