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Old 2006-04-20, 3:12am
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Otter's Flame Otter's Flame is offline
He can do the origami
 
Join Date: Nov 24, 2005
Location: Najin Oyate
Posts: 1,474
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Some great tips here. My tips kind of echo what Kalera said:

#1. Do your research. Study glass, study beads. Look at the work of artists that interest you and closely examine their work. I am NOT endorsing going out and making exact copies of other artist's beads. Look at their work and try to figure out how these beads were made. How did they make such a nice shape? How did they get those round beads? What colors made those reactions? How did they get the glass to do that?

#2 Seriously, just try it. There are a lot of challenges on this website and others, take those challenges. Make those animal beads or those dot beads or those encased beads or whatever. The amount of general torching and glass bead making knowledge you will gain by attempting something you do not think you can do can be invaluable. I learned so much by trying new things...often learning something totally unexpected. PPPyour basics, make round beads, nice shaped beads, smooth dimples but also PPP(push, push, pushyour own self imposed limits.

#3 There is no wasted time at the torch......I would say or even away from the torch. I will agree and it has been said, there is no wasted time at the torch....but I would go further than that. Most of us have all heard...... Process not Product. When I first started out I thought if I heard that phrase one more time I would throw a hot molten wonky bead on the person that kept drilling it into me. It now makes SOOOOOOO much sense! I am almost always thinking about "process". If I am planning something new, a new project, a new line or one single new focal PRODUCT I have to start at PROCESS. This may sound silly but I often "make beads in my head". I will mentally go over the process of making something new. How do I do this? How do I avoid that? What do I need to do to get that shape or appearance? Do I need to come up with custom blended colors? Canes or twisties? With my knowledge of glass, can I make it do this? If not, how do I get around that? Even if it is a bead I have made before....dozens and dozens of times. I practice in my head....how can I make it better? How can I improve? THINK HOT GLASS.

The absolute best tip I could give anyone:
HAVE FUN!


Well that is my 2 cents.....actually more like 1.5 cents....my tips are not valuable.

Now get out there and do the Cha Cha with hot glass!
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