Thursday, December 18, 2008

Rising Star: ASK 009 Caramel Apple


ASK is a new brand of 104 coe glass that is made by Arrow Springs and Kugler. They have a variety of new colors, and this one, Caramel Apple, is my favorite so far. I’ve used it several times (see the beads below), and it’s a total dream to work with. (**since this post, the line of glass that contained this color has been discontinued. A color very similar is still available through Kugler For more on the comparisons of the new colors vs the old colors, view this thread on Lampwork, Etc.).



At first glance, this glass rod is kind of a golden tan color that, personally, looks a little blah. But introduce it to your flame and watch the color bloom. It’s both a striking and a reducing color - meaning that it does all kinds of fun things while you work it with different flame environments.
It melts like most opaque 104’s - soft and flowing, but not drippy. It does tend to form color striations - and they get more pronounced the longer you work the glass. Striking the glass as you go along yields a richer, deeper golden ochre color.





The real beauty of this glass comes out when it’s reduced. A medium reduction flame will deposit a pretty golden metallic sheen on the glass - and the less oxygen, the brighter the metallic. Also, the sheen will differ with how hot the glass is when you reduce it. You can reduce it while it’s molten to get a very bright silvery finish. I prefer the more golden tone, so I let my glass cool a bit before reducing.








I know I will be using this glass a lot more in the future - it’s just gorgeous!











For more tips on working this and other ASK colors, see the Arrow Springs ASK 104 page.

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