Picture 014

This marble is a 2-rod gather of Mother of Pearl cane (luscious stuff from Czecho, similar to the "shampoo glass" that FrozenFyre offers, but this is COE 104). You can get it from C and R Loo. I love it.

Anyway, MOP cane contains layers of something magical, I suspect it's mica dust; and when you melt the glass, these layers swirl and move around and produce lovely pearlescent patterns. The glass is a treat to handle, silky and well-behaved, and it produces a slick, glossy surface with very little working.

Its weakness is that it scorches (see the smoke marks?). And I tried raking it (what a mistake) and ruined its natural, subtle surface pattern. I wish very much that I had not done so. I haven't had the nerve to waste more of this fairly expensive glass on another marble; but I think it is ideally suited to marble making because of its friendly nature and willingness to take a shine.

A photo cannot do justice to the soft shimmer of this glass.