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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2009-07-01, 8:47pm
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Default Opalino or Alabastro?

I was at the glass supply place the other day and I was eyeing their yummy supplies of opalino and alabastro glasses. I think they were all Moretti, the ones I was looking at.

What is the difference between the two types of glass? They looked very similar, even down to the shades and translucence. Do they handle differently? Do you have a preference?
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  #2  
Old 2009-07-01, 9:47pm
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I love opalinos, and call the other stuff "alabastards" if that helps.

Opalino works a little stiff, and if you keep it cool enough, it stays translucent. You must not overwork it, though. If you blast it with heat, the surface will boil and pit. It doesn't like to be fully encased, and it's not always compatible with other regular colors.

Alabastros are heartbreakingly pretty. I really do like the pine green a bunch, it makes lovely trees. The yellow is well-known for being reactive with intense black, among others. The problem is, they're rather shocky, really touchy with temperature, and seem to crack if not babied and popped in the kiln quickly. I remember, years ago, being told that we Americans work it too hot, and that's probably quite true. Oh, it also really doesn't like being encased, too.
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  #3  
Old 2009-07-02, 8:23am
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I think they are both lovely and come in some awesome colors like carnelian opalino and bright blue alabaster. Although they may be a little fussy to work with, a little shocy, a little bubbly, the finished bead looks really nice. One of my favorite combos is dark pink alabaster with ruby gold frit, looks to me like a miniature blown glass ornament.
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  #4  
Old 2009-07-02, 9:18am
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Work them slow, patience pays. But I do have trouble with the pinks. No matter how slow I am, they turn translucent white or pale yellow/clear, and the color never comes back. Not with striking or anything I've tried. I got better results on my HH.
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  #5  
Old 2009-07-02, 9:33am
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love them all. they're both shocky so preheat rods, slowly introduce them into the flame and work them cool to avoid boiling (alabastros) and burning (opalinos). they're quite stiff so great for sculpting.

only issue i have still is figuring out the right annealing temp for opalinos so they keep their transparency. right now i'm just cooling in vermiculite and will test out a few lower cycles until i hit the right one.
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  #6  
Old 2009-07-02, 9:45am
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Seems to me if I make 4 pink beads with the same rod, I wind up with 4 different shades of pink and it's just due to time/temp in the flame. Pink is the only one I notice this with though. It is frustrating for me.

I do like the opalinos better. Alabasters are shockier than the opalinos, from my experience.

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  #7  
Old 2009-07-02, 12:40pm
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Thanks everybody! This is the kind of thing I'm looking for. I did use a Green Nile Opalino awhile ago and loved the results and would like to work with these sorts of colours more. I appreciate the input!
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  #8  
Old 2009-07-02, 12:53pm
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I believe it was actually the yellow opalino that makes the cool effect with intense black in Jim Smircich's experiments. I don't believe he was working with alabastro.
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  #9  
Old 2009-07-02, 4:08pm
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alabastro tends to burn... i know the yellow does. I kinda like the burnt affect.. But I like them. Personally I think the alabastro is good for sculpting.
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  #10  
Old 2009-07-03, 8:00am
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Ah, well it sounds like I may need to get both types of glass so I can see all this for myself. It's good to have an idea of what to expect in advance and I appreciate everyone's input.

Personally I love the translucence and I think they'd look awesome with some good opaque decoration on the surface.

I did use Green Nile Opalino to make donut beads, then I dotted them with Leaky Pen dots and topped those dots with Moretti Sky Blue Light dots, then I plunged the dots (almost typed "then I plunged the dogs" ) and didn't do anything else, didn't fill the plunges with clear or anything. Just stuck them in the kiln. The effect was very cool.
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  #11  
Old 2009-07-04, 12:38pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cghipp View Post
I believe it was actually the yellow opalino that makes the cool effect with intense black in Jim Smircich's experiments. I don't believe he was working with alabastro.
You're right! My bad.
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  #12  
Old 2009-07-04, 5:08pm
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I love what Dark Turquoise Alabastro does on Effetre Coral. This is a single dot of Dark Turquoise Alabastro on Coral:

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Old 2009-07-04, 10:39pm
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This is dark pink alabaster with extra gold ruby frit. The focal is hollow and the spacers on the ends are rubino.

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  #14  
Old 2009-07-05, 6:23am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oenone View Post
I love what Dark Turquoise Alabastro does on Effetre Coral. This is a single dot of Dark Turquoise Alabastro on Coral:

That is very cool!
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  #15  
Old 2009-07-05, 9:03am
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Wow! Fabulous pics! Cool effects from both of those.
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  #16  
Old 2009-07-05, 9:53am
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I love the opalinos. The nile green and the periwinkle blue resemble Fire King jadite and delphite respectively, and I have used them to make cute little coffee mug charms - adorable. I love the carnelian, too - beautiful with goldstone and strikes easily. All work easily enough if you work slow, cool, a bit more oxy in your flame, and far out in the end of the flame. Because they are such stiff colors, it is a real temptation to jam them down into the flame so they will finally melt - a mistake as they will immediately burn and get black webbing. Just have patience! The pink and white opalinos are beautiful but I find them a little unpredictable - the white will be shimmery and translucent for me one minute, and go gray and ugly the next. I can't seem to get the same color twice from the pink. I use it in focals from time to time because I can't resist it, but I have given up on using it in sets or pairs. I have never been able to get anything appealing out of the yellow. All will go chalky if the annealing schedule is off. I haven't used the alabastros, so I can't comment.

If you like the look of this glass but want something more user-friendly, try the CIM opal colors. The two that I have tried - kryptonite and rose quartz - are beautiful and much easier, and there are a number of other opal colors, too.
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  #17  
Old 2009-07-06, 5:40am
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I've never found another pink I like as much as the alabastro, it's very reliable. This is alabastro pink (not the dark one) with Val Cox's Pink Paeony frit.
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  #18  
Old 2009-07-10, 8:53pm
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Okay!! The glass Gods will probably smite me but I love both glasses. I've made small beads with lemon grass frit and they look like Monet gardens. People just love them. The only thing I've found is cool, cool. cool which is really funny for me as I started out working very hot and have continually gone to a cooler flame for the past year and a half. The colors are so soft...so nice. I garage at 960 and start my annealing cycle from there. I usually work five to six hours so they sit for a long time and then I drop the temp very slowly and hold etc. Too much information?
Good luck....they are beautiful colors.. btw I also like the messy pastels and find cool is good for them also
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Old 2009-07-11, 10:34am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WeeMary View Post
I've never found another pink I like as much as the alabastro, it's very reliable. This is alabastro pink (not the dark one) with Val Cox's Pink Paeony frit.

What a nice bracelet!
I have used that pink also on a HH and didn't have any problems making a set of beads. I used it with Effetre coral, light ivory and a medium brown.
Now I'm on a Mini CC, and it's burns more often than not.
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