Using Effetre Calico Glass
I bought this interesting Effetre glass called Calico and, to be honest, was quite uninspired when it arrived. However, I thought I’d have a go at making some beads to see what effects I could tease out of it.
I made a dark ivory base and wrapped calico glass around to the correct size for making a round bead. I did find that this glass wanted to de-vitrify, but by turning the propane up a bit and using a cooler temperature, I kept it at bay. I then wrapped some silvered ivory around the centre. It could have been the pink tinted glasses I was wearing, but they definitely looked quite pink and amber when they went into the kiln, but on inspection of them in the morning, I found them to be more honey coloured with a hint of pink instead.
I wasn’t sure whether I liked this glass as first in it’s shiny state, so I decided to stone tumble them to see what happened. I was pleasantly surprised after I’d cleaned the lampwork beads as the subtle pinks and honey tones were softened and the silvered ivory gave some contrast with their dark colours. I think I quite like this calico glass now!
What do you think?
I use calico as one of the colors for the landscapes of my tree beads. It reacts wonderfully with other glasses and gives the impression of a rocky landscape with rolling hills in the background. I love it…….but it can be a very shocky glass.