Mouth Blown Hollow Beads! Something new...for me at least! I've been wanting to try it for ages. OK....I'll admit it, I've tried now and then over the years and never quite got it "right". I think I've finally got it down, at least the basic technique. I adapted the techniques that the"real" glassblowers use to work on a smaller scale and with the softer glass that we beadmakers usually use. I did a few in boro but the learning curve on getting the colors to come out in boro is ginormus!
I love how wonderfully round and light they are! Now to try making some really big ones and playing around with some different patterns. Doing the beads with a blow tube instead of making them on a mandrel opens up some different design possibilities. The beads so far have been coming out about 19 mm round, which is big for me and a great size for jewelry that makes a "statement"!
