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Title: Mint Chocolate Chip Glass
Artist: AJGlass
Image created by: AJGlass using an Epson Perfection 1200U scanner and Photoshop.
Medium: Glass
Type: Soft Glass, 104 Coefficient of Expansion (Moretti/Effetre, Vetrofond, Lausha)
Description: Five Sets of Round and Cabochon-shaped Glass Beads

Details: The dime provided is for scale of the surrounding five bead sets. The larger images are close-up views of the same five bead sets. Opaque Nile green glass was randomly dotted with black glass to create these beads which have been annealed in a kiln. Each round bead took 5 minutes to make. Each cabochon took 15 minutes to make. All were annealed in a kiln for 18 hours. No image color correction was necessary. These beads have been calibrated and temporarily strung.

Discussion: These beads were created to mimic the look of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. The two larger beads – one in the upper right set and one in the bottom set – are cabochon-shaped while all of the others beads are round. I originally started to make these beads without the darker green stripes. However, without the stripes they just didn’t look like Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream – which many times has darker green streaks running throughout. So I played around in the flame with the Nile green glass until the color started to separate. The end result was these yummy-looking sets of beads.

Further comment: Before I made these beads, I debated exactly how to make the chocolate chips. I was originally going to have them raised on the surface of the beads but then they looked more like small black bugs than chips. So instead, I decided to give the chips odd shapes with pointy angles. These angular chips would mimic many of the chocolate chips I’ve seen in Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.

I created a few beads with angular chips. However, I soon realized that the chips looked too sharp – almost “dangerously” sharp. I was sure that no one would eat ice cream if the chips looked so dangerous. So then I decided to melt the chips in and make them round. In most of the Mint Chocolate Chip Ice cream I’ve seen, all of the chips aren’t usually the same size. Thus I varied the size of the dots on these beads. I like how they turned out.

Perhaps you’re wondering why I went with black glass for the chips instead of brown glass. If you take a close look at most chocolate chips in most mint ice creams, they don’t look brown – they look black. It’s not until the ice cream starts to melt, and the chocolate starts to get mixed into the mint, that the chips turn brown. Thus, I went with black glass instead of brown glass.

Legal: Copyright © 2007 Aaron J. Greenblatt. All rights reserved. Commercial use prohibited. This image and commentary may not be used for any reason without expressed written consent from Aaron J. Greenblatt.

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