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Author: Beth_Boal, Contributing Editor
| Creating The Zebra Using Gravity
Next, you begin shaping the straight lines into the zebra design by using a focused flame and gravity to make different sections of the lines "sag", creating a more natural zebra-like design. On the picture at right, as well as the picture at the top of the article, you can distinguish 3 "wave" points: 1) about a fifth to a quarter of the way in from the left side, 2) near center ("sags" upward), and 3) at the very right end. |  |
| Making Waves
To make the "waves" or sags in the stripes, you heat a focused section of the bead (while continuing to rotate the bead) so that the surface layers begin to move slightly downward because of gravity. You only want to heat the surface layer, not the core. If the bead is heated too much, it will lose it's basic bicone shape. Better to work a bit further out and more slowly, than heat too much and have to reshape the whole bead. Once an area starts to move - and you will be able to see it moving - let it sag gently, but not as severly as the wavy bead above. Subtle curves in the lines are what make the pattern look natural. Next, pick a point at the other end of the bead and repeat the process. You will now have a bicone with gentle sagging at each end, but none in the middle. In order to create the wave in the other direction, you need to switch the mandrel to the opposite hand. (Of course, if you use Kate Fowle's method of applying the bead release to the center of the mandrel, you can simply switch ends of the mandrel and continue to use your dominant hand - lucky you!) You can actually sag the lines slightly to the left or right as well by tilting the mandrel a bit as you heat. Just be careful not to get the bicone out of balance. Also, while you might be able to "skip" this final sag (after all, the sags on each end sort of created a reverse sag in the center for you), I find the balance seems a little off without it. |
| Final Shaping
Once you've finished all this heating and sagging, you're bicone is bound to be a bit out of shape. You can now reheat and marver into your final shape. Be careful in this step, because a little overzealous "shaping" can ruin what you've so carefully created. Remove any chill marks in the outer flame and pop your zebra into the kiln to anneal. Additional Notes: 1) Moretti black glass tends to "bleed" into white the longer you "cook" it (see edges of black in pictures above) creating a slightly purple edge. You could try making the bead in the "inverse" - white base, black stripes - then you could use intense black stringer for the stripes, which is less likely to "bleed". Just remember a white base will melt easier than the black stripes, so you'll need to be more careful in the "sagging" steps. 2) A focused flame (on a Minor Bench Burner) is generally a slightly oxygen-rich flame. This technique can be done on a hothead, but it may be a little harder to pinpoint heat a small area. 3) As always, you are continuously rotating the bead throughout the entire process, as well as periodically reheating the whole bead so that no area cools down too much and cracks. |
| Hope you have enjoyed this article, if you have any questions or comments, please let's do discuss this in the Glass Art Forum. Just click on the "Discuss Button" found on each page of this article.
Zebra beads are such fun, I'd really like to see some of your creations get some feedback as to any problems you might have had. I look forward to seeing them and I know that others do too. |
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| B i o g r a p h y | |
| Beth discovered lampworking earlier this year. Something about working with a big flame and pretty colored glass seems to be an addicting combination for many, and she, too, was hooked. | |
| Her love of animals led her to figure out ways to recreate animal patterns in glass. Her love of procrastination led her to spend many hours on the torch rather than doing other mundane things like eating, sleeping and going to her day job. | |
| E-Mail: tkec@tkec.com Web Site: http:// | |
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