DEB BATTEN - FIREBIRD FLAMEWORKS WORKING WITH G-109 CHALCEDONY

Deb Batten has had great success with G-109
following is a tutorial on how she makes it happen......
G-109 LG BEAD TUTORIAL........





Working Gaffer G109 - Chalcedony

My set-up consists of a Mini CC torch, 1 5lpm oxycon & tanked propane (or LPG as it is known here). This bead is over a clear base, although the process is the same when working with straight Gaffer Chalcedony.

1/Working in a neutral flame lay your base glass on the mandrel. The initial footprint in this case was about 40mm.
Wind on wraps of G109. Make them generous if you are using Gaffer G050 – Black as a base. I’m not too fussy about the ends at this stage.




2/ Marver your bead making sure it is centered, & smooth out the wraps. You can see at this point if there are any thin areas or slight gaps on the G109 wrap. If so apply more glass to those areas. Some areas will still be light and others will have started to strike, don’t worry about it.

working g109 chalcedony

3/ Start concentrating the heat to one end of the glass & letting it droop down the mandrel. The more you heat and manipulate it, the more intense the colour will be.



4/ When you have it to the length you want marver, it gently to get some shape back into the end.

Working g109 Chalcedony

5/ During this stage I keep the bead quite warm, apart from when I’m marvering it. It strikes somewhat during this process.



6/The initial dark area that was well heated on the end of the bead has now struck to its first colour of deep purple. The middle area of the bead had gained a bit of colour early on, but has lost it again.

working gaffer g109 chalcedony

Repeat the heating & marvering process until you are happy with the shape.

You will notice that the colour develops first on the ends and that overlaps of heated areas lose their colour. Once again, just ignore it & keep working until you are happy with the shape.

In the sequence of photos below you can see the way the colours develop & also that the bead had extensive time both in & out of the flame without losing colour.



Notes:
This way of working G109 gives a mottled/veined result & also works well with smaller tube beads. Using gravity to shape & repeated heating & marvering seems to make the colours really pop.

For a more subtle effect with softer colours make your bead in the normal manner without gravity shaping. Repeat the heat/cool/strike cycle until the colours are to your satisfaction.



thanks so much for this wonderful tutorial Deb....
YOU ROCK SISTERCHICK...
now I'm going out to try and make it happen
will post pic's later this week :)
feel free to email us at gafferglassgirls@gmail.com with your g109 pic's
mona & the gaffer girls