Boro Brainwashed

I've always loved the look of boro glass beads -- wispy, earthy, more organic than the crayon colors of Moretti and other soft glass kin. But working boro requires more. More glass, more heat, more eye protection, more ventilation, more attention, more more. I've avoided getting sucked in. However, I keep having these thoughts that some things I want to do that might be easier in boro. The bird vessels that crack often for me are easier in Bullseye than in Moretti, so boro might be easier still, I'll reason.

So when Gail Crossman Moore came on short notice to teach at Heritage Glass in New Braunfels, TX, I hauled myself down there to try it out. The class was specifically targeted to soft glass beadmakers who wanted to try out boro for beads. After a very few minutes of struggling to pull a stringer out of much stiffer boro, I seemed to catch the rhythm and start to work with it pretty easily. Beautiful! I loved it and will try out some at home on my own today. 
The colors are just amazing, but the feel (lighter) and sound (clearer) are also attractions. It does require more attention to remove undercuts to prevent cracks, but less worry about cracking due to thermal neglect in the torch flame. 


And of course, I couldn't resist purchasing one of her silver metal clay covered glass pods.