For me, making glass beads is all about variation on a theme. Let's do this. Now let's do it in a slightly different color, or bigger, or smaller, or a different shape. Or, put two ‘old hat’ ideas together for something new.

When I make my dichro core beads, I typically wrap black backed dichro in a thin cylinder bead around the mandrel; then build a hollow bead in a light transparent color around it. Then I put dots on it. So a dichro core is just a fancy dottie. This bead is very similar, except to get a more interesting core, I laid down periwinkle blue and violet glass, cased with transparent dichro (metal side down) before building the outer jacket of which I decorated with floral garden trailing rather than the simple dots.

Core beads are particularly prone to cracking, and I was never able to make any more in which the blue and purple glass combined so nicely in the core. So since I was so especially happy with this one, I kept it. Along with the recursive bead it's my favorite for casual wear. 2000?

I'm also particularly pleased with the way the photo came out: this is the first time I was able to shoot a hanging object. Normally, one uses a flash to stop the inevitable motion; but the with digital camera I was able to reduce the shutter speed from the typical 1/15 or so I use for transparencies to about 1/125, enough to freeze the motion.

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.