By the 1980s the shapes had gotten a lot more consistent and more colors of glass were being used including colors not present in the regular recycled glass bottles and jars. Added pigments give rise to many new colors.
For those of us making jewelry out of trade beads in the 1970s and 1980s these powderglass beads were some of the few "spacer beads" that worked. Most non-African glass was far too shiny to be used with the semi-matte surfaces of antique Venetian glass, so the new colors were a very welcome addition.
Ground glass, the consistency of sand, was funneled into 5x8mm depressions in a clay tablet. A small stick was inserted in the center of each glass filled space. When the clay slab was heated the glass would melt enough to fuse and the stick would burn away leaving the hole.
These were what I now call level 1 powderglass beads. Level 2 saw the advent of different colors of glass being layered on top of each other creating horizontally striped beads. Level 3 brought vertical stripes and we are now at Level 4 where glazed surface decorations have taken over from patterns made with the powder in the mold.
Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection.
