This dead mouse combines two projects, a press test and a repair—and bonus, since I never documented the original incarnation of this mouse, you get a twofer:)
The original version, shot 22jun16; 1/60sec, f7.1, zuiko macro 50mm prime, E620, lumopro manual flash. Hollow abstract cathead, featuring stripies, translucent (greasy) mini-hollows, czech faceted and vintage, basemetal charms.[1]
My friend Page has decided in the interests of simplicity to focus on enamelling and silversmithing in her own studio, and confine any lampwork to mine, which is more robustly set up for propane storage and ventilation—both more critical for a continuously running torch that is the hallmark of working glass (as opposed to the 10 minutes setup for metalworking, 2 minutes of torch work, and then another 10 minutes of pickling, etc. Metalwork is all about the prep, and then cleanup, one reason I prefer lampwork, as the ratio of actually moving the material around, as opposed to getting ready or cleaning up, is much higher.)
This is how I came to own have responsibility for storing a zoozi heart press: Page likes hearts, and thought the press would simplify making them, and she wanted me to test the press before returning it to the seller. I was pretty sure it would be fine because a) zoozi makes good products and b) it had obviously been used regularly, not tried a couple of times & put to the side to palm off on some other unsuspecting lamwpworker.
2 beads made to test the heart press. I'm not any great shakes at using it, but the press obviously can be used to make hollow heart shaped beads. 27mar20, oneplus5T phone camera
Nevertheless, it seemed like a really easy (& kind) thing simply to do as Page asked, so I tried the press out, using green glass so's I could put the result into the bead curtain. The scrolling was done with a piece of scrap 2mm aqua stringer, which I knew would read green on the bead, as indeed it does.
Meanwhile, I wasn't certain what the owner of the mouse wanted, and it had taken awhile to get the piece to me, so I texted her to ask, and as it happens, the heart bead was in the image:
broken mouse, 2 heart beads, and, bonus, mini-watercolour kit:) 27mar20, one-plus5T
She thought it was there as a suggestion (which occurred to me, but honestly, it was more that I was too lazy to move the beads out of the way...)
dead mouse—about 12"/23cm overall; heart focal, about 1-1/8 or 30mm. zuiko macro 50mm prime, E620, 1/125sec f8, lumopro phtograph flash 20apr20
But since she liked it, this solved the need to make a bead specifically to match the multiple colours in the tails, so I was happy to go with it. As it happens, the tails had taken some damage—if you click for the full-size image, the worn areas on the swarovski crystal are very obvious[2] —and were missing an end charm. Since the elephant one had persisted, I put a second elephant on.[3]
Now I just need to ship the thing back.
[1]The joint with the cylindrical blue bead is almost certainly sterling silver, however, as it is a gift from Page, leftover from higher-end projects.
[2]not to mention the chunk missing out of the navy blue catseye disk!
[3]Despite my qualms about the negative symbolism these animals currently represent in USian politics...
Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.
