boro basics- share your beginner advice please

[Sue in Maine]

OK, I've got the heart down. I can even make a pretty good heart with wings... well, I'm proud of them anyway. I can make ribbons. I'm improving on loops. I can do a clear base, run color around it, drop dots on and encase, thus making squiggle lines. I'm still working on implosions... ppp needed there but I know what I'm doing thanks to Pipyr.

So what do I want? Ideas! What direction should my pea-brain go in? There are just so many directions that I need my scope narrowed down and I can't think of a better way than to ask those more experienced with boro.

Should I focus on colors? Should I focus on striking? Shapes I should try? You tell me what to do and I'll do it.

I'd love to work on sculptures but wonder if I'm running when I need to be perfecting the walking. Any simple scupting shapes I can aim for?

Remember the formula--- KISS!

Thanks,

Sue

[Sue in Maine]

Whao- can't get any simpler than NO advice at all!

Anyone?

Sue

[glassdog]

Sue,I am working on putting something together for you. I'm busy making some photos for you right now.
Basically you have the drive. so dont worry about walking. Take off running as fast as you can in any direction. You wont be sorry. experiment with shapes using nothing but heat control and gravity. Try working the glass without touching it with anything.
I will come up with more for you in a while.
I have just come out of the hospital and i have a slight hand problems from the iv so im having trouble typing.
But i will come up with some photos for you.
mike

[Toni L.]

Hey Sue!
I'm not super experienced, but I'll pitch in my $.02
Play with colors and combos, twisties or frit and see what you like - the Northstar website has all kinds of information about their colors and what to try with what for different effects. I love implosions! I like to try different line layouts on the maria to get different designs/flowers/patterns, etc. Also I try to vary the rate I implode the design and how many times I press it - that makes a big difference too!

I like to try sculptural things too, but all my tries have been just me making stuff up, in other words no real instruction or direction in that area

I'm going to check RAOGK for your address - I have a cool photo tutorial to send you to try!

I hope others chime in here - I'm anxious to hear suggestions too!
Take care

toni

[Mr. Smiley]

Work on whatever you want to. REALLY! if you want to master color first, go for it. If you want to work on sculpture first, GO FOR IT! the beauty about glass is that there isn't a right way to go about advancing your skills. Just melt the stuff. You'll find a whole lot of wrong ways to work it and stumble on a few things you like in between. If you figure out what direction YOU want to go, I'll be glad to help any way I can. I'm a color junkie. I love working on those elusive combinations. I'll do the larger sculpture later... but this is my path. You can go down any road you want to. (can we see the hearts? pretty please!)


Oh and I got your glass today.

[dpglassworks]

Hi Sue,
I am a Boro Beginner too.... but here's what I learned:

Mr. Smiley is right about keeping the mandrel out of the flame or it will do a belly flop thing and fall off right before your very eyes.....

Sorry, I haven't learned much more than that yet.....but I am glad you started this thread!

[Mr. Smiley]

Here's a tip and it's not direction specific.

Pay attention to the glow in the glass. It's glow will tell you how hot it is. This seems basic, but if you learn to read the heat base, you'll have a LOT more control over color and shape. Glass moves differently at very specific temps. It also strikes differently. Just pay attention to the brightness of the piece you are working on. Play with a gather in the flame. If you know when it's ready to move, before it actually moves... you're ahead of the game and will have control.

[Sue in Maine]

Thank you all, especially Mike since it's hard to type for you right now!

Here is a link to a few hearts I posted on WC. I have sizing issues... sounds better to say that than I'm a computer idiot but there you have it.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=402216
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401993

I am the first poster in both threads so you don't have to hunt for my boro beads.

Right now, I'm looking at 33 hearts on my desk that just came out of the kiln. I'm doing before and after pictures with my digital so I can print pics out to see & record the changes. Had a few crack and tossed them in the trash can... come to think of it, I should fish them out and practice healing them in the flame, huh, may do that. Only one I tried to heal was the implosion Pipyr taught me and it cracked in 4 pieces and broke in half. Another glass suicide in my life! (All my first moretti beads suicided too so this is my own inside guffaw at myself. Nothing funny about suicide actually.)

I'm surprised that I feel overwhelmed. I felt this same way when I first started. I just need to focus. Problem is I'm not sure where.

Keep the hints/tips and suggestions coming. Thank you all.

Sue

Brent- yeah, looking forward to my glass! Money order arrived, right?

[Bunyip]

for beginner advice, Brent really made some good points. There is no 'right way', everyone's path is soooo different, and very few people end up in the same place. Look at Pipyr's work, look at Brent's, look at Eric's, look at Carrie's. That's part of the beauty of boro, it's actually hard NOT to be individual

My input: Treat learning as play. Do what is fun. Do whatever comes to mind. Play play play. Have fun. Melt stuff. Try stuff. Once you've played for a while, you will find things that elude you, or that you want to work on. Once you know what you enjoy or need help with, you can ask more specific questions.

I've been working boro since December, and I've been so busy trying stuff I've only asked a few questions, mostly regarding working specific colors or on how to get certain 'looks'.

Oh, and something Jennifer Geldard said to us when I took her class, which is particularly important when you're trying something new (like boro): Don't discard your mistakes!!! Fix them! She said that many of the styles she is known for are a result of her fixing something on a bead that didn't come out the way she wanted it to, or trying to hide a flaw in a bead. Your mistakes can become something new and cool. Roll with them!

[LeahBeads]

I'm a newbie too! I've been playing with boro for a couple weeks now and I have to admit I never really like experimenting with soft glass, but with boro it's so much fun! Boro is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get!

Leah

[Karen Hardy]

Originally Posted by Sue in Maine

Whao- can't get any simpler than NO advice at all! Anyone?
Sue

GEEZE Sue! Ya big whiny broad. Okay - here's my .02, something that I wish
I had done beore I got in over my head in boro. I LOVE boro. It's glass crack.
I LOVE the stuff I make. What I really wish I had done (and I may still do yet)
is just focus on ONE manufacturer and get to know the characteristics/ins-and-outs
of their line of glass before moving on to the next one. I just kind of jumped in whole
hog, and went a little nuts, but now, lately
I've been stepping back and just trying to spend days at a time working with
say - one color of glass from one manufacturer.

Unlike soft glass (well MOST soft glass) you can get a gazillion colors out of
one color of boro. With Soft glass, blue is blue and green is green (yeah, I know that
there are exceptions, but work with me here).

With boro glass, you can get tons of different reactions from just one rod
of color and a rod of clear. The Amber purple family, for instance - can give you a whole
rainbows worth of colors just based on heat, amount of kiln time and the way you hold
your tongue.

I've been enjoying the heck out of the Exotics line. Just the basic three (red, blue and
green exotic) a rod of white and a rod of clear. I've made hundreds of beads, and none
of them look the same!

So, my advice to you is - try limiting your pallet and focusing on the effects
of that particular color. Glass Alchemy has techcards on their website that
you can look at and print out. http://www.glassalchemyarts.com/support/tech-cards.html
Perhaps spend a week with the Rubies. Then another with the exotics. Then another
with the crayons. Learn about the quirks of each color before moving on to the next
one. You'll not only increase your knowledge of the glass, you will improve your
chances of getting the best possible color saturation from boro.

[Sue in Maine]

[quote=Karen Hardy;1024826]GEEZE Sue! Ya big whiny broad. Okay - here's my .02,



KAREN!!!!!!!!

That's FORMERLY big whiny broad!!!! I thought everyone knew I lost a lot of weight after my gastric by-pass! lol (I am gaining it back by hibernating for the past couple of months but once I can get out without ice, that extra padding is history!)

Thank you for your 2 cents!



Sue

[Karen Hardy]

[quote=Sue in Maine;1024994]

Originally Posted by Karen Hardy

GEEZE Sue! Ya big whiny broad. Okay - here's my .02,

KAREN!!!!!!!!

That's FORMERLY big whiny broad!!!! I thought everyone knew I lost a lot of weight after my gastric by-pass! lol (I am gaining it back by hibernating for the past couple of months but once I can get out without ice, that extra padding is history!)

Thank you for your 2 cents!


Sue

Now, now. I said BIG whiny broad, not FAT whiny broad. You can weigh 98lbs
dripping wet and be a BIG whiny broad.
...and way to go girly! My neighbor did the GBP thing too and lost 1/2 her
weight. Of course, the side effects were pretty horrendous, but now she can wear cute outfits and she's a happy camper.

[Sue in Maine]

Karen,

VERY lucky me- no side effects. In fact, it's like some inside switch has been turned on for me. When I eat the bite that my body says "k, I'm full here," the fork goes down with no regrets.

Course, I've gained a bit since it's been too icy to walk on my lunch hour but I know that will go once I get back to walking daily. It doesn't worry me.

I have a weekend coming up and it's jam packed so no time to torch. I have 2 hockey games, 1 Gilbert & Sullivan play, church and going snowshoeing on Saturday. All of this means there's still lots of time for advice for me....



Thanks to all,

Sue

[Mr. Smiley]

I think picking a color and working it to death is a great bit of advise. Take Amber purple and Double amber purple for instance. Just layer it and combine it and try it over other solid colors and different flame atmospheres... just learn that one color family. Or pick a different set of colors, it really doesn't matter. You'll learn a whole bunch about striking. Then move on. It gets really confusing if you try to tackle it all at once.

[Sue in Maine]

Brent,

Pipyr was great on labeling lots of the different amber purples I wound up with, some from you and some from her. I do use them a lot and like the idea of focusing on just what THEY will do. Good ideas presented here. I was right to ask for help.

Funny, though, that I find I'm as overwhelmed as I felt when I first started with moretti. I'm really great at wanting to play Mozart without having taken one piano lesson first. Quirk in my personality, I guess. You'd think I'd have figured it out and fixed it by now!

Thanks,

Sue

[kentaymom]

Originally Posted by Mr. Smiley

I think picking a color and working it to death is a great bit of advise. Take Amber purple and Double amber purple for instance. Just layer it and combine it and try it over other solid colors and different flame atmospheres... just learn that one color family. Or pick a different set of colors, it really doesn't matter. You'll learn a whole bunch about striking. Then move on. It gets really confusing if you try to tackle it all at once.

I'm a boro newbie too and this is what I have been trying to do for the last few torching sessions. I have found that it is possible to make any color of boro turn into that icky poop color! I've mastered that particular technique! LOL!

[pipyr]

Sue...I am the same way...I always want to amke a masterpiece right off when I start a new techniwue. Heck, my first glass piece EVER was a VESSEL!! lol. I say go for it...who cares aboutrunning or walking?? If you want to learn sculpture, do it! Just play and have fun I've actually found that working hollow sculpture has imporved allllllllll my other skills by about a bazillion fold...lol. You know...I only started boro about a year ago. If I'd dilly-dallied around with walking before I ran, I'd probably still be walking. Do what your heart tells you to do, because that's where you're gonna get the best results and see the most improvement!! I can't wait to see what you come up with

[Mr. Smiley]

Originally Posted by kentaymom

I'm a boro newbie too and this is what I have been trying to do for the last few torching sessions. I have found that it is possible to make any color of boro turn into that icky poop color! I've mastered that particular technique! LOL!

Work it hotter! Seriously, boro doesn't burn. It takes way more heat than what soft glass folks are used to. Work it HOT and let it cool below glow... then the Amber Purples will strike.

[Ro]

try renting buying or borrowing some crystal myths tapes. real basic intro to boro, teaches you to recognize when youve got a good seal (you should feel the glass run together) and has real basic sculpture without much detail, teaches process of building something off mandrel, remember you can do any of it partially on mandrel like a post hole when your done if you want. the hardest thing for me each day is deciding what to do if im not in the middle of a technique or project. boro, 90, 104, blown solid sculpture jewelry pendants implosions murrini marbles list goes on. i generally spend a few days on the same type of thing then switch when somehow im inspired to change.
ro
ro

[LAG]

I have been playing with sculptural horse heads...last night was a big disappointment... I learned something but blew away 1/2 hr of oxygen doing it... head broke in half where I puntied up for the final shaping. I let it get too cool ...

So you just have to play... I love doing beads and then squeezing in some type of sculptural piece to push myself......

I LUV Marsh glass tuts.... good pics and provides a good foundation for sculptural pieces.....

[sleekbeads]

Well, I have 2cents! I am totally new to boro, maybe about 6 months or so, and very limited time on the torch in winter.
I agree wholeheartedly with much of what Brent has said.
For me, it's a personal thing. For instance, I take a class from Brent and file all the basics in my head... but when I get home, it's different... it's my creativity coming through and no Brent to stand over me with a whip and a smile! lol....
The thing I love most about boro and what drew me to it so intensely to begin with was the play time with it. It is very forgiving and I am at my most comfortable level with the amount of creative time I have with it... where as softglass... it's just too fast for me.
I'm a bo-ho to the core, I guess.
lol

Jo

(now that I'm re-reading this.. I'm not quite sure I actually gave any advice.... lol... just my opinions!)

[Jaterwunky]

I have been playing with effetre for about a year and have been tempted to try boro. Which brand is better for a beginner ie northstar, momka etc. Do they have starter packs. I currently use a lynx. Will this be sufficient power?/
Than you
Deb

[beadsbybonny]

I am relatively new to boro too.....I really, REALLLY want to make beads with swoopy, twirly, beautiful cloud-whispy colors and all I get are stripes.....How the HECK do you guys do it????? I like the ones that I make, but I need, I need, gimme, gimme!!!!!!

Bonny

[beadsbybonny]

Please????????????????

[LAG]

a Lynx is plenty of power for beads. Hopefully you have tanked oxygen. If not, you might need to get two concentrators but don't let that stop you. One concentrator will work for a start.

To get those colors..... mix your color rods with clear. Twist pull twirl. Apply to mandrel and then encase in clear or apply big clear dots or bunches of small clear dots... You can capture the silver shine on sometimes if you apply the clear gently without burning of the "shine"..

You will use a lot more clear with boro than you do with soft glass.....

good luck. there is a lot of info on this forum....

[e. mort]

Originally Posted by debsglass

I have been playing with effetre for about a year and have been tempted to try boro. Which brand is better for a beginner ie northstar, momka etc. Do they have starter packs. I currently use a lynx. Will this be sufficient power?/
Than you
Deb

Cosmo sells different starter packs of color boro.

[Moonlight Creations]

So Pipyr is doing a great job converting a few of us Mainers to boro ... I have 2 concentrators and a Minor. Haven't hooked up the 2nd one yet but most likely tomorrow!!

Is there anyone out there who sells single rods? I can pick up 1/4# of 1 color locally but I'd rather experiment with different colors. Any recommendations out there?

This has been a great thread btw ... Sonje

[suzanne]

contact Cosmo, I'm sure he can hook you up with some single rods. He also sells a fabulous colorset ( with all the good colors )

Suzanne

[Moonlight Creations]

Thanks Suzanne - I'll contact Cosmo! Sonje