By the 1980s commercial pigments began showing up in powdergalss and experimentation with shapes began. This one didn't last long, but came roaring back 20 years later in a modified form: the popular powderglass rondelle
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.
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