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Title: How Bizarre
Artist: AJGlass
Image created by: AJGlass using a Panasonic DMC-LZ7 Lumix 7.2 MP camera and PhotoShop.
Medium: Glass
Type: Soft Glass, 104 Coefficient of Expansion (Moretti/Effetre, Vetrofond, Lausha)
Description: Decorated bone-shaped glass bead and LEGO^TM Minifigure

Details: The LEGO^TM Minifigure provided is for scale of the glass bead. Light brown, reddish-orange, and yellow ochre glasses were used to create this decorated bone which has been annealed in a kiln. This bone took 30 minutes to make and 18 hours to anneal. No image color correction was necessary.

Creation: To create the bone shape, an entire rod of light brown glass was melted onto a bead-release-coated mandrel and formed into a round bead. The round bead was then rolled on a graphite marver to achieve a cylindrical shape. Then the mandrel holding the newly formed cylinder was turned on a 90 degree angle in the torch flame and half of the cylinder was melted and allowed to slowly flow down the mandrel’s length. The now-bone-shaped cylinder end was then allowed to stiffen.

The mandrel holding the cylinder was then turned 180 degrees and the other half of the cylinder was melted and allowed to slowly creep down the mandrel’s length in the opposite direction from the other end. The now completed bone-shaped bead was then allowed to stiffen once more.

Finally, while the bone was still hot, large dots of reddish-orange glass were melted onto it one at a time. This was followed by a random dribbling of yellow ochre in-between the dots. After it was created in the torch flame, this bead was immediately put into a kiln to be annealed rather than being allowed to cool in vermiculite. This was done to prevent thermal shock because big long beads are more prone to cracking than smaller ones.

Discussion: I created this bone-shaped bead in glass class at the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus. The torches in the classroom get much hotter, and can have a much larger flame, than the torch in my own studio. This is due to the increased amount of gas pressure that the class’s gas compressor provides. The larger and hotter flame allowed me to melt more glass at a faster rate.

Further comment: This bead was an experiment. I really pushed the envelope so-to-speak with what I could personally achieve with a large bone-shaped bead. I’m rather fond of this bead because it’s very different from what I typically create. I especially like the color combination and how unusual the shape is. Also, it has a unique tactile feel to it which I find very soothing. I’ve never seen any other glass bead that looks like this one and I’m rather proud of it.

Legal: Copyright © Aaron J. Greenblatt. All rights reserved. Commercial use prohibited. This image and commentary may not be used for any reason without expressed written consent.

LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group. © 2008 The LEGO Group.


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