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Author: JimBolesDesigns, Contributing Editor
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| This is a 1 1/8 inch René marble.
It seems in the marble world most marble types have a name, which often refers to how a marble is made. If I may be so bold and presumptuous I’d like to call marbles made through the application of metals and enamels René marbles after René Roberts who is a master of this technique, and whose beads have been inspirational to me. Just so I don’t get pummeled with email from marble aficionados, we should just use the name René marbles at WC. I certainly don’t want to offend someone’s sense of appropriateness or violate marble history somehow. If the name catches on elsewhere then that’s fate. And, of course, I hope René doesn’t mind. :) |
| The Tools and Elements
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| These are the basic tools to make a René Marble. From top to bottom I’ll explain the tools and elements.
Ceramic Fiber Board · On the very top is a sheet of ˝ inch ceramic fiberboard. Its odd shape is not significant. It was just a piece of scrap I had. There are two points to observe. In the middle is a divot (concave cutout) that was formed by using a large washer and twisting it into the fairly soft board. Its only purpose is to form a place for the marble to rest in (you’ll see later). · The somewhat semicircular cutouts that are on both sides of the divot were made to allow the placement of the board as near to the torch as possible. Enamels · The enamels are stored in little tins with glass lids, which can be found at http://www.blissweddingsmarket.com and other places online ($10 for a box 10). You can see little color test sitting on each lid. The enamels are applied to clear glass until opaque; smashed flat; cooled without annealing; cut off the rod; and glued to the glass lid with silicone glue. Each tin is labeled with the enamel number both on the lid and the container itself. · Only Thompson’s enamels where used, and in this case only blues and blue-greens. Since I work exclusively with Bullseye glass Thompson’s 7000 and 8000 series are used. I will also be experimenting with others from Fusion Headquarters and Arrow Springs. · All the enamels are opaque except the cobalt (far right), which is transparent. Bullseye Frit · On the left in a small bowl is Bullseye aqua frit (fine). This will be used as the base coat of glass over which the enamels will be laid. Metal leaf · Copper, silver and palladium. Tweezers · Tweezers are used at the end to finish off the marble (you’ll see later). Marble Mold · I’ve made a series of marble molds that are copies of what is out there commercially. The only difference is that I’ve added the Punty Finisher… for lack of a better name. · There are two concave surfaces shown on the mold. The larger concave divot (near the handle) is the marble mold at 1 1/8 inch diameter, and about ˝ inch deep. The other is the Finisher, which is much shallower at about 1/8 inch. |
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The Gather |
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| In the first picture I’m using Bullseye compatible clear glass (Shott) to create a gather of glass. Normally, I would get the gather of glass from a crucible kiln. This demo assumes that you do not use a crucible kiln. (Yes, I’m getting a little too close to the flame). I’ll call this the marble core. It has little to do with the final product other than forming the inner body of the marble.
As you can see the gather is round. Heat the glass just enough to melt the rod into the glass constantly rotating the glass in the flame as the glass melts. Concentrate more on maintaining the shape than melting the glass. Move the gather in and out of the flame, or better yet, closer in and further out from the torch to control the heat. You can see the Nortel Mid-Range Plus. The ‘plus’ part is the Minor mounted on top. I use the lower torch for big marbles. Adding Opaque Frit |
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