Potmelt concentric rings question

[John Millock]

I'm trying to make a potmelt using Bullseye pale blue and dark blue glass where the resulting melt consists of a series of thin concentric circles, like you would see in the cross section of a tree trunk.

I'm kind of there with the pattern but notice that there often seems to be the case where one area of the melt is predominantly pale blue whilst another is mostly dark blue with the rings of the opposing colour running through.

Whilst this looks OK I am looking for a more balanced result of consistent shade and pattern over the whole melt. I imagine that the answer is something to do with how I load the plantpot, how big the pieces of glass are and how they are arranged.

Any feedback or opinions will be appreciated. I'll try to post some photos in a day or two incase my description was a bit vague!

[Steve Immerman]

John,

I know exactly what you are describing. I looks like this:





Although I have not tried it yet, I suspect that if you divide the pot into quarters, and alternate each quarter with color A and Color B you will get a more even pattern.


Steve

[John Millock]

Thanks Steve,

That's the kind of thing I'm after! It's difficult to tell from your photo but I'm guessing that the flash on the camera is making your melt look lighter on one side? Is it fairly consistent when viewed in daylight?

Do you do anything in particular to minimise bubbles? Or do you quite like having the odd one in there? What firing schedule did you use?

Also, have you found anything in particular which varies the width and contrast of the rings? I thought perhaps the size of the hole in the plantpot, but would be interested to hear what you have discovered!

Thanks again for posting,

John

[Steve Immerman]

Thanks Steve,

That's the kind of thing I'm after! It's difficult to tell from your photo but I'm guessing that the flash on the camera is making your melt look lighter on one side? Is it fairly consistent when viewed in daylight?

Do you do anything in particular to minimise bubbles? Or do you quite like having the odd one in there? What firing schedule did you use?

Also, have you found anything in particular which varies the width and contrast of the rings? I thought perhaps the size of the hole in the plantpot, but would be interested to hear what you have discovered!

Thanks again for posting,

John

John,

The melt posted above is mostly white on one side, mostly blue on the other, and has nice rings on the top and bottom.

My schedule is:

2000 dph to 1700 hold 60 min,or until it stops flowing. I'm sure the size of the hole makes a big difference. My pots happen to have a 7/8" hole.

I haven't done anything about bubbles. I kind of like the way they distort the rings, and then fill in. It reminds me of the rings around saturn, or the suface of neptune. My guess is that the air is trapped in the pot, and the bubbles flow down the pour. If you packed the glass tighter and oriented more vertically, you might minimize them.

Here is a melt I made last night, dividing the pot up into quadrants as I suggested yesterday:




I think it effectively minimizes the effect you were unhappy with.

Steve

[John Millock]

Looking good, and the colour is fairly consistent over the entire piece. Will give the "divide into quarters" idea a go!

One more question! Have you found any variable which defines how crisp the contrast between the two colours appears? I like the sharp contrast on your orange melt, but also think that with more mellow colours a softer edge my be quite nice!

Thanks for taking the time to post.

[Steve Immerman]

One more question! Have you found any variable which defines how crisp the contrast between the two colours appears? I like the sharp contrast on your orange melt, but also think that with more mellow colours a softer edge my be quite nice!

If you use both transparents and opals, and add some clear glass as well it does create some translucency to the swirls, and may "soften" the appearance, as in this melt:



Or the images on this page:

http://www.clearwaterglass.com/aperture_pour_2.htm

Steve

[John Millock]

Great! I'll have a play and post back!

Thanks again.

[Brock]

Your web site is fantastic Steve, it's becoming a real resource. Brock

[charlie]

i've found that if you line up the glass vertically, and pay attention to the arrangement of colors such that they're balanced, you get balanced rings.

also play around with enlarging the holes.

cutting a 3/8" slot in the bottom of the pot across the whole bottom and arranging the glass crosswise to the slot lead to a different, but oddly enough still circular, pattern.

[Steve Immerman]

Your web site is fantastic Steve, it's becoming a real resource. Brock

Thanks!

Steve