Another Noob progression thread!

[dOprah Winfrey]

Just a few more pics or some new stuff I was looking on my computer, decided to post them up.

This is a blowin that I particularly liked. I'm digging the depth in the color.


A small case of blowins from a couple weeks ago


My first real attempt at a bub. Tried one like a month ago just for shits and giggles without much luck. Haven't really thought about them since, but my a family member needed a pipe so I decided to actually try one out for him.







I definatly need to work on my seals (or are they called seams?) so they don't look so crappy. I'm sure the search function will provide all the answers I need about that. It think after trying a few more though I can get them much cleaner. Ooh yeah and there is water in there so I could see if it worked properly, thats not a crack. When I first saw the pic on my computer I ran to find the piece because it looks like the can is split.

All critisism and/or tips is welcome, just don't bust me for being a horrible speller I'm well aware. Thanks for looking,
Travis

[dOprah Winfrey]

I've only had scraps and ends of tubes to mess around with while waiting for my glass order to show up. I've had to limit my torching also so I have some oxy left when it does show up. Tried another bub, its definatly not pretty but I think its a step in the right direction. The weld is better, but still a long way from where I want them to be. Hopefully today when my supplies arive I'll be able to make more than one in a row so I can get a little better.

I like the way the honeycomb stem looks, i'll definatly have to make another one with more glass so its not so thin and hopefully I can get my bends less wonky. I've never really messed around with bends like this, should have got it much hotter before trying to move it. This thing ended up cracking all to shit on me right as I was finishing it. Taking the cracks out definatly messed up the shape. I'm sure I've got a buddy who needs a bub, it'll make a funny little gift.

I rigged up a little light defusing thing to hopefully make the pictures look less crappy. Its not the best but it works for me till I can get money together for a real one.



Thanks for stopping by, as always suggestions/critisism are welcome,
-Travis

[dOprah Winfrey]

So as soon as I decided not to post so much crap work, I had a night of work and this morning a couple of these came out of the kiln and I can't help but share them. They're so much thicker than anything I was making before, I'm really starting to get the hang of condensing stuff even on my little torch. These pipes have 50% more color blown in, and are made with 30% more glass even though they're much smaller and therefore way thicker.

Purple Luster honeycomb blowin


Amazon Lagoon honeycomb blowin


I'm really digging the way the clear in the honeycombs allow for some fume growth in the piece, just what I needed to spice these things up a little.

Thanks for looking, comments/suggestions always welcome,
-Travis

[dOprah Winfrey]

Haven't posted here in a while. Lifes been pretty busy helping people move, dog died, dealing with lawyers and workmans comp... Anywho got a used 12 port cheetah from Trev's (who were awesome to order from, highly recomended). Messed around a little to learn the torch while draining my old oxy tank. Got a new one and just finished it up today. All of this was blown off of 1 K tank. Might not be impressive to some, but its a huge improvement over what I could blow off a tank with my bobcat. My girlfriends got the good camera so I'm stuck trying to take pictures with a piece of crap camera so sorry about the quality.

Its a good feeling to have a case full of glass again, it has been too long. Long story short, I now understand what all the diehard triplemix to the grave people were talking about, and now that I'm not on a "bead torch" my pieces are finally as thick as I've wanted them to be for a while. Can't wait to see if the shop owners notice how much nicer the pieces are, and I'm sure they will appreciate that I can keep my prices the same because I'm able to work so much faster.

Thanks for stopping by and looking, comments/suggestions/critisisms always welcome,
Travis

edit: I just looked at the picture in the post. ugh I hate that god damn camera I'm using. Doesn't do this case any justice at all, not that its super special or anything, but it looks much nicer in real life. I'm going to have to spring and just buy a new camera.

[ALIEN!]

damn nice! Keep it up!

[steak351]

cool stuff, do you mean by the term blowin that you have a small(honeycomb) bubble of colour on a blowtube and get it really hot and drop it into a point or a tube and blow the bubble inside the tube??

i tried it but i am kinda shaky and i always touch the walls and it gets wonky

kind regards

[Riley]

steak,
i believe that is what he meant by blow-in. it can be a tricky technique, as you mentioned, one could easily touch the side by accident, or trap air in ways you don't want. or thin in places, making it work unevenely. it has it's advantages, as far as using less color.

if that is giving you a hard time, you may try sleeving. you can achieve more consistent results with less frustration.

[dOprah Winfrey]

Thanks for the kind words all.

Steak you hit the nail on the head about what a blowin is. Coilpot up a 5-6 inch piece of color (you can use more or less depending on how you want it to look) heat it till its drippy then stick it in an open point (preferably heated to a very dull glow to prevent cracking) and blow it out. I recomend using atleast 38mm tubing to help with not sticking it to the sides. I know I personaly tacked many coilpots onto the side while learning this technique (which can sometimes give a pretty cool effect and I sometimes do it on purpose when the effect is desired.). But after a while it became a fluid motion, practice with a blowtube and a point and try to lock your shoulders and elbows in place before dropping the ball of color into the cup. You'll learn with practice exactly where to put the ball of color before puffing it out so you get the look that you want. I like the color to thin out a little by the mouthpiece to give it a nice flow, and be a little thicker in the stem so when I stretch it a little while shaping the color doesn't fade out too much. Another tip is while heating the coilpot raise your blowtube above the coilpot twords the end of heating so it stretchs out instead of being perfectly round like a ball. That way when you puff it out its closer to the shape of the tube and will apply itself more evenly.

Thanks again for looking,
-Travis

[sertaiz]

that purple luster honeycomb blowin is nasty

[Riley]

nice work and progression, sorry for the thread jack...

here's a trick for doing blow ins for more prep, so you can get more than one piece from the process. you should be able to get 2 thick headine spoons, or any number of pendants or windows. as well i felt this technique helped with the overall process. allowing you to handle and heat evenly throughout the blowin.

if you flare a 6" piece of 50mm, with one end tapered at your blowtube. you can attach a 10mm rod to the side, and tear off your blowtube. pop a hole there. now you have a handle that is perpendicular the tube. in this way you can hold it easily, and it will sit vertically allowing you to drop your blowin straight down into it.

for the color section i really liked coiling a sparkle, like unob or lochness, over a 2" -25mm tube of china blue, green, or even black. by using chinese tubing as a base you not only save money on color, but give other colors different color bases, which have neat effects when honeycombed. i like to coil the color around as opposed to lines because aesthetically the lines will disappear more that way. heat this and get it nice and thick. you will have wanted to have this attached to a blowtube that was thickened at the collar, to give you more control when heating and blowing, as the mass of color can be thick and you will find best control that way.

take the prepped heated flare from the kiln, after you have your colored section hot. with the handle you can heat straight down the flare getting the inner walls hot, you will want to get it hot but not so much as to deform the 50mm or bend your handle. heat both pieces up then drop the color down vertically into your flare. obviously the trick is to not touch the sides and blow at the same time.

tear off the blowtube, pop a hole at the tapered end, where the blown in color will have sealed, and attach a blowtube. remove the handle and and lumpoof clear to keep the overall wall thickness equal.paddle down the flare, melt it down and pull it out. now you should have enough prep for several pieces, 7+ honeycomb windows, or even more honeycomb pendants.

cheers, and sorry for the long winded thread jack o rama. hope it helps more than hinders

oh and i dig the pre honecombed style, but you may find that honeycombing afterwards allows you to add more depth and get more from your prep as you are adding even more clear.

[blueflame glass worxs]

travis you are doin very good if you are truely deadacated to the glass ..at some time it would be in your BEST intrest to take classes on glass working ,..yes they are not cheap ,but worth every dollar you spend.you haven't even tryed small figures yet ..have you? I think we talked once b4....if you need some help &you think i can help give me a shout . practice OFTEN.theres alot of help out here now..so FLAMEON.

[TlkQ]

I can't wait until glass guy finds my thread.. I bet he has like an essay worth of advice for me.. The work looks good chummsdoe

[dOprah Winfrey]

glass guy your right, I haven't really messed around with small figures yet. I found a place only a half hour from me that offers private classes. Now to just save up some scratch...

Alright haven't posted anything here for a while. Haven't had anything worth posting I guess. Took a month off because I was too bogged down with a bunch of lame shit that really got in the way of well everything important. So anyways heres what I've been working on as of late, now that I'm back on the torch.

Triple passion or maybe purple luster blowin I can't remember which. I love having a torch now that can condense 38x4 without taking over an hour a piece. Yeah I know the hole in the bowl is a little too big. Doesn't look as big in person for some reason. Thats what she said.



Another blowin of caramel luster with some clear stringer work. I'm really digging the effect of the stringers.



Decided it was about time to learn how to make sherlies. Messed around with some clear and finaly it just made sense. I'm pretty sure I'm going to tweek my shape on these in time, but for right now I'm enjoying how they're coming out. These were all from my first day trying sherlies. Its damn satisfying to decide your going to do something new, and then actually doing it.



Heres my attempt at a close up of one of the sherlies. The camera I have SUCKS and doesn't have a macro so bear with me. I'm really digging the color I got out of this one.

Amazon Bronze



I wasn't able to capture all the colors in that last one with the camera for some reason, there is more purple in it in real life. Its decently sparkly but again the picture does it no justice.

Thanks for looking all, any suggestions, tips, questions about colors used, insults, are welcome.

Travis

ITS GREAT TO BE BACK BEHIND THE TORCH!

[Rowdy]

Just my opinion but, the holes on the one you said was to big seem to be just about right for proper flow and function. After a couple sessions that hole will perfect and you won't get a headache trying to suck thru a uber small hole. I like big holes, it's easier to load a small chunk as a stopper and fill the rest with the grind. Your progression is great, keep up the good work! Good luck, peace.

[coloringdan]

I don't think the hole looks too big. The second one might be a little too small though! Great first day on sherlocks!

[steak351]

cool examples and explanations i tried a blow in today and it worked but my cup made of 44X4 was way to big and the coiled ball was way too small , but i got a cool effekt i used penumbra some kind of blue silver colour

thanks kind regards frank

[dOprah Winfrey]

Thanks for the opinions of the holes. I guess the shops around here will always find something to bitch about. I try to mix up the hole sizes because I've noticed whats too big for one person is too small for another. I've yet to find the perfect happy medium. I usually shoot for between 2 and 4 mm.

Steak, how much color did you coil up? Also how big was your slug of 44x4? You might have had enough color, sometimes its all in how you blow the color into the cup. If your ball of color is even in both heat base and wall thickness I find I get better results by slowly blowing the color. At first I thought I needed to blow it out fast so it would stick but I found that that can lead to uneven coverage and bubbles that pop in a weak spot I wasn't aware of. For me once the ball of color is in the slug of clear I slowly count to three while puffing out. Not sure if thats helpful at all, just something I figured out while doing these.

Thanks for looking,
Travis

[dOprah Winfrey]

Nothing special, but decided to finally try iso linework today. Heres what I ended up with. 3rd 4th and 5th attempt from left to right.



Didn't really plan out my color combos or anything. Whatever I had scraps or shorts of ended up becoming stringers. They're probably not shop worthy but I'm definatly suprised at how these came out. For some reason this was my first time fuming the inside of the pieces and I learned quickly that less is more with fuming.

Thanks for looking, comments, suggestions, death threats always welcome
Travis

ps. if anyone has any suggestions on where to shoot my flame when laying stringers inside that would be sweet. Thats really the most confusing part for me right now. Its making more sense with each one but I feel like I'm missing something still.

[dOprah Winfrey]

Recently got back from a friends place outside Burlington. While I was there I stopped by Bern Gallery. The glass there is absolutly incredible. Definatly inspired me to get out of my comfort zone a little and try a few new things. Nothing too insane, but new techs none the less. Heres what I came up with yesterday.

Amazon Bronze blow in, then honeycombed. Honey comb didn't come out perfect but it started me down the right path I think.



Exp. Green 5 Blowin with some horns pulled. I'd never pulled horns before but I kinda like them, I'll keep messing around till I get them right. I'll start using more more of this color than I did on this one in my blowins, didn't come out as vibrant as I would have liked.


Multi blow in with horns. This piece looks to me like it belongs underwater. I'm really enjoying how subtle multi can look in a blowin compared to the dark colors I've been using


Green Exotic Blowin Honeycombed bowl, I'm finally getting results that I like out of green exotic, for the longest time I was browning it out, or it was coming out really dark and not too green. I hope I can keep making pieces with this mix of effects




This is my favorite pipe of the bunch, Black Pearl blowin honeycombed bowl. This color is quickly becoming one of my favorites for blowins, so many different color posibilities out of one rod. I think it was my best honeycomb out of the batch too.


I recently found a studio not too far from where I live that offeres lessons, I'll be starting weekly lessons soon after the new year, I can't wait. I hope to keep trying new things and not allowing myself to get as stagnant as I have been.

Thanks for looking, comments and questions always welcome,
Travis

ps sorry about the poor photo quality. I'm stuck using a 6 year old piece of crap digital camera till I get a new one. Thanks for understanding.

[ivebeenshotafied]

i love green exotic iso. shaping on the last to look on point yo