Since returning from Glass Stock West, I've been hooked on making these orchids! The plan is to scale them down a little from lifesize and put a loop on the back so they can hang as necklace pendants.
I still have a long way to go just to get the basic shapes and sizes of the petals correct, not to mention getting them all hot sealed together in a somewhat correct and pleasing pattern.
Attempt #3 (sadly #2 broke during the final loop attachment phase...dammit)
then comes the super challenging part of creating a hanging loop for the pendant. It must be big enough to fit a silk ribbon or cord, not stick out too far from the base and at a spot that will allow the blossom to basically hang vertically. The following loop fails on all three accounts, LOL. It's all good practice and each failure helps me get better the next time.
Attempt #4
this time, instead of frit, I added the spots directly onto the petals one by one. The spots and lower petal are made from TAG Mai Tai which can turn pink in the kiln and probably still would if I put them back in for another annealing cycle. But, then the lower petal would get darker too and I'm rather fond of the pinkish center lightening to yellow at the tips. Oh, yeah and just ignore the totally off center lip, still working out the best attachment angle in the flame.
the loop on this one came out better, still needs work, but at least it hangs on a cord nicely.
making these is a lot of work, but oh so much fun!