This edition of At The Lamp will feature some new products and innovations that are recently or soon to be available to lampworkers. We are in a time of dizzying change and should expect that materials, tools, and even techniques will be subject to new innovations. It is my hope that the next couple of columns might give us a brief taste of the future.
Colored borosilicate glass has always been a difficult problem for lampworkers. John Burton first gave us the necessary chemicals and techniques to make our own, but the method was extremely tedious and the results were usually mediocre. There were a few colored borosilicates, Colrex to name one, but they were so limited in their palette and workability that it was almost not worth the effort. Then, about fifteen years ago (check with Paul), along came Northstar Borocolour. Northstar's founder, Paul Trautman solved the problem of producing a decent variety of stable, consistent colored borosilicate glasses compatible with Pyrex and Kimax, that were also affordable. Since that time, he has had a virtual lock on the market not so much because he can do it and no one else can, but because no one else wanted to... that is until now.
Far far away, in deepest Tasmania, lives a lampworker named Richard Clements. Richard has decided that he wants to make and sell colored borosilicate glass to lampworkers in Australia and in America. He is calling his product "Chameleon Glass". He is qualified to do this, having made his own colored glasses for better than twenty years. He is not foolish, and realizes that he can never compete with Northstar in America. So, rather than compete with Northstar, he seeks to simply compliment the palette of available commercial colored borosilicates by making colors that Northstar does not. This is a plan that just may work.
He has many obstacles to overcome. He is batching his glass, but must hand-pull everything, unlike the more automated and efficient system that Northstar uses. He must ship his product a very long way, and pay duties to boot, which puts him at an extreme disadvantage financially. The Australian dollar is worth only about 75 cents American making a profit an even further stretch. The one thing he has going for him is that the colors are quite unlike anything available anywhere else.
Currently, there are twelve colors. They are Amber Red, Stripey Green, Miessen Green, Yellowy Pink, Gray Mist, Green Transparent, Pinky, Over Strength Red, Ultra Strong Red, Cobalt Blue, Toffee Black, and Creamy Blue. Truthfully, a couple of these colors are similar to several Northstar colors, but the rest are refreshingly unique, if a little strange. There are three that have compatibility problems and Richard is trying to address this, but they are still usable for certain applications. I am still just learning to use them so I won't do much more than describe each color for this column.
Chameleon Glass is available from Frantz Bead Company or Gossamer Glass for $55.00 per pound.
So, naturally, Northstar also has several new colors and a couple of them are really fine! Paul sent me samples of N41 (Butterscotch), N42 (Cinnamon), and N43 (Rust).
The Butterscotch is kind of a variation of Amber-purple, only without the purple. It is an opaque striking color that has a creamy-yellow appearance, hence its name. It makes great frit and trailing because of its relative intensity and silver content. It strikes to a deep caramel color with a faint metallic sheen and pinkish highlights. It seems highly sensitive to atmosphere. It is very clean and the samples I have seen do not have any bubbles or seeds in them.
The Cinnamon is only the third transparent non-striking color made by Northstar in addition to cobalt (01) and transparent green (24). It is a dark amber-cola color that is not sensitive to heat or atmosphere. About the only way you can damage it is to overheat it and cause it to boil. The rods are clean and clear and the glass stays that way when worked. It is not very intense so it is not much good for frit or trailing but will work fine for casing and sculpture. It and the butterscotch were made for each other and look wonderful together.
Rust (43) was designed as a substitute for the old Ruby (07) that is now very expensive due to the great increase in price of one of its most important ingredients. This version of Ruby lacks the vibrant intensity of (07) and, although it still does strike, it is nowhere near as red. Striking color is closer to reddish-brown. It isn't very intense, so it is great for sculpting and casing. You don't have to dilute it to work with it. It is actually quite pretty and I expect to be using quite a bit of it.
This is just a teaser, folks. Next issue I will be devoting a considerable amount of space to an exciting new kind of borosilicate glass that, unfortunately, is not yet available to the industry but soon may be. It is a 33-expansion borosilicate glass, completely compatible with all known brands of borosilicate glass, that exhibits some extraordinary characteristics. When you heat it, it gets soft! Not just pliable like pyrex, but really SOFT like soda-lime or lead glass! In fact, it can be heated enough in a gas/oxygen flame to get downright runny! Now, while I let you digest the implications of that I will tell you that the guy behind this miracle is a master paperweight maker who has developed this glass primarily as a paperweight making material. But I know that every one of you lampworkers who works with pyrex is drooling right now at the very idea of a soft borosilicate glass so tune in next issue when I will cover this topic in depth including, I hope, an interview with the man himself!
It's that time of year again when inquisitive minds turn to the various teaching institutions in this country for summer workshops. Last year if you remember was a record year for the sheer number of lampworking workshops and classes that were available. This year, the trend continues with the availability of a broad variety of classes. Joining the fray is the new facility at The Corning Museum of Glass called simply "The Studio". In this, their first season, they are offering 19 workshops ranging from three day quickies to full two week courses. Of those, 10 are lampworking classes covering everything from beadmaking to laboratory work to fine art. Penland has toned down their lampworking curriculum this summer a bit to only five courses, but they are good ones featuring some truly talented faculty. Finally, Pilchuck is again offering only two classes in lampworking, but have managed to secure the talents of two of the finest lampworkers in the world. That makes a total of 17 between these three schools alone, and I do not even have info from Haystack, Urban Glass, or New Orleans yet! A complete list follows:
PILCHUCK:Other hot glass classes will be taught by Jack Wax, John Drury, Robbie Miller, Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott, Lino Tagliapietra, Randy Walker, Hank Murta Adams, Lukas Novotny and Baker O'Brian, Curtiss Brock and Jan Mares, Paul Marioni and Ann Troutner, Danniel Clayman, Michael Clancy, Fred Tschida and Brian Pike, Katherine Gray, Ann Robinson, Dimitri Michaelides, Paula Bartron, Henry Halem and Dana Zamecnikova, Stephen Paul Day, Pino Signoretto, Cork Marcheschi, Feliece Mittolo, and Cappy Thompson. For more information write to:
Or visit their new home page on the World Wide Web at: http://www.pilchuck.com
PENLAND:Other courses in hot glass will be taught by Joe Nielander, Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend, Paul Marioni, Richard Jolley, Rob Levin, Ruth King, Jack Wax, Cappy Thompson, Laura Donefer, and Dudley Giberson. For more information contact:
And those are just the lampworkers! In addition to Lino and Gianni, hot glass classes will be taught by Mark Matthews, John Brekke, Pamina Traylor, William Gudenrath, Ruth King, and Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott. For more information write to:
It is my sorrowful duty to report the passing of a truly fine man. Howard Davis passed away on February 9 leaving a nation of lampworkers sadder and a not a little poorer. Howard was the "tool man" on whom many of us relied for years to make the custom tools peculiar to our trade. I met Howard many years ago during one of his annual vacation trips to Florida. I had the good fortune to live within an hour's drive from his good friend, Ernie Sherwin, with whom Howard and his wife, Margaret would stay. Howard would always call me during the month of February and bring his briefcase full of his latest tools and innovations for me to see. It was like Christmas in February! Over the years, I have accumulated dozens of his tools, many of which are prototypes for tools that became best sellers. Howard loved to do custom work and relished the opportunity to make tools that no other machine shop would consider. This made him an irreplaceable resource, and he will be sorely missed. But most of all, he was a friend, and it hurts to lose a friend. He was buried on Monday. February 12 and is survived by his wife Margaret. We will miss you, Howard. Rest easy. Via con dios amigo...
That's all for this issue faithful readers. Next time I will continue my review of new products pertaining to our industry including 'soft' borosilicate glass, a new torch that is a clone of the famous Arnold burner, and a lampworker's pot furnace for doing small melts at the bench. Until then... keep it hot!