An Afternoon with
Cathy Somody
Metallic Black Shards
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Cathy Somody shared some great information on shards with us. She told us her favorite shards to make and use are Metallic Black (591065) and Dark Silver Plum (591275) because of the beautiful finishes she can coax from them. She prefers to use the hand pulled rods rather than the machine pulled in her own work. Cathy also pointed us to a few tutorials that have helped her with her shard making skills.
Jacqueline Parkes Magic Mosaic Shards
How to Decorate Beads with Lace Patterns by Ikuyo Yamanaka
Blowing Shards, a free tutorial by Jennifer Geldard
After giving us some basic information, Cathy gave a demonstration, and included some tips to help us be successful when we give it a try. She used a 3/8ths inch blowpipe to wind on a Metallic Black gather of glass, and once she had enough glass Cathy showed us how she shaped it to make it even and balanced. After she heated it, we watched as Cathy gently used just small puffs of air to get the bubble started. Once the glass began to expand, she blew a nice big bubble, turning the pipe the entire time to keep it under control.
After the glass had cooled, Cathy used a metal bucket to put the bubble into while she removed the glass from the pipe, then broke it into pieces which she would later apply to her beads.
Thank you Cathy for sharing your knowledge with us.
The tip about the oxygen flame chemistry alone was priceless!
Cathy deftly demonstrated applying the shards, and showed us how to get the beautiful colors that make the Metallic Black so special. After she demonstrated applying the shards, Cathy used the glass in stringer and rod form to make surface designs on a bead. Those designs would fit right into our Steampunk Bead Swap for those looking for ideas!
Dragon members have access to this recorded presentation, found on our Facebook Members Group. Cathy’s demonstration begins about 14 minutes into the meeting.