Picture 024

How I wish this were not a second, because it is just the kind of marble I have always wanted to make. What went wrong?

Well, you can't see it in this deliberately flattering photo, but the black filigrana smoked like crazy where the end was exposed to the flame: something about the black glass at its core, I guess. So both poles are afflicted with a web of black smuts, like the residue from bursting a cluster black soap bubbles. And speaking of bubbles . . . yup, there are some inside. And some internal "turbulence" striping too.

Other than that, its shape and surface are not bad (check out the lamp and flash reflections), so it was sad to see these evidences of failure in an otherwise encouraging piece.

Maybe if I had encased the ends of the black filigrana immediately, the smoke problem could have been avoided. I'll try again someday and find out.