I rarely touched borosillicate glass for many years and have worked primarily in "soft" glass - mainly Moretti and Vetrofond.  But recently I've been hooked on Northstar Amber Purple and all the related colors that seem to have similar effects, varying in 'weight' or intensity of those effects.  I love the serendipity in working with this glass.  For me it's always a surprise what comes out of the flame and later what comes out of the kiln.

I like busting out the super macro setting on the camera on more than just my glass beads.  It gives an uncommon perspective on every day things.  It makes me realize how much detail I am missing with mere naked eyes.  So many fine details, textures, colors, a whole new world can be seen through the macro lens.  Almost like you are shrunken down to the size of an ant, and the world you see around you is nothing but a pile of cherry pits, but they are beautiful from this view.

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These pits were fired halfway.  Some fully carbonized, others did not.  I gave them another washing and they were drying right before the camera lens.  I was going to fire them again but I liked the varying shades and hues, I might leave them like that, seal them, drill, and string them up.

I am not sure what my fascination is with little black beady things.  The sound it makes when it deeply rattles in its container, the way they look piled up.  Oh well.  Something to photograph.

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Unwashed dry black beans.  I am eventually going to make black beans and rice with tomatoes and chipotle, or black bean turkey burgers, and maybe plant a couple and see if I can get even more black beans!  The blackened cherry pits will be made into beads, if I am successful.  Fingers crossed.  I would string the beans too if I was not afraid of them sprouting on my neck in this Florida humidity!

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Blog is up (thank you, Fox!) but it's obviously not quite done yet.
Afterall, there's some default photo of a leopard for my banner, and although that makes me want to make Oscelot Spot Beads

which I haven't made in a long time, it doesn't exactly say "GemFOX" quite yet...

Thanks for stopping by!  ~GemFOX~