these pics show a 'before and after' effect..the bead on top hasn't been ground yet...You build the middle portion of the bead on the mandrel, then encase the heck out of it in clear....then you add a thin layer of color (I used various blues, greens and purples) and finally case it with black...Andrea had rolled hers in Raku and then etched it, I never got around to etching the outside...

The size of these beads are massive...the bottom bead is 28x50mm and 13mm across...the top bead is slightly smaller at 30x40 and I don't know how thick it'll be, but probably about the same...I haven't ground the top one yet, because Mick wants to see how its done...There are 4 discs that have various grits on them, the first grit removes most of the glass, and each disc afterward is used to polish the scratches out so the glass is silky smooth...

This bead took me an hour to make at the torch, and another hour to grind it to this point...So these are time intensive beads, but they are very impressive to see in person and make fabulous focals..I used a 1/8" mandrel so the hole is plenty large enough for this little black cable (you can find the cables at BlueMoon if you'd like one..i think they are $3.00) or its thick enough for a nice hunk of leather...my next few beads will be rolled in enamels so there is less surrounding color on them, and more of the clear can be revealed...I'm curious to see how the next bead will turn out, though...its like opening an Easter Egg, or Geode...