Powder & FritCatalog:

Call us today for your FREE catalog...

Northstar has an all new 4 page Frit

Catalog that includes all 37 colors.

Each color is shown in powder

form as well as inside and

outside frit applications.

Boro News Newsletter

September / October 2004 ISSUE 28Text by: Kaj Beck, Jesse Kohl, and Chris Rice Photography and Layout by: Jessie Butler

Questions?Call Toll Free1-866-684-6986 or visit us on the web at www.northstarglass.com

Kaj BeckPiece and writing by:Kaj Beckwww.Becksboro.net

1

3

5 8

11

4

NS-64

NS-86

NS-53

NS-33

NS-34

NS-49

NS-45

inside

Finally, a Ruby that does not leave you guessing - what you see is what you get. No more extended time in the kiln trying to achieve that nice, even color, unless of course you are looking for the variance of the original Rubies. Thanks to the innovative staff at Northstar for this new line of self-striking Rubies.

When I create my glass aquascapes, I approach the piece as if it were in an aquarium, being viewed best from one or two angles.

First of all, the focal point of the sculpture, the anemone (Stichodactyla gigantea) was constructed with Garnet (NS-86) over Lava (NS-64). As you can see, even with all the separate bends and pulls, the Garnet stayed true to its 'self-striking' family. I was especially amazed when I was polishing out the slight divot (seems almost impossible to avoid it

completely when doing so many zigs and zags) and it returned to Garnet - BEAUTIFUL! In the old days, that would have left a clear spot and I would have lost sleep wondering whether it would strike to my desire. Ruby lovers, time to rest easy, Northstar is on the case. I used a wide range of flames, from reducing to oxidizing, but too much O2 will boil it, as with most other colors. So I suggest that a neutral flame be used for that smooth feel we all love to work with. Next, the button polyps (Zoanthus sociatus) were created from a cane. From the center out, the colors are as follows: clear, Forest Green (NS-53), Turbo Cobalt (NS-33), Extra Light Yellow (NS-34), more Turbo and Dark Blue Amber Purple (NS-49). The cane was pulled approximately five to six feet and lopped into 3/8" chips. Last, the rocks: large Blue Moon frit (NS-F045L) under a generous portion of clear.

I hope others enjoy working with the new self-striking Rubies as much as I have.

Save a reef, blow your own!

figure 1

6" height, 7 1/4" width

Amber PurplesOne of the most elusive and alluring set of colors in the borosilicate color palette to attain satisfactory results is the Amber Purple family. The base formulaic origin of this color family was developed by Suellen Fowler while at Pepperdine University and passed on to the founder of Northstar Glassworks. The Amber Purples are known for their wide array of effects they produce in many different applications. They truly epitomize the uniqueness of colored borosilicate striking colors. To achieve the purple strike they must be worked carefully and in somewhat limited applications. As with any borosilicate color many variables affect the final hue and they all must be taken into careful consideration to achieve the desired color. It is all too easy to dismiss color variation or inconsistent results on the glass itself. Though there can be slight differences from rod to rod, much of the final color is dictated by how it is worked. In this article we will carefully catalog the variables that affect the Amber Purples and discuss the application as well as the working properties of this color family.

The first and most key variable in achieving a purple strike is how the flame is set. Never work the Amber Purples in a reducing flame. Set a sharp oxidizing flame to work these colors. If the flame is not oxidizing enough, the color will opacify and turn a milky yellow. When first heating the color you will notice that there is a metallic haze that precipitates on the surface. This is reduced silver metal that leaches out of the body of the glass and deposits on the surface.

Flame striking is best suited when a color gradient is desired. To achieve a uniform color all the way through the work, kiln striking is the best option. When kiln striking, place the un-struck haze free Amber Purple in the kiln and soak at 1125 F - 1150 F for approximately 60 min., or until desired hue is achieved. Note, thinner work may slump at these temperatures, so be vigilant.

In regards to the application of the Amber Purples they are somewhat limited. They can be applied virtually anywhere, but the purple strike will not develop if the Amber Purple is thinned out or heavily encased. They are excellent for surface work or beads, but not ideal for stringer applications or blow-outs. The effects they yield are pleasing, but when encased they often turn milky and silvery. Work time is also a crucial factor in achieving the purple. The less time the Amber Purple is worked, the better and more vibrant the strike will be. If it is unavoid-able that the piece must be worked for a long duration of time, be sure to keep burning off the haze so that the color stays as transparent and crisp as possible. This brings into play certain form limitations. With symmetrical vessels or beads, where the entire mass can be heated without losing its form, the haze is removed with relative ease. Sculp-tures and asymmetrical work in which a reheat would cause loss of definition are more difficult to make with Amber Purples. As for frit and powder, the Amber Purple frits do yield the purple strike. The Amber Purple powders however do not. This is because the particle size is too small and the color layer ends up being too thin.

AmberPurples

If the piece is worked before all the haze is heated off, the layer of metal will thicken and turn a matte gray color, thus masking the true color. In order to achieve the purple strike, the A/P must be heated aggressively with a strong sharp flame in order to remove the initial metal deposits. Turn the work slowly in the flame so the heat scrubs the surface of all the haze. The surface must be heated to the point that it almost boils. Even if the color is scarred by the flame it will melt back in and smooth over. This is the crucial step in the whole procedure. Once the initial layer of haze is removed it will re-develop, but not to the extent of the initial buildup. The redevelopment of the haze can be burned off easily without the extreme heat. With the more intense Amber Purples (NS-26 Double Amber Purple and NS-69 Green Amber Purple) more vigilance must be kept because the haze will redevelop more quickly.

When striking the Amber Purples there are two options, flame or kiln striking. To maximize the strike all the haze must be burned off. To flame strike: 1-Allow the piece to cool for twenty seconds so that there is no more heat glow. 2-Bathe the piece in a soft neutral flame so that the surface barely glows. To darken the color, repeat steps 1-2 as many times as desired. By heating for short increments of time, the color can be struck to the desired hue with a greater degree of accuracy. If the color is heated too aggressively, it will over-strike and perhaps the haze will re-deposit.

Now that the working guidelines have been discussed, let us take a closer look at each member of the Amber Purple family. This color set consists of NS-13 Amber Purple, NS-26 Double Amber Purple, NS-48 Light Blue Amber Purple, NS-49 Dark Blue Amber Purple, and NS-69 Green Amber Purple. Each is designed for a particular application and strike characteristic. NS-13 Amber Purple, the original shade is best suited for thick blown work and sculptural work. This is also the case with the NS-48 Light Blue Amber Purple. With the other three shades, NS-26 Double Amber Purple, NS-49 Dark Blue Amber Purple, and NS-69 Green Amber Purple, they are more versatile. The darker shades can be used for sculpture, but they can be stretched much further, making them more suitable for thinner applications. For color tips and suggestions visit our website www.northstarglass.com, click on the heading ‘Newsletter’ and take a look at Newsletter issue #2 for additional information.

We hope this brief overview of these unique colors have helped you in the quest of mastering them. This family holds many possibilities to explore. If in your exploration you stumble into an impasse, please give us a call and we will do our best to help. We offer full tech support and we have many accomplished lampworkers on our staff to help out. Here at Northstar we are committed to educating the lampworking community and advancing this art form.

2> NS-54 Star White core encased with

NS-69 Green Amber Purple. The surface

was dotted with NS-05 Orange and then

overlay dots of NS-33 Turbo Cobalt were

applied. The marble was flame struck.

1> NS-83 Skyline core encased

with NS-48 Light Blue Amber

Purple. The surface was dotted

with NS-09 Yellow. The marble

was selectively flame struck.

3> NS-54 Star White core encased with

NS-13 Amber Purple. Rings of NS-33

Turbo Cobalt and NS-44 Caramel were

applied and combed with NS-33 Turbo

Cobalt. The marble was flame struck.

4> NS-54 Star White core encased with NS-26 Double

Amber Purple. The marble was then dotted with large

dots of NS-48 Light Blue Amber Purple. Inside each of

the dots four small hobnail of NS-33 Turbo Cobalt were

applied and patterned. The marble was flame struck.

NS-33

NS-54 NS-69

NS-05

NS-83 NS-48 NS-09

NS-13 NS-44 NS-26

Jesse KohlMarbles and text by:

Jesse Kohl

No Haze Haze

Chris RicePieces and writing by:Chris RiceCNY Glass Studio

With the sudden burst of the lampwork-ing industry, and the borosilicate color palette, artists now have a wide selection of colors to choose from. Introduction of new colors seem to be happening every month, giving the artist the ability to constantly push the limits of borosilicate glass. With all this going on we tend to overlook some of the colors we have, colors that have been a foundation in the community.

NS-41 Butterscotch and NS-44 Caramel have been staples in our color pallet for many years. They are silver based colors and can provide a rainbow of colors, from

caramels and tans, to purple, blues and browns. With the high silver content they can also produce a metallic sheen when worked in the right atmosphere. With so many capabilities with each color one tends to never get bored trying new things, seeing what effects can be made with each color.

NS-41 Butterscotch has a lower silver content, thus the ability to produce more blues, greens and purples. It's a semi-opaque tan color, and it likes to be worked in an oxidizing atmosphere. Burning off the haze and getting to the core of the color is where the fun starts to happen. This will give you the beautiful earth tones, and if left in this state it can even strike in the kiln to tans with purple hues, as shown in figure 3. Working it in a reducing atmosphere brings out the silver, giving your piece a metallic sheen, and tans with deeper browns.

Don't be afraid to mix NS-41 Butterscotch with other colors to get brilliant effects!

NS-44 Caramel has a higher silver concentra-tion, keeping this color closer to producing more browns with metallic glimmer. Keep-ing it in a hot neutral to oxidizing flame will keep it tan to light brown, while a reducing atmosphere will bring out the silver for a chrome like sheen with deeper browns. Caramel is great to mix with other opaque colors, like the NS-79 Blue Spruce that is shown in figure 1. It absorbs the blue but still has the qualities of Caramel giving the piece a more natural, grainy wood like feel.

Both of these colors are great for all applica-tions of glass. From blown work and sculp-ture, to stringers and simple dots. And don't forget to try simply mixing both colors with clear like in figure 2. This will help you achieve different effects and colors you won't want to miss. A special thanks to everyone at Northstar for giving me this chance to get to know more about these two colors. I have learned new techniques as well as more about what these colors really can do. Now get out there and play!

Don't forget to visit www.cnyglass.com!!

Christopher Rice CNY Glass Studio

figure 1

20" height,

3 1/4" width (base)

figure 2

18" height,

3" width (base)

figure 3

11" height,

2 3/4" width (mouth)

NS-44

4

NS-86

NS-41

NS-76

NS-79

Let u

s int

rodu

ce

you

to o

ur n

ewes

t &PowdersFrits

NS-83 Skyline NS-84 Goldenrod NS-87 Garnet Dark

Goblets by:

Tony Hernandez

Northstar Glassworks, Inc.Northstar Borocolour

Quality 33 COE Borosilicate

Glass rod, frit, and powder

www.northstarglass.com

866.684.6986

Layout by: Jessie Butler

R

Bead 1:NS-79 Blue Spruce covered

in NS-83 Skyline small frit.

Bead 2:NS-64 Lava covered in

NS-87 Garnet Dark small frit.

Bead 3:NS-65 Cherry covered in

NS-84 Goldenrod small frit.

Beads by: Zara Capps

figure 1

figure 2

These pieces were made inside out.

Figure 1 uses NS-01 Cobalt and NS-83

Skyline small frit. Figure 2 uses NS-84

Goldenrod and NS-87 Garnet Dark

small frit. NS-76 Onyx was used

for the lip wrap and the foot wrap.

Bracelet 1:NS-13 Amber Purple base rolled

in small NS-83 Skyline frit and large

NS-87 Garnet Dark, then encased in clear.

Bracelet 2:NS-13 Amber Purple base dusted with

NS-83 Skyline powder, then rolled in

NS-87 Garnet Dark large frit.

It was then encased in clear.

Bracelet 3:NS-69 Green Amber Purple base

covered with NS-27 Green Exotic

large frit and NS-84 Goldenrod large

frit. Then, it was encased with clear.

Cherries:NS-87 Garnet Dark Frit.

Stems made with NS-11 Jade.

Bracelets by:

Jesse Kohl Cherries by:

Zara Capps

We are excited to announce the introduction of 3 new

colors to our frit and powder pallet- NS-83 Skyline,

NS-84 Goldenrod, and NS-87 Garnet Dark. We

had numerous requests for these colors to be

made available in frit and powder form,

and now they are.

In both frit and powder form NS-83

Skyline must be worked with care

to prevent surface scarring. To

achieve this, try working the

color about 8-10 inches from

the torch head. This sensitivity to

the flame is because of the opacifying

agent used in the base formula. NS-83

Skyline is not overly sensitive to reduction and

can be worked in a wide range of flames. In general stay

out of reducing flames to prevent any dulling caused from the

reduction of the cobalt. In powder form, to get a sufficiently blue tone from the color, be sure to

put at least three good thick coats of powder on the piece. Otherwise it will appear to have more of a

white hue than a blue. Keep in mind Skyline has very similar working characteristics as NS-54 Star White.

NS-84 Goldenrod is one of the most vibrant and saturated colors in the intense opaque family. Its smooth creamy

working properties make it very manageable to work both on the inside and on the surface of a piece. In both frit

and powder form it can be stretched and blown thin without losing its intensity. When working, take time to heat

this color up gently in a soft flame. Avoid reductive environments with this color.

NS-87 Garnet Dark frit and powder has the same self-striking properties as it does in rod form. It is an easy frit

or powder to work, and requires very little special attention to yield a great smooth surface. It can be thinned

and takes heat well. In order to prevent any reduction work NS-87 Garnet Dark in an oxidizing flame.

We hope that everyone will take the time to experiment with these new colors. We feel they add a lot to the

selection of frit and powder we already offer. Don’t forget to call and get your new frit and powder catalog.

You asked and we delivered...