Watching a demo at the Corning Museum totally flipped my view on using color

I was at the Corning Museum last month for their live glassblowing demo, and the artist was working with a simple cobalt blue rod. He kept the furnace at 2150 degrees, which I always thought was too hot for color work because it can burn out. But he explained that with cobalt, the higher heat actually makes the blue richer if you move fast and keep the piece turning. He pulled a vase shape in maybe three minutes total, and the color was this deep, even blue I've never gotten in my own shop. I've been keeping my furnace at 2050 for years thinking I was being careful, but it was just making my colors muddy. Now I've been trying his method on my own pieces, and it's a night and day difference. Has anyone else had a specific temp tip for a certain color that went against what you usually do?

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3 Comments

cooper.phoenix7mo ago

Heard amber needs a cooler flame, is that true?

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lopez.simon6mo ago

Cooper, you trying to melt it or cook with it?

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gavin_hill277mo ago

Actually depends on the type of amber you're talking about. Like, Baltic amber can get cloudy or even release a smell if the flame's too hot. Seen it happen when someone used a regular butane torch on a small piece, it just looked wrong after. A softer flame from an alcohol lamp or a lower torch setting seems to work better for shaping it without ruining the color. Kinda weird how a stone that's basically old tree sap is so picky about heat.

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