Saturday, January 10, 2009

TAG 104 - 02 Zeus

Continuing my adventures with TAG - Trautman Art Glass - meet Zeus.

Zeus was waaaay easier and more gratifying than the Dalai Lama - which says something that I get along better with a mythological thunderbolt-tossing god-being than a real peace-loving symbol living in exile. What it says - I'm not sure - but it's probably not good. ;-)

Anyway - The handout says -


This glass appears crystal clear in the rod, but changes dramatically when reduced, then struck. Zeus turns amber by itself and over light colors. Over black, it's reduction film can be struck to a range from royal blue to turquoise to green. Can also be reduced further to amber brown opaques. Encases well, retains reaction under clear. Try over a transparent orange or Moretti Red Roof Tile for a great electric purple. On striking gold-ruby (Rubino), Zeus can make a peachy colour. It is Turquoise over purples, etc.


The website adds:

Remember, Zeus likes to be 'activated' by a light reduction before it will strike.


I found that this worked nicely with very little effort. I encased a thin layer over black, reduced it, and it struck immediately after that! Lovely rich blues, greens and turquoise. Mmmmm. Gotta get more of this!

BTW - I actually talked to the folks at Trautman today by phone - and got some tips for getting the best results out of yesterday's Dalai Lama. The technical term is "heat the snot out of it." ;-) I'll take another run at it and let you know how it turns out!

I also mentioned that the handout and the website don't completely agree with each other, and it turns out that is because the info is constantly being updated with more details, as more is learned about working with that colour - which is cool. I can live with that!

I can hardly wait to try some more of these glasses!

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