It is a good idea if you are just starting out to first practice making simple stringer. A stringer is a one-color pull of glass. Heat the middle of a ½ length glass rod, (approximately 20 inches long), or the ends of two-1/3 length glass rods, (approximately 13 inches long each). Make a gather dime to nickel sized by balling up the glass, or gently pushing it on to itself. When the whole gather begins to flop, come out of the flame towards you, wait about ten seconds while continuing to turn so as not to allow gravity to pull the hot glass down, and then slowly begin to pull the two ends apart. It is important to pull slowly or the hot glass may drip. As the stringer begins to cool you will want to pull progressively harder to keep the stringer as even end to end as possible. The slower you pull the thicker the stringer will be.

Lets start with cased cane. Traditionally called rose cane or leaf cane a cased cane is made by warming a 1 inch length of a light opaque glass rod. Warm just enough so as not to thermal shock, but not enough to start to bend. Then take any medium to dark transparent color, (in most instances the darker colors are more effective because we will be stretching this cane out and so the darker colors stay more intense). Heat the transparent rod to molten and begin to case the opaque glass rod 1 inch from the cut end wrapping around the opaque rod and working towards the cut end. When you get to the end, punty the transparent rod to the opaque rod, giving you a handle at both ends. Heat the entire gather end to end and evenly around. When it is starting to flop, come out of the flame towards you, wait about ten seconds while continuing to turn so as not to allow gravity to pull the hot glass down, and then slowly begin to pull the two ends apart. It is important to pull slowly or the hot glass may drip. As the cane begins to cool you will want to pull progressively harder to keep the cane as even end to end as possible. The slower you pull the thicker the cane will be.

Now lets move on to a twisted cane or twist. A twist is two or more rods of glass overlapped by 1 inch, attached together, heated and finally pulled and twisted. You can combine any rods of basically the same coe together, (such as transparent, opaque, opal, special, alabaster, filigree), but to start with lets just try three, (you will eventually be able to handle larger and larger bundles of glass). So, choose three glass rods with different values, (not all light colors or all dark or you wont see much). Take the first two rods and warm up a 1 inch length at the end of each rod. Don’t get them too hot and floppy or they will be very hard to combine. Connect the two rods together overlapping them 1 inch. Cut one rod off right at the end of the bundle, (it is easiest to cut off the rod held in your most dexterous hand). Put the rod down facing the hot end of the rod away from you. Pick up the third rod and warm up enough to connect to the bundle overlapping the same 1 inch. Remember to keep the bundle warm while you warm the third rod up. When you have connected all three rods heat up the entire bundle end to end and evenly around. When it starts to flop, come out of the flame towards you, wait about ten seconds while continuing to turn so as not to allow gravity to pull the hot glass down. Then slowly begin to pull and twist the two ends apart, (one hand towards you the other away). It is important to pull slowly and twist rapidly to create a nicely twisted cane. As the cane begins to cool you will want to pull progressively harder as you twist to keep the cane as even end to end as possible. The slower you pull the thicker the cane will be.

Many twisted canes are made in the same manner using various combinations of glass rods. Here are a few with basic descriptions.

 

LATTICINO, LATTICINI, (Italian, "milk like threads"): From latte meaning milk. A glass cane made by bundling many filigrana canes together then heating, twisting, and pulling. Traditionally the term was only used to describe canes made of white filigree rods, a colored cane was called a reticello. Today in the U.S. the term latticini/latticino is used to describe any combination of fillagree canes.

CABLE: A patterned cane resembling the twisted strands of a rope. Two opaque rods are connected together overlapping 1 inch, cased in clear glass and then finally filigree rods are attached in the same manner all around the bundle. When twisted and pulled the internal rods appear as a larger cable inside fine threads created by the filigree canes.

INTERNAL TWIST: A cane made by first making a bundle of one color, (as in a stringer), then flattened, striped with stringer. Proceed by drop or ball casing each flat surface covering the edges with a little clear casing so that you have a striped lollypop trapped within a ball of clear glass. Heat, and pull and twist. The finished cane looks much like seaweed. For this reason I always use it to decorate aquarium beads.

COVERED TWIST: Think of a striped rose or leaf cane. This cane starts with an light colored opaque glass rod. Attach any number and combination of dark colored transparent rods overlapping 1 inch, (commonly done in rainbow colors). Work all the way around the central core rod so that it is completely covered, (the idea here is for the opaque rod to help make the transparent colors pop). Heat the bundle, when hot twist and pull.

There are numerous other types of canes, (too many to mention here), such as;

RIBBON CANE: A cane created by joining several or more rods of glass together, (overlapping 1 inch), side by side to create a wide flat ribbon of glass. After joining, heat and pull straight out to the desired width. The slower you pull the wider the cane will be.

MURRINE (Italian): A complex cane that when viewed through the cross section reveals a desired figurative or other image, such as floral, fish, portrait, and initial cane. Murrine can be created in a torch or in the hot shop by bundling together glass stringer to create the desired image, heating, then pulling the cane to various widths.

MILLEFIORI (Italian,"1000 flowers"): Term especially used to describe complex murrine canes that resemble flowers, stars and chevron patterns.

BULLSEYE CANE: A type of murrine, that has two or more colors alternating to form concentric rings. Think of a many layered cased cane!

MOSAIC GLASS, Complex cane: This cane is made from many small pieces of varicolored glass millefiori elements heated and combined until they fuse together.

In our two classes we will be covering some of these canes in depth, it is my hope that this information will encourage you to try others when you get home. As your skill level builds you will find these canes a fun addition to your technical repertoire.

© Copyright 2004 Written by Kimberley Rosaleen Osibin

 

To contact Kim call 415-259-7626 or e-mail kim@flameworkedbeads.com