Laura Schreiber's Purple ET: My purple people eater vessel is made from Moretti Purple #254 � a.k.a. "evil purple". I love using this color for sculptural work because of the way cooler areas will devitrify, but the areas just worked stay shiny. I began by making a hollow bead for his belly, and then wrapped more glass at the bottom past the end of the mandrel for his legs. (They are hollow also) I added more glass and shaped the feet and legs. Next came the tail, then I added glass for the wings (but didn�t shape yet. I made the arms, then finished shaping the wings and adjusted the tail to make sure he stands nice and proud. This last part was done fairly quickly to keep the thin parts from cracking. His hollow head was made the day before so I could compare it to the body while I was working.

Deborah Gibson's Torso: The female torso/goddess was my first sculpted bead and I used an opal yellow base. However, I sculpted the torso first, then applied silver leaf. I added the "perky parts" to her breasts at the end, that's why they show up on top of the leaf. I love the way the silver leaf created a greenish patina & mottled effect to give the piece more interest.

October 2003