Ask the Fire Divas Question For February

This months question was "What is the most challenging part of working with glass?"

This is really a good question because this answer is a little bit different for each of us. One person's strength may be another persons weakness! Here are some of the answers from our lampworkers:

Amy Sims of Amy Sims Designs says "Deciding which colors to use, lol! Seriously, though, learning how the different colors react with each other is difficult, and takes a lot of practice. Explaining to a customer that I can't do "that bead" in a different color scheme because of the way the colors react or don't react is sometimes a challenge."

Lara Lutrick of Lutrick (Lampwork Beads and Jewelry by Lara) "For me it is trying to be patient and not force the glass. I'll try to move the glass or create a design when it is too cold and break the release. Also, I'll super heat it and get discoloration and burnt areas if I'm not careful. Glass will do what it is going to do."

Kathleen Robinson-Young of Ugly Duckling Beads says, "For me it's getting colors to have the same impact and intensity they have when working them in the flame. In the flame my colors seem to blend and play together well. Then the magic moment comes to see what they look like after a night in the kiln, and all I see is a design made with lackluster colors on a murky base that doesn't look anything like the rods I used. But some good comes out of it.... usually I can figure out what colors to use the next time to get the effect I want."

Lori Bergmann of AshlynDesign says, "One of my challenges is figuring out the chemistry of how different colors and silver glass work together, and trying to get consistent results. You never quite know what you'll get because each time you sit down to torch there are so many variables like weather, flame fuel mix, color batch, etc. that can affect the design."

As for me, SilverRiverGlassWorks one of my biggest challenges is taking the endless possibilities and narrowing them down enough to have a starting point every time I sit down to torch. There are so many possibilities and directions each torching session could take that sometimes I can't decide where to start and what to focus on!