Stuff i've made

[voic]

Finally i got everything up an running, i set my linx at 5psi propane and 15psi oxygen, and here are my first pieces:

a penguin show and my first pendant implosion using cobalt. I have two more pendants in the kiln wich i think are better.

Before this pendant i made about 5 clear ones wich i fumed with siver, covered with some clear dots, and tried some implosions and other designs but the silver didnt strike at all... I must have fumed it wrong or i dont know... i used a soft reductant flame and run my pieces 3 times in the kiln at 1150F but still no success in striking the silver..

[voic]

Yeah.. i know this is crap but it's just my first pieces... Pics of a better implosion coming soon..

[Uscalus Storm]

Well id say good job, thay penguin is bomb.... but either you took a class, or did A LOT of homework before popping that torches ussie.

[CripSkillz]

not bad man especally for firsts,,, keep at it lots of good info here.. read up..

[voic]

Thanks! no classes 4 me, i live in Romania :D but alot of reading and gathering before i started.. about 4 months..
Well, here's my second implosion using hyacint wich i think turned out pretty well... i spent 80minutes on it.. it's less than an inch.. about 2cm in diameter. trapped some bubbles but i like it... too bad the pictures dont show it well.... i dont know if its me or my camera...

[mer]

try moving the camera farther away from the glass. it's a good start, keep it going. whenever you do something you like try to instantly sit back down and make 10 more. you'll get faster and better as you go if you keep trying.

[Uscalus Storm]

Dont try and rush either...after a week of strait pendant work...I've realized rushing to make the same product over and over faster and faster each time...starts to take away it's overall appearance and detail. In the search bar type "pendant" you'll find all kinds of helpful tutorials. Helped me a lot.

PS: i think the bubbles are from getting the color too hot before it starts to implode? Someone elaborate?

[voic]

Here's some other stuff that i made recently:

Im pretty happy with them.. after 30hrs of lampworking, except for the flower...

[Glass Pyro]

what vids/books did you learn from. I have been tryin to make an implosion like that last black and white one, never looks right though, your stuff lookin good though for a newb like myself

[voic]

Well, first of all alot of reading around here and over at wetcanvas and lampworketc.. Filed some of the tutorials and techniques. Then i bought contemprary lampworkin by dunham and some DVDs - essential lampworking, an introduction to using borocolour and the GTT instructional video... and a lot of videos on youtube.. and thats about it.. practiced with some honey before the stuff came :D ... And when i try smthg.. a sculpture or implosion.. i do it slow and try to correct everything thats wrong while i do it.. removing misplaced dots..wings.. reshaping...

[Know Ego]

Thats incredible, you appear to be a natural. Very good work for just starting out. Now that you've done the research, its time to clock in the hours. Please keep posting so we can see your progress.

Anyway, hows it out there in Romania? You must have glassblowing in your veins!

[Glass Pyro]

see there ya go, I get pissed as soon as I mess up and start over, I need to try to start fixing the stuff instead, and build skill that way ... I figured you used the GTT vid for the dolphins, I made like 100 of them when I started a few months ago

[MUPH]

Those loops on some of those pendants look excellent. It took me a long, long time to get my loops down. Keep it up.

[Swampy]

Coming on nicely.

[voic]

Thanks people!!!

I keep track of every minute i am working, so far i have worked 32:50 and still on my first oxygen tank. But i dont think it has much in it tho'.. tomorrow im'a go refill. How much do you think an 80kilo propane tank would last me?

Here in Romania.. well.. its a pretty nice country but we're kind of back like 20-30 years behind countries like France, Germany.. etc.. Not so many lampworkers around here.. in fact i havent met one yet and never saw any lampworked glass pieces around here.. There are many glassworkers tho' makin vases and stuff...

Yeah, i use a lynx set at 5 propane and 15 oxy (should i change this ratio?). I have a slight problem with it, i dont know if its the torch or smthg else but the propane pressure keeps dropping while i'm working and i have to turn it a little more pretty often.. it's kind of started to bother me...

I had some trouble with the loops at first, i still do but now im using 10mm rod for them instead of 4 and i think i got the hang of it... still need alot of practice..

And here are my last pieces.. the photos didnt came out so well...

[voic]

Im having trouble with some of the transparents i tried, Violet and Sublime. They look like they are full of bubbles. How can i get them out. I tried mixing the color but had no success... maybe i mixed it wrong... how do u mix it to eliminate those tiny little bubbles??

[Big Jay]

are they first quality colors? Maybe air bubbles in the glass itself, if not try working it further in the back of the flame away from the heat.

[cutter]

WOW I can only wish when I start i can come close to that! Im having nitemares about wasting alot in the beginning

[Uscalus Storm]

Depends what ur doing with the sublime. I had a few rods. Havent found much use for em. I think they're m,ore for structural work.

WOOT ON THE DRUNK POST

[voic]

Well, i wanted to put it over Teal to obtain a nice effect. I tried Violet too but i got the same problem. They're from a NS sample pack (dont know the quality) i got from FrantzArt for 300$, but they seem to already have the bubbles in them... i worked them slow, try to mix them but cant get rid of the bubbles..

Here's a couple of more pendants. I like how the B&W turned out this time:

[voic]

Cutter, i had nightmares too thats why for my first tries i only used clear (i got a case of 10mm) - clear sculptures.. clear pendants, alot of loop practice ... i was afraid to start using color because i didnt wanted to waste it but for the implosions i only use a very small amount of color so there's not so much waste, altho' there is some :)

I sold my first 3 pieces a few days ago!!! woohoo.. 9$ each!

[Uscalus Storm]

To a person?

and sublime isnt naturally bubbly, u might not have gotten firsts? Although it does bubble a bit in the flame. I posted a pic with a heart of white and sublime. It wasnt too bad.

[voic]

yep, and another 3 to another person :)

and here's my latest pieces, didnt have time to torh much these days..

where did u post the heart?

[voic]

Here's something i tried for my mom's birthday tomorrow, after i finally had some time to torch.. not so pleased how it turned out...I think ill try another one...

[voic]

and give this to my girlfriend :)

[voic]

Woo Haa! Im back!
The last month was very busy for me because I've been workin all day everyday at this piece of building wich is my future home :)

So finally i started melting some and here's my first shots. The first background is cranberry.. it was suppose to strike like a ruby but it didnt.. it may be because i hold it in the kiln for 20mins at only 1050...?
The second is Rust and the bottom flower, wich didnt turned out so good is Cherry encased (the background)
Onest opinions and any suggestions are welcome! i want to improve! :)
I think i have to change my loop style.. they're too big...

P.S. My 3rd oxy tank is empty after 27hrs of work for a total of 86hrs so far (3tanks - 3 months since i started) :)

[jr23]

nice plodes!

[Blacksheep]

your implosions are coming along awesomely good stuff i sure like the B/W ones
looks like a fair bit of work to do on your house but it has lots of brick work already done . keep the fires burning and the glass turning :o)

[Lurch]

Woo Haa! Im back!
The last month was very busy for me because I've been workin all day everyday at this piece of building wich is my future home :)

So finally i started melting some and here's my first shots. The first background is cranberry.. it was suppose to strike like a ruby but it didnt.. it may be because i hold it in the kiln for 20mins at only 1050...?
The second is Rust and the bottom flower, wich didnt turned out so good is Cherry encased (the background)
Onest opinions and any suggestions are welcome! i want to improve! :)
I think i have to change my loop style.. they're too big...

P.S. My 3rd oxy tank is empty after 27hrs of work for a total of 86hrs so far (3tanks - 3 months since i started) :)

To get the colors to strike try heating up the kiln to 1090-1150 for about 30 minutes then down to 1050 to anneal the pieces.

Keep on torchin' your implosions are looking good!

[Breed]

the loops may seem too big, but people are always asking me for bigger loops to fit wide chains. try making a bunch of loops in advance with 4mil and and pliers/tweezers if you want the smaller.

[voic]

Thanks for the tips. I restruck the Cranberry at 1100 for one hr and it got a little darker.. like wet desert sand or smthg.. not so red. I guess thats the color.
I resized my loops a little, the hole its the same but they're not so thick. Here's what i did yesterday using Bubblegum and Hyacint for the petals and some yellow.

[voic]

Lurch, you said to hold them at 1090-1150 for 30mins and then anneal at 1050 but if i hold them as you said, wont they anneal at 1090-1150 so i dont have to hold them at 1050??

[newmexicomagma]

1050 is the annealing temerature.

[MUPH]

It's great to see so much improvement over such a short period or time. Which white are you using?

[Lurch]

Lurch, you said to hold them at 1090-1150 for 30mins and then anneal at 1050 but if i hold them as you said, wont they anneal at 1090-1150 so i dont have to hold them at 1050??

Logically thinking what you're saying would make sense. But there is a "sweet spot" temperature for annealing. Basically if you have your kiln temperature above or below this temp, it will create stresses within the glass and your piece will never properly anneal. So after you strike the colors make sure to do the normal annealing cycle.

If your colors are still not striking right keep them in there longer at the higher temp (But it shouldn't take more than an hour), and if 1100 isn't working try 1125, not everyones kiln pryometer is reliable, so yours may be getting a reading of 1100 but it's more like 1070 in your kiln (Who Knows?). Going higher than 1150 the kiln heat will start to move (slump) your pieces.

Hope that helps

[voic]

Been away for a while, thanks for your answers guys, i increased the times i hold my pieces in the kiln, the colors are better now,

Ben, i used Egiptian White Sands on that implosions. but the one i got its pretty sensitive... along with many colors from my sample pack.. full of bubbles... i guess they put all the bad ones in these sample packs.. cause im heating them as slow as i can but still...

Switched to sculptures again, here are some pieces, what do you guys think, a friend of mine wants to buy one, i really like how they turned out but .. do you think they're sellable? If so, how much should i charge for one, I spent 2 hours on each and they're a little bigger than natural size (1,5 X ) . Here they are:

[HOSS]

Those dragonflies are really nice. They'd look even better with some dichro in the wings.

Sorry I can't really help you with pricing them, I have a hard time doing that with sculpty stuff too, plus I have no clue what the market is like in Romania!

[Swampy]

... along with many colors from my sample pack.. full of bubbles... i guess they put all the bad ones in these sample packs.. cause im heating them as slow as i can but still...

Try this; punty up one of your white sample rods at each end.

Slowly heat the rod in the back of the flame, twist it and pull it about until it's all melted into a spherical lump.

Take your time to pull it out into the same size rod it was before then pull a stringer on the end of it and see how that works. All the time, work further out in the flame than you would for translucent colours.

Oh, and you build the same way as I do; stick your blocks together then cast columns inbetween, same technique here :-)

[Frankie Hess]

Those things are nice! Look perfectly sellable to me, price wise I would have no idea. I would just ask 5 to 10 people what they would pay and find a reasonable price from your findings. Once you get faster you can go more off an hourly amount plus materials and gas to create a ratio that works for you. It all depends on what the market is like there. If there are no other lampworkers and you're not competing with a ton of imports, you should be able to make decent money on the stuff you're making for sure.
Just be careful not to sell them too cheap now because it will cheapen your future work in your customers eyes and you'll have a hard time getting what they're worth when your work gets off the charts.
Good luck, your work is very impressive for the limited amount of torch time you have. Your work will be amazing!

[voic]

Thanks.. it means so much..
Well, the market here its very low on glass, only vases and big pieces, a few imported Murano jewlery and thats it.. there are no lampworkers... i havent found one yet..

Will try that with the white. Thanks for your replies, keep'em coming, i need onest opinions, lots of tips and criticism :)

I finally started working on a website.. i have to start thinking about selling all my work soon.. my glass 's running short..

[Uscalus Storm]

Lol Voic your killing me on time here. However i cant wait to post my progress either...I have learned quite a few techniques in the past few months, but i cant find my adapter for my camera.

Anyways.... I just made a dragonfly almost exactly like that but like 10 times smaller (pendant size) some chick wanted it and paid me $30. Again i dont know the market either in that country...However depending on the size of those...anywhere from 50-80$ i would say. Perhaps more since you spent 2 hours on them however...I think you'll learn how to make them quicker the more you do it :P

[nafglass]

i dont know the market either in that country...However depending on the size of those...anywhere from 50-80$ i would say.

Agreed. Those look really nice! I've been making dragonflies for 3 years and mind don't even look that nice! I guess I need to step it up! Keep up the good work!

[voic]

Thanks peeps. Sold it with 50$.

Here's a couple of roses i've been workin on these days:

Cherry encased with JetBlack... had to work them very slow.. over an hour each... any faster than that and the Cherry would boil...

[shark bait]

Those roses are awesome Voic

[voic]

Thanks! Here's some more flowers, a closeup with the way i like to make my loops and a couple of letters for a friend.

[shark bait]

I am very impressed. You have progressed in such a little time.
Keep the photo's coming.

[voic]

Hi there, long time no seen.. I've been very busy with my house and starting out a company these past weeks, but here's some of my work i didnt yet posted here. A couple of pendants and my first marbles:

[jr23]

very nice work and looks like you can take those pendants to the bank.

[beachglass]

wow very nice work....keep at it! those marbles are perfect for first attempts

any tips on how you do those roses? i can do most kinds of flowers well, but these never turn out for me

[Swampy]

Good work there voic.

Would be interesting to see sizes and what colours you used.

The petals on your flowers are amazing, well done.

[voic]

Thanks guys, well, here's the drawing for the blue rose. I layed all of the petals at once except the leafs and used thinner stringer for the center petals. As for the way it imploded, i first tried to imagine how does the implosion exactly works, and tried diffrent tricks to improve my technique. I cant really say right now because i have to practice more on them, and see if my tricks work for good.

The marbles are 1", forgot to mention, made'em on my Lynx, i tried to go bigger but i takes me more than two hours and im really not so experienced yet to go bigger... Still have alot of practice to do.

The white rose is Star White, the blue one is Purple Urple encased in Hyacint encased in Midnight and the green one is Mint encased in Jade. The leafs are Loch Ness encased in Jet Black.


I have a question for you, i havent got alot of time to look into it, i only sell to friends now but just a couple of things a week... i was wondering how did you guys started out selling your stuff... I would really like to start selling on a regular basis just so I can at least buy some more glass from my income... I opened up an etsy shop, its pretty new, but nobody seems interested so far... i've got good reviews but.. thats it... My only sale there is to a friend of mine...

Thanks again!

[K-Dog]

Great stuff, your flowers are looking really good. i especially like the white one, tight.

Internet sales are tough, i'd focus more attention in your local area.
Make a bunch of stuff and take it around to shops. Galleries,gift shops,art stores,clothing boutiques,the local city run galleries tend to have a gift shop area as well.Consignment is a great way to get going, find a few places and give them a few hundred bucks worth of product. Another great way to sell is to have your mom or girlfriend, aunts whoever, get them to take a bunch of stuff into work with them. you'd be surrprised how much loved ones can sell for you, you also start building up a following, and eventually start getting request's
Lot's of selection,stay up to date on the colour trends, and packaging is imporant.

Goog luck.

[Swampy]

Yeah start local then spread.

Your online gallery gives you credibility.

Matching pendant & earring sets are good.

[voic]

thanks for the info, talking about matching pendant & earring sets, here's one i've just made:

[Lurch]

nice!

[Uscalus Storm]

Yea talk about $100 at least for that set......If i remember right you once told me there weren't many if at all glass artists in your area. Bloom yourself. Give your family some for free. Sell to your friends and start wearing your own stuff. Change it out daily. people notice it. I just started a CHAIN glass necklace for when i work at the bar and i wanna get some glow powder to really get some attention to it. GIVE yourself attention. thats how u get started....Then breach out. Start writing your website down to people. Advertise it on facebooks, myspace's, whatever you have to do.

[voic]

Thanks for the tips man, you really think I should sell that set for 100$? Im really bad at pricing yet, i placed it on etsy for 60$ plus 12$ shipping but now you make me wonder... I dont know if its good to change its price now, but ill see how it goes and increase the price on my future work.

[JLF]

Your work is beautiful! Seriously awesome color choices and everything!

When you mention your colors being encased.. do you fully encase a rod with a different color then pull down into a stringer to get the outlined effect on each pedal?

[voic]

Thanks, yeah, i fully encase it but depending on the thikness of the encasing layer you get more or less from that color over the base color.

[KahunaGlassArt]

wow man really nice work! how long have you been at the torch for?

[sertaiz]

wow, beautiful stuff, the colors on that set are amazing.

[CripSkillz]

those look professional to me nice...

[cc_bob]

Very nice indeed, you will have no trouble selling those.

I especially like the roses.

[Pilgrim]

I looked at this post for the 1st time today and It looks like you have shown a lot of forward movement. keep up the good work i look forward to seeing where your work goes from here....

[voic]

greetings,

Thanks for your comments, this notification for subscriptions system doesnt work for me... it stops notifying me after a few times...
Anyway, time is my big issue so far, time for meltin glass...
Ckauhane, I started out in may this year but today i refilled my 16th oxygen tank. I've been working for a total of 350 hours behind the torch so far.
Im still trying to perfect my flower implosion pendants, between a few custom orders and a lot of unrelated to glass work.
I've also updated my glass artists gallery and my etsy shop and im working on my website www.psychedelicglass.com wich is currently in my country language but ill make an english version too.
Here's my latest work:

[KahunaGlassArt]

wow those are gorgious! would you be able to post a pic or tutorial on how you made these?
ive been trying to make exactly those for a while now.

[voic]

Thanks!
Well, i want to do it and I will, i just dont have the time right now. Hopefully, in the near future... There was a very good tutorial here about implosions in the tutorial section. Anaraku had a very good tutorial also. There's also this tutorial wich I think its pretty good, by meltglass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsmpIWiXlVo . And of course, you can check out Brent's tutorial over at brentgraber.com.
I got a message today from someone who viewed my gallery on glassartists.org saying im a lyar, that i didnt start melting glass since may, and that i hired profesional glassblowers to teach me... I dont know if I should feel, bad because people dont belive me or actually pretty good, because my progress makes people doubt me...

[Clear_dome]

haha really funny dont care about them ...super nice flower !!!

[KahunaGlassArt]

they're jelous because of your gift!!
keep burnin and dont give a motha fudge about what they say

[voic]

Thanks,
I've seen your work, pretty good for just starting out! Keep on meltin'!

[KahunaGlassArt]

thanks a lot. any pointers you could give to make them look better? or like yours haha.
I made a couple fumed flowers today ill have to post some pics, if they are decent looking.

[EarthTones]

Nice stuff Voic,looking better & better all the time,can't wait to see more flowers.

[Glacier_Arts_Studio]

wow, you sure have got a grip on the implosion...
i mentioned, in another thread recently, that this
is what i wanted to do, when i fist started...
i did some pendents at first but, my teacher
was heavy into hollow work and i had to go
that way, in order to keep pace with all the
techniques he was showing me...

you rock man and that message calling you
a liar and any other such messages, are only
compliments...

for 350hrs. behind the torch, you are doing some
really nice work but, no one knows where you
learned and/or the time you put in before you
started...

myself, i watched and helped my teacher for
about 7 months before i got on the torch, for
the first time... 8-10hrs a night, i was consumed
with the proses of blowing glass and many,many
techs, were soaked into my knowledge base
before i started, so much so, i have not made
a focused effort on any one thing and there fore,
i have not perfected any of them... you seem to
have stayed a definite course and it shows...

..

[Uscalus Storm]

Damnit Voic....I dont think ive even gone thru 16 tanks this past year....Lmao. Guess i been way too busy working my other jobs though! The minute i leave japan and the holidays are over im all over that torch!! hahaa. Nice new stuff btw...Getting good with the silver colors

[Aaron F]

sweet love the colors

[voic]

Thanks.
I first discovered lampworking about this time last year,
while searching the web for a glass pipe, I didnt know
anything about it until then, so I immediately began
my research, day and night, I bought Contemporary
Lampworking, some DVD's, joined the communities... etc

5 months later I got the money and bought all the equipment
I needed. I started out making some basic shapes, small
sculptures and pendants. The book, DVD's, forums helped
me alot, but I didnt take any classes.. too expensive...

Ckauhane, all I can say right now is that practice makes
perfect, and ALOT of thinking! Pay attention to every tiny
detail (it will make the diffrence in the final product! for
example if you've placed a dot a little off center, or bigger
than the others, try to repair it right away push it in the right
position or remove it and place another before melting it in)
TAKE YOUR TIME with every step, dont try to hurry anything
and dont hope that maybe the little mistake you made wont
make such of a diffrence because it will...
My first implosion pendants took me over 2 hours but I think
they were pretty good for first tryes.. Even now i takes me
45 to 60 minutes to make one but I really dont care about it
because i know that the only key to this is PRACTICE.

About your pendants, well,
It is very important to make your maria as even and centered as possible so that the implosion will be even and centered. When making the maria make sure that the gather its almost spherical and evenly heated, after you get a good spherical gather concentrate the heat on the bottom of it before flattening it. Keep on spinning it while moving to the pad and try to hold it as perpendicular as possible while still spinning. Then gently press a little, spin it (just a few degrees), press it, spinn it, a little at a time, and if you notice that its a little off centered you can gently push it towards the center. Again, it is very important to hold it as perpendicular as possible. And dont press it too much so the rod doesnt go into the maria. (but practice makes perfect) If during implosion your maria gets off center or gets uneven, heat above it, just like you heat it when you make the implosion but face towards the wall and keep spinning as fast as you can so that when it moltens it will center itself. Be aware not to lose control of it. You can then remove it from the flame and keep on spinning untill it cools or flatten it a little on the pad.
Of course, drawing the design on the maria centered its another factor.
But if at the end, the implosion its still a little off centered, take a good look at it and place the loop so that the implosion is centered on the left-right axis. It looks worst if its more to the sides than if its up or down.
Your loops look pretty good, I know they are pretty tricky, as i said, try to place them in the right spot, melt those suckers in good and take your time to straighten them. Dont hurry up at this pont because you're so eager to finish. A nice looking loop will make a diffrence.
As for flattening the top petals too much that they go above the rest, dont hurry the implosion process, multiple steps are required, 5-6 or more. Go a little at the time and keep it hot. After the first 2-3 steps, concentrate the heat on the bottom of the maria, it should be very hot so when you flatten down only the bottom petals will spread, not the top ones. When flattening keep on eye on those top petals, dont press too hard, be gentle, and if you see them spreading more than you want stop pressing.

Oh man, somebody stop me :)
Anyway, these are some things that i've discovered through practice, thinking and understanding. This is my way of doing it, there may be some better ways to achieve what you whant, and there are certainly more experienced artists but everyone does it a little diffrent, you can find your own style keeping in mind the basics of the process. There are multiple ways of achieving a certain effect... I still have alot to learn.
Hope this will help you...

[Swampy]

Excellent explanation.

GLDG is a better place with you in it.

Try to put a lesson together with pictures and put in the Wiki. If you do decide to do that, lemme know if you need help with it.

[CripSkillz]

Very nice work and good explanation.. those pendants are clean man!

[KahunaGlassArt]

wow thanks so much.
i think im going wrong with my pendants in a big way because when im imploding i concintrate on the bottum of the "tread" of the maria the whole time. dont know.
im geting a refill on my oxy today so im gona giver!!!

[STROKER]

voic,
your work is very tight and clean. as others have said already take the b.s. comments on your work experience as nothing but absolute compliments.

there is a lot to be said about determination and drive but if you are lucky enough to have skill as well , then you are destined to produce great pieces in a quick time frame compared to others.

you sir are very gifted and envy runs deep towards such gifts.

i say fuck em all and keep rubbing their noses in the dirt by producing more and more great pieces......

as a self taught artist of a few mediums, i totally respect your ability to go as far as you have so quickly.

later, jay

p.s. great tutorial, i do alot of floral implosion marbles and i agree with every word you said. not that i count....

[Uscalus Storm]

ckauhane...There is no wrong way of doing things. You can still focus the majority of your heat on the "tread" of your maria and get different looks and form. Practice different steps using the same design and dont change your steps because of what the design looks like. Then look at them together and see what happens when you do what. Take notes.

[voic]

Im glad you all agree.
And of course, keeping in mind the basics the best way to understand whats going on and see what's what is to experiment yourself..
Swampy, about the tutorial, I was thinking of making a video demonstration of how i make my implosions, what do you think? Ill try to make it this month tho' I still dont have too much time..

[Swampy]

I think it's always fascinating to study the way other people do things.

I've shown a lot of people to play a guitar over the years and I always hear and learn something new or a different way to do something, that's the beauty of it I guess.

This is the Wiki implosion page (http://www.thegldg.com/wiki/Implosion), it's all correct but some pictures would be good if you get time. Your work is a fine example of that technique.

If you get time to do a video I guess the best place to put that would be on YouTube?

[shark bait]

Im glad you all agree.
And of course, keeping in mind the basics the best way to understand whats going on and see what's what is to experiment yourself..
Swampy, about the tutorial, I was thinking of making a video demonstration of how i make my implosions, what do you think? Ill try to make it this month tho' I still dont have too much time..

Voic, your pendants are really nice. i'm looking foward to seeing your video

[Glacier_Arts_Studio]

voic, i would like to see you do some videos as well...

..

[KahunaGlassArt]

thanks Usc.
and yeah youtube it up Vo-pimp!!

[Dom]

Very nice Voic, cool to see the progress. Your new marbles look sweet, you got alot of detail in a 1 inch marble.

[voic]

Greetingz friends! And a happy new year to all of you!
I've been doing some more practice still working on pendants, havent made my first video yet, but I will soon, first I have to figure out a way to do it :)
I was asked to make a Dragonfly tutorial for GlassLine magazine, belive that :), I was so happy and tried my best to make it right.. I hope it will be published.
So here are some fresh pendants for 2009

[STROKER]

your work is great and i think that kicks ass about the glassline article.

keep up the good work. jay

[Swampy]

Very impressive work.

[jr23]

nice going!!

[PowersArtGlass]

Amazing pendants!!! You're progress has motivated me to try some of them again today :)

[KahunaGlassArt]

congrats on the magazine man.
and beauty pendants as always

[CripSkillz]

Kick ass Gratz..

[amanofmusic]

right on, amazing progress.. the pendants are great, congrats on the magazine

[voic]

Thanks everyone!
Tested my colours lately, made some monocolor pendants, some colors are so great, flat.. just by themselves...
I got this new snow white wich is so sensitive no matter how i mix it its full of bubbles... maybe i've just encountered my firs bad batch or something :) ..
anyway.. I made some new floral implosion .. i'll try and take some photos now and post later..
I want to make some more flowers until i move along to another design .. with the implosion technique :) ..
Havent forgot about that video.. but my camera doesnt record more than 25 minutes or so, and i still make my flowers in about 35 :)

[KahunaGlassArt]

maybe skip some parts of the process or stop the camera during the general heating times and press play again once you start doing important steps

[MUPH]

Those colors are amazing.. Flowers look great. Very impressive work

[Mecha]

Those are really nice! I especially like the first two.

Congrats on the article!

[EarthTones]

Yeah,nice as always Voic,beautiful. Congrats on the mag:D

[Johan]

the top two pendants are sick. your colors are amazing as well...i hope to see more pics.

[shark bait]

I can't wait to check out your new photo's

[The Cheese]

You do some really nice implosion work. Looking forward to seeing some more.

[voic]

Thanks again everyone.
I've been trying to improve the appearance. But I'm still not 100% satisfied... gotta get me a light tent..
The 8petal flowers are a flattened and slightly bigger version ... because they have no pistils i can make them more flat.. although the pictures dont show too well.. the twisted center gives them plenty of depth..


<IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/hot.jpg" width="345" height="345" /><IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/fullbloom.jpg" width="345" height="345" />
<IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/blink.jpg" width="345" height="345" /><IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/sunny.jpg" width="345" height="345" />
<IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/calm.jpg" width="345" height="345" /><IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/freezing.jpg" width="345" height="345" />
<IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/radiant.jpg" width="345" height="345" /><IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/scintilating.jpg" width="345" height="345" />
<IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/dreamy.jpg" width="345" height="345" /><IMG src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/burning.jpg" width="345" height="345" />

I may have a big order on the way.. about 500 pieces.. man im so excited.. im not sure yet, ill find out next week.. but if so.. after i'll make them ill sure be able to make the video in 20minutes :)

[Johan]

wow...those arevery nice...I love the shape of the loop area. Flower like pendants are always a plus with customers at craft shows. i need to find myself a large order like that soon or i'll be starving. good luck. it's always fun to fill large orders...gives one a sense of duty.

[shark bait]

I like the twisted center's.

If you get your big order, I would be interested in hearing about it.

Keep the pics coming voic :bouncy:

[KahunaGlassArt]

so how do you do it?
fume the maria, dot/stripe on colour melt it in, dot/stripe another colour, melt it, implode??
i want to make these for sure.
maybe ill re-read the thread to see if you already explained it

[voic]

Well, these are done using silver colors, but I'll sure try some fuming later.
I first layer the siver color, melt it in but not fully so I can see better where to place the next layers, then I triple layer an opaque color encased in a silver color over the first color (right on top of it).
When I say triple layer i mean that I go with the stringer three times over it until i reach a triangle-like shape, then I melt all in a little and then I poke the petals with a blade if i want them pointy.
Triple layering helps me achieve a nice consistent petal witch wont thin out and if the color I'm triple layering is encased it will give me some nice veins as you can see in some of them.
For instance, the third one is made layering 8 dots of Mystery Aventurine on the edge of the maria, melting them in a little, then triple layering a stringer of Star White encased in Silver Pearl in the middle of the dot along its lenght, melting it smooth (but not fully in) and then poking each petal with a blade... Kind of repeated myself here..
Then implode normally and twist/pull (careful not to twist the top of the petals) when the petals are about 2-3mm from the center then implode one more time.
Place a background, shape the front add the loop and into the kiln..

[rye]

beautiful, and great advice about paying attention to every detail and really thinking about whats happening. how do you work those imploded silver colors so that they don't get washed out? sometimes i get nice colors like those, but sometimes they get washed out and gray.. its a lot trickier working them inside rather than on the surface, where you can just burn the extra silver off.

[KahunaGlassArt]

sick thanks man
i think this video is exactly what your discribing
http://www.brentgraber.com/pages/VIDEOLIBRARY.php
ive been geting that look (sort of) by fuming. it just gives the image a glow, but yours are way nicer

[voic]

yeah, thats almost exactly what im talking about.. i mentioned Brent's video in an earlier post.. He's great, he inspired me alot.
About the silver colors, I work them with a very oxidizing flame and try to keep the piece very hot the whole time (beginning to end). I noticed that if I let it cool too much and then reheat it, the haze will get thicker and gray. When drawing the design heat the stringer good so the haze burns off before laying it down. Im still learning here, but these are two things that helped me get better results.

[KahunaGlassArt]

still learning?
I cant even imagine what your pendants are going to look like when you get it perfect.
these already look perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
gona rip a bunch of these up on monday when I get my colour and glasses order in :D

[rye]

ah no wonder ive been teaching my little bro and he asks me to help him with something every five minutes so i've been letting stuff cool down too much i guess.. thanks a bunch thats gonna make things a lot better

[Dom]

Nice stuff loic. Some people just got it, and you are one of them.

[Meta Glass]

i love your pendants

their perfecto

[voic]

Thanks again,
and yeah.. i can share colors (as someone asked me to), no problem with that, just ask me if you like one specifically.

[KahunaGlassArt]

my favorite of the above pic would probably have to be the one on the second row from the top on the right. colours?
i attempted some of these today hopefuly they turned out ok

[KahunaGlassArt]

VOIC!!!
I need your gaidence.
my flowers are looking nothing like yours. they look pretty nice, but not the way i want then to.
i layer the first "triangles" of Silver Strike 3, melt in a bit, then layerd a white on one of them and Aqua Azul on another, melted in, did the indenting with a knife, yadda yadda.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/-chus-/001-10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/-chus-/002-9.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/-chus-/005-9.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/-chus-/001-9.jpg

[CripSkillz]

that last one gettn pretty close there,..

[amanofmusic]

sick thanks man
i think this video is exactly what your discribing
http://www.brentgraber.com/pages/VIDEOLIBRARY.php
ive been geting that look (sort of) by fuming. it just gives the image a glow, but yours are way nicer


great video thanks

[voic]

The pendant on the second row to the right its Amber Purple with a triple layer of Star White encased in Silver Pearl.
About your pendants, you're getting there, especially with the last one. All you need is more practice. As I said, with most silver colors, i try to keep the piece very hot beginning to end. After I finish imploding and before i place the background, or sometimes after, I heat the whole piece again very very hot, in a horizontal position, it gets so hot that the silver color inside gets transparent and you cant see it at all. Try that and see what you come up with.
I belive each color has its own little secret.

About the order i was talkin about earlier, it was too good to be true.. so it was off :) .. Of course one of my many goals this year is to succed in making lampworking my only source of income, but I dont want to push thing up more than I have to.. I'm gonna take it slow.. I always liked what Baker said:

"Give as little thought as possible to getting publicity. You are being encouraged to belive that if only you could get noticed by the right person, somehow stardom will befall you. You are being propagandized by this picture of uniformity, the idea that there is order underneath it all... Don't take it in. Dont yearn from it. You dont have a place in the spotlight until the spotlight comes to you. You cant second guess your way into the spotlight. There ain't no justice. It's a willy-nilly chaotic affair like the rest of life."

That beeing said, I wanted to ask you guys if you can give me some tips about working with glow in the dark powder. I got some samples of this powder, I tried mixing it with color and clear by rolling some small gathers into it, mixing together and pull stringer but the powder doesnt mix too well no matter how much i try and there is no glow at all in the finished stringer. Any ideas?

[KahunaGlassArt]

thanks for the advice!!
i want to try the powder too so i'd like to hear what people say.

[voic]

Greetings peeps,

Here's a quick post with a couple of jewlery sets I made on demand:

[cc_bob]

Hey Voic,

I just got my copy of the new Glass Line, nice tut, congradulations.

[KahunaGlassArt]

very nice flowers as always.
sweet dragonflyzz. I'm thinkin im goin to try some today

[voic]

Thanks. So is the tut out? Cant wait to receive my copy :)
I lost that order but i got one for 100 pieces and im thinking to make some more and sell them myself at a craft show during 26febr-1march.
We have a special tradition in our contry to give lucky charms to women on the 1st of March. So here's what im talking about, small implosions and other figurines:

[CripSkillz]

More sickness... lookin good man..

[voic]

Maan, its been a hard days month.. Got some orders for those tiny implosions, and made about 550 pieces..
Tried recording a video too but it turned out to be pretty crappy.. It has 12 minutes and about 600Mb so how exaclty should i upload it? didnt made any reseasch on that matter yet.. cause i dont think i should upload that shit in the first place :D

Anyway, here's some of the small implosions and a "three little birds" brooch :)

[CripSkillz]

bustin out nice..

[filthy god brother]

Have you thought about taking mandala style pictures with all those pendants. Maybe a bullseye shot of coordinating colors, it would be a cool poster.

[voic]

The thought crossed my mind but.. in the end.. i didnt do it.. Now that you mentioned it, I kind of regret not doing it :)
The pendants are all gone now.. Made some decent bucks with them wich Im gonna use for expanding my studio and buy some more glass and tools :D
I only used 10mm Kimble Kimax clear so far, what do you guys think about Simax? Im thinking about 12 or 14mm for pendants.. any larger than that I think will slow me down with my Lynx.. Any suggestions are appreciated :)

[jr23]

I think you would be fine up to 14 mil bigger really but like you said for production I would try some out. It might be the same time for maria's do to the fact you don't have to gather as much. And it just will balance out time wise.

[KahunaGlassArt]

wow hollin ass! good to hear your bringin in doe.
i use 12mm simax for pendants

[voic]

yeah.. it feels good :)
I found a Simax supplier here in Europe www.g-v-b.de and I think Im gonna order some 12 and 14mm rods (for pendants and small sculptures).
I want to get some 3 or 4mm rods for encasing and some 10mm tubing (1.5mm thick) for encasing larger lenghts of colored rods.
Now, I need your opinion about tubing for pendants. What size and thickness should I get for tube implosion pendants considering Im working on a Lynx.

Here's a couple of pendants inspired by some of my previous ones (pics taken in a hurry)

[p.j.]

i use 38x2.8 for implosions. it will melt like butter on a lynx

[kobuki]

Your pendant are nice for a beginner, but you are about four years behind the Chinese. If you are planning on making a living making this style of pendant you are competing with pendants that look as good and better for $1.00.
I have seen the Chinese pendants all over the US and in a bunch of other countries. I have even heard them called "venetian style"?
Good luck

JK

[Anubis]

we're all competing with imports, what does it matter....do what you love and the money will follow

[voic]

Hey man thanks for droppin by! I guess you're right. But heck.. as you noticed.. Im just getting started.. I can still count the stuff I made so far .. not much..
Anyway, I always admired your work, pretty amazing stuff you're making, congratulations on your achievements and thanks! for giving me the impulse to take it to the next level :D
Chinese are chinese man.. the ones who really appreciate this work.. they can tell..

[CripSkillz]

yup lookin good, and if your not wholsaling em you should be doing alright..

cuz your work is really nice..

[kobuki]

The sooner you get out of the production frame of mind the sooner you will step out of the box.

JK

[The Lorax]

it's hard to get out of the prodo mind-set when its the thing paying to make more glass.

[The Cheese]

The sooner you get out of the production frame of mind the sooner you will step out of the box.


I came to that realization last week cranking out prodo work. Haven't had too much "fun" the past couple weeks until tonight. Kinda relieving.

[voic]

Hey folks,

Here's something new I've attempted in the past week, made about 40 of these, experimenting diffrent patterns, color combinations... These are my best so far but I'm trying to perfect the tecnique to make them better.. The only problem is that alot of color combos dont come out the way I expect, most of them thin out too much.. I still got alot of experimenting to do until I find out wich colors look best imploded/compressed for this particular model.
Im curious if anyone has attempted this type before.. I personally havent seen any spider pendants so far..
Peace

<img src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/blue%20metal%20spider.jpg" width=300 height=300></img><img src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/onyx%20spider.jpg" width=300 height=300></img>
<img src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/canary%20spider.jpg" width=300 height=300></img><img src="http://www.psychedelicglass.com/bijuterii/red%20exotic%20spider.jpg" width=300 height=300></img>

[Johan]

Those are f-in awesome!!!!! I really like the bottom left yellow one. Do you make em' on a Maria?

[voic]

Thanks man, yeah, they're made like a regular implosion on a maria. Im using 10mm right now but I'll try 14mm after my new glass arrives.

[KahunaGlassArt]

yeah those are intense!

[CripSkillz]

hell ya those are bad assss...

[harpentuan]

Try making the attachment of the hoops on the pendents completely smooth and seamless, no lines, dents , or creases at the connection point. Not only does this make for a more durable pendent, it's more comfortable too. They also look more professional.

[harpentuan]

I see on those awesome spider pendents that you are using less intrusive hoop/loop. Very cool, I'm impressed.

[shark bait]

Nice work Voic. I like the first two.

[jr23]

I bet you could land a tutorial and article in Flow on those critters!

[The Lorax]

those came out really nice, i might have to give that tech a try later b/c i know people would love those. very well done!

[ornametalsmith]

the latest pendants are SICK..........love em. Hard to believe they aren't more distorted considering they are implosions. Think the yellow one is my fav. YOUR INSPIRATIONAL......I'd LOVE to see a demo

[sertaiz]

wow

[bzglass]

those are TIGHT!!!

[schmoinkel]

Bad...Assss

[vetropod]

Sweet tarantulas!

[organicglass.h]

very sick

[voic]

Thanks alot!
yeah.. the most important thing with these spiders is to keep them centered.
The other thing is to place the second and third segments of the legs almost on top of the first ones, but slightly closer to the center so they give the leg the segmented appearance..
Choosing the right colors is the thing that gives me alot of trouble... I waste alot of time staring at the colors trying to decide wich ones to use.. and alot of them turn out pretty bad... Im still using the NS sample pack I got almost a year ago and a few other colors a friend sent me.. So.. if a good color combo passes through your mind while reading this, throw it in! :D
peace

[MUPH]

Great work Voic!

[MrWizzard]

yeah those are cool. i love spiders...

[voic]

Greetings folks!
It's been a wile and unfortunately, a while whithout any melting for me.. The reason:
I resumed the work on my house (if anyone remembers last year I was building like a maa' folker..) Im almost done on the outside but I still got alot of work to do on the inside.. Ill show you some pics in a few days so you can get an ideea of what Im talking about..

So yeah.. im still alive, just not doing my thing for a couple of moths...
ILL BE BAKK!
Peace!

[ras_eel]

good luck with the renovations, cant wait to see u back on the torch

[voic]

Hello America. This is your president speaking.. john henry eden .. HAHAHA gothca! :)
This is just some radio talk from Fallout 3 ..wich is funny.. for someone who played this game..
Anyway,
I finally got my sheet together and started melting a couple of days ago.. After about 5 or more months I first tought i really lost it... But maan' was the pleasure unspeakable when the spiders came to take the shape I was looking for! Made about a douzen, but I wanna double that before I take some pictures..
This will probably happen during next weekend..

About the past 5 month, well, to make it short, I'll show you a couple of before and after pictures.. The only reason Im showing you my home its because it represents a big part of me... you know, i've been involved in this project for 12 years now, with everything i could... It was the project of my life and now its taken shape, from scratch... Hope everyone feels me...

Here are the pics, first one its before i started expanding last year, the next one its present (left wing is my brother's - center is for my folks - and the right one is for me) and the last one.. well the last one is the first that left a mark :) . I'll come back later with some photos of the studio.

'Til next time, this is your president, John Henry Eden, signing off... :D

[voic]

Here are some more pics..
- working on the studio (wich took me about 2 moths... its a nasty job working with glass wool isolation sweating like a pig during hot summer days...)
- the torch setup and stand, wich I made from some 'scrap metal' so I can have multiple positions for my burner, as you can see from the pictures, I can pull it towards me and lift it up so I can easily adjust the position for diffrent types of work and burners...
- my position behind the workbench, wich is usually standing up (from now on), but when I decorate with stringer, I put my knee on that little chair, and support both hands at the wrists to increase my precision... wich is very heplful especially with the spider pendants when you have to place the tiny segmens of the legs close to each other and on the exact right spot..

That's all for now, Ill be back with the new pendants as soon as I can.
peace

[Rowdy]

Nice house, and studio. that burn looks like a good one! I bet it feels good to be back on the torch, I hate those long periods without burning. Keep up the good work, I really dig those recent spider pendants.

[voic]

Unspeakable man.. unspeakable...
thx :)

[voic]

hope i didnt offend anyone with that president eden stuff.. Im just glad to be here again..

[KahunaGlassArt]

lets see some glass man!!!

[The Lorax]

hope i didnt offend anyone with that president eden stuff.. Im just glad to be here again..

i dont see how thatd be offensive. cool you are workin on the 2nd story. keep the pics comin :D

[sevendeuce]

why is the torch not on? am i missing something?

[Uscalus Storm]

Yea about time bro...good to see ur getting along :)

[voic]

ok fellas you asked for it! :)
Unfortunately I didnt have the time to light the lynx since my last post but i've managed to take some photos. Im not very sastisfied about the pics tho', i'll have to try harder because these pendants really do look way cooler in reality than in these frakin pictures ..
So,
first one is STEEL WOOL encased in ONYX. The flower is Blue AP backed with BLUE NEBULA.
The second spiders flower is SILVER PEARL backed wit PLUM KUSH.
These first two came out really crappy in the pics...
3rd one is Jupiter Sparkle encased in Lustruous Blue, flowe Blue Moon backed with Indigo Av.
4th is Jupiter Sparkle encased in Star White, flower is Blue Caramel encased in Dk Orange, backed with Jet Black.
5th is the same spider, on a Blue Moon flower backed with Deep Sea Blue.
6 - neptune sparkle in Jade, Blue Thunder flower back with DSB.
7 - same spider, Caramel flower, Wallnut back.
8 - same spider, Silver Pearl flower, Plum Kush back.
9 - cherry in SW, Blue Caramel flower, Jet Black .
10 - SW encased in Blue Metal, Blue Thunder flower, DSB back.
11 - same spider, Blue AP flower, Blue Nebula back. This one shows a couple of mistakes I made, I didnt have any place left for the front legs so i messed it up there with the dots, let the piece cool for a little longer, so the front legs came out inside the petal and the whole flower got a little too hazy..
12 - Trautman Super Canary encased in Wallnut spider, Blue Moon flower, Blue Nebula back.
13 - same spider, and you can figure out the rest :)

... in case anyone was wondering... AND,
If you guys want to share a nice combo with me or just want to know how a color combo would look like tell me about it and ill make some spiders out of it..
And of course, any other suggetions and criticism are welcome.
peace



... 'course i've been allected, America... of course.. :D

[cc_bob]

Nice spiders man!!! Glad to see you posting again.

[bzglass]

glad to have you back. Congrats on the finnished house and the new studio!!

[voic]

I apreciate it.


Try making the attachment of the hoops on the pendents completely smooth and seamless, no lines, dents , or creases at the connection point. Not only does this make for a more durable pendent, it's more comfortable too. They also look more professional.

This was a very good one! The loop should be one with the pendant indeed. no lines no dents no seeds no sticks! And besides that, if the front is a whole smooth curve the light doesnt reflect on two spots, there will be only one. By two spots I mean one would be the center lens and the other will be the loop. Some of the pendats in post 104 (http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=393303&postcount=104) show what I mean.
At first look it may not be such a big deal but then again...
The back is not so smooth, I may have to improve that too, I dont know how comfortable it is like that, i guess Ill have to wear some.


Here's the diffrence

[Mecha]

Nice spiders. The ones with the highest contrast between the spider and the background look the best by far. It is much easier to see them than the ones with similar coloring behind them.

Great job on your house and studio. Looks like an awesome place to work.

[MUPH]

Great work Voic, nice to have you back

[KahunaGlassArt]

nicely done! do you have a tutorial on these anywhere?

[Rosentech]

Those spiders are awesome! Keep up the great work. How did you get into glass in Romania?

[voic]

you're far too kind

I aint got a tutorial yet, I'll put together one after I'll make some more..
They are regular rod implosions, you draw two layers of 5 petals each at the very edge, melt in, add the 8 dots (legs) pretty much in the spots where you see the tips of the legs in the pendants (notice that 4 legs ore on the inner petals and 4 on the outer ones) <the dots can overlap the petal but should touch the clear too> then melt in.
Marver a little then procced pushing each petal with a blade to make them and the legs pointy.
Implode, then place the second segments of legs overlapping the first ones but touching the clear just a little too. Melt in, marver then place the body of the spider on a outer petal, between the two back legs (a big teardrop dot). Shape it nicely and melt in.
Implode then place the head almost in the center but a little bit towards the front legs. (smaller round dot half the body). Melt in then start placing the third segments of the legs just like the second ones. You're going to have to be very precise because they're going to be close to each other. You're also gonna be placing two very small dots in front of the head on the inner petal not IN. (the front smaller legs)
Melt everything in then start imploding 4-5 or even more times until its done. Then proceed as you desire, the spider is done.
Hope this makes sense, there will be a detailed one.


I got into glass by chance.. wile surfing the web with no specific reason. Glasswork videos on Youtube introduced me to glass almost two years ago.. What a great feeling I had discovering it... Pipes were what attracted me most, but the equipment and glass I needed for pendants and smaller stuff was cheaper... Now I got some tubing too but I just cant stop with the implosions yet :)
So the only help I got so far was basically from you guys.. I consider myself an amateur, still at the hobby state, only been thru 32 tanks of O2, about 800hrs total.. Besides some small critters and about 20 marbles I only made pendats so far, mostly implosions.. Course I wish I could make a living with this but right now I dont. The thing I want the most Is to make great things with glass because when I make something that really pleases me.. maan I feel electric! ohh yeahh :D
peace up

[jes]

very impressive, wow

[Dom]

Wow dude those spiders are very sick indeed. Awesome detail, great colors. Everything is top notch. Good work.

[STROKER]

voic,

have you lived in romania all your life?

the reason i ask is that your english seems too good to be the case. hell you speak/write better than half my redneck friends. that is no shit either.

just wondering. oh and by the way. everyone is right about those spiders.

absolutely bad ass.

later, jay

[voic]

many thanks!

Yeah, living near the city where I was born and raised, Constanta.. and well, the main source for my english was, from my early ages, video games. Yep, Im talking about alot of strategy games, quests, RPG's (Fallout is my favourite of all times) all in english and with alot of content. I also learned it from 4th grade till I finished college... it was always my favourite course I guess, the one I enjoyed the most...
But Im not THAT good, I could be alot better.. I can understand english very good while hearing and reading and I can write well because I can take my time to find my words but speaking is another story. I can do that but its diffrent, way harder, especially for me because then again I cant express myself very well even in my own language..
Wish I could be smarter, who wouldnt ... I have a great desire for knowledge and wisdom but the more I learn the more I realize how little I know... Shit I think Im way off here.. hope you dont mind :)

..wanted to say another thing here, Its something interesting for me because after I try to express somethin writing, and then I go back and read it from the perspective of an outside individual I dont really get myself, Im not really feeling what I was trying to express you know... Its true that most of the stuff that we percieve and try to express its actually unspeakable.. words are dead, inert... we use them to comunicate but at a very superficial level.. I think if we could somehow connect at a higher level, you know feel each other and really care about one another things would have been much better for all of us.. ..

Hey thanks for listening! chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiildren! This is Voic, HOWL! signing off...

[Rosentech]

Let me just say this......

Voic, you have better grammar and composition than most people positing on this forum! Keep up your excellent english skills and excellent glass skills! Looking forward to more pics of your work. Is there anything new you have been experimenting with or something you are interested in trying?


Adam......

[CripSkillz]

ya there all sick those are some of the coolest pendants i have seen...

[voic]

well.. Im interested in trying many things... I mean I got alot of stuff in my head to try out but I guess my main flaw is that I move too frakin slow..
Things have been tough for me lately.. despite whatever one might think about me.. This break really messed me up... Im broke and I hardly sell anything to get back on feet.. so my morale isnt too good either...
I've put up some more pics in my glassartists gallery
http://www.glassartists.org/Gal37766_.asp#Comment_34459
and I've taken some pictures for the tutorial while working on the marble for the swap. Turned out pretty good but has an imperfection consisting of a very thin line around the bottom, where I added more clear and I guess the marble was too cold.. But anyway, I was thinking at you guys right here when I made it I cant show it to you yet but I can show you the pendant version of it, its called Americano :D

[jes]

I really like the contrasting colors in the red white and blue, well I like them all, really great technique, thanks for sharing....

[Swampy]

Dood if you can make a red-knee tarantula and get to know some friends that are arachnid-friendly, you might get a few sales... maybe the spider accessories category on eBay, I dunno...

[voic]

Thanks Jes.
Yeah, great tip swampy. I should look into it.. I guess if I want to sale smthg I should promote it in the right place.. I have the gallery on glassartists and the etsy shop with 15 views per item, some pics on a couple more forums... No wonder heh... I suck at promoting myself...

[KahunaGlassArt]

try going to local gallerys and gift shops, theyre usually more then willing to sell stuff, on consignment of course :bangHead:
but its better than it sitting in your place collecting dust, i think atleast

[Pogo]

... Its true that most of the stuff that we percieve and try to express its actually unspeakable.. words are dead, inert... we use them to comunicate but at a very superficial level.. I think if we could somehow connect at a higher level, you know feel each other and really care about one another things would have been much better for all of us..
Is this from the movie "Waking Life"?



Hey thanks for listening! chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiildren! This is Voic, HOWL! signing off...
And this IS 3-dog! :D

[Pogo]

And those spider implosions are worth like a thousand bottlecaps, some bob's iguana on a stick, a 10mm submachine gun, and an outcast power armor helmet.


*edit
And since i kind of figure Fallout is a sweetspot of yours maybe we can cut a deal.... I've been a HUGE fan since #1 on PC.... In my game room I have the FULL SIZE power armor store display for Fallout 3.... What edition do you own??? If you wanna barter I'll trade you my pip-boy bobble-head (mint condition) for a certain spider pendant.... It's kinda like the trade for mibs game but with other crap. :D

[voic]

yup. Waking Life. I found it a very interesting and entertaining movie.. but had to check out the transcripts a few times to get everything :) .. ever since I wanted to lucid dream I never remember anything of what Im dreaming.. maybe Im just too damn tired all the time..

hehe, oh yeahhh! :D
I've been a fan too, loved the first ones and just finished Fallout 3.. I dont own any edition.. I guess my way of thanking them for this great game is just spreading the word about it..
I dont know how you do it there, but here.. piracy is still blooming and its just a click away..
Im still interested in a trade if you think Im still worthy :)
pace

[Swampy]

how bout a zoo where they have spiders...?

[Pogo]

Im still interested in a trade if you think Im still worthy :)


Very cool Voic... PM me your address and I'll get this thing sent your way... Throw in some other cool stuff, too.
I want a spider pendant with the blues and grays like pic#2 in post 188. (I think you called it hashmaster on your etsy) your work is rockin.

[Euphoria Glassworks]

Nice job!!! looks like you are all over it! keep up the good work, and log as many hours as you can. i truly believe great glass is much more about drive and passion than artistic talent...its all about drive

[The Lorax]

i'd love to grab one of these spiders one day

[voic]

Thanks! I just uploaded a sort of tutorial wich is not much but will help you understand how I make'em..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHNMRBj803E
A pendant video will be next.. but not very soon..
Unfortunately I got nothing else to show you as I haven't melted in a while.. hopefully next week..

p.s. Its about passion aaight.. Im far from beeing a true artist...

[KahunaGlassArt]

just watched the vid looks awesome man thanks

[cc_bob]

That video was AWESOME!!! Very good explanation!!! Thank you very much for posting it!!!!

[faded]

"nice and juicy"

good video, thank you. :)

[hashmasta-kut]

ya, most cool :)

[Bryan]

very helpful thank you!!

[Rosentech]

One of the best photo tutorials ive seen. You explanations are absolutely excellent! And your english is superb. keep up the awesome work. I look forward to seeing a video.

[Lurch]

very cool vid!!! Your work is badass! Gotta try one of these spiders

[stateofmind]

Voic, I'm a huge fan of your work. The colors on some of your pendants I can only describe as "stellar". You're an inspiration to me!

I've read this whole thread and I'm working on improving my implosions and I couldn't figure out what you meant by this:


When I say triple layer i mean that I go with the stringer three times over it until i reach a triangle-like shape, then I melt all in a little and then I poke the petals with a blade if i want them pointy.

What is this "triangle-like shape" you describe? If you were just laying 3 layers of stringers onto the petals then wouldn't they just be lines that are higher up (stacked)? I don't see how doing this could form a triangle. Maybe I'm totally missing the obvious here?

[turtleglass]

Thanks for sharing your hard work and dedication with implosions! Your Videos on youtube really opened my eyes to what was actually goin on with implosions, and that makes a world of diff. Keep doin what you love! Props on the tutorial.

[voic]

Thanks.. too bad I'm a lazy krayzie ass mo'pho who cant seem to get his shit together and life on tracks..
Anyway.. I've been focusing on the local market lately, but I really havent done much.. always having to deal with other issues .. I keep thinking about moving far away to the countryside, live a very simple peaceful life and continue my work there..
"triangle like shape" yeah thats like three lines stacked but placed in one step .. you finish the line and you jump quickly with the stringer at the begining of the line above it without cutting the stringer and make a new line (or just jump back forward up and cut with the stringer :) ).. and so on.. so you get a triangle like shape or half a circle.. The ideea is that you get more glass on the center of the line witch is good for the particular design..
So nothinng new from me just a couple of lunar shrooms..
but i'll be back.. one day
still got your pendant Crip..
peace

[voic]

hmm.. got to make the right bail smaller....
I like this type of loop the most... with the proper jumpring.. but mostly because its the safest type in my opinion, I build it with clear without piercing the glass .. there will be no cracking issues around it even without annealing right away.. I dont get scum on the hole and I can make it faster than any other loop type with a few drops of clear, but then again I waste some time with the jumprings...

[Swampy]

Your shroomies are looking good, a neat effect is to put a tiny dab of strange colour like an exotic red/blue or green on the very tip of your push rod. Then whet it flares out into the clear, it contrasts with the stalk really good. But you got them looking good there.

[Normalname]

Inspirational Voic. I saw your video on YouTube by happenstance. The first thing I did after finishing the video was look for more by you, I was disappointed that it was your only one. Now I find your thread with a few tutorials, made my day!