Fishy, Fishy, in the Sea....

I love making glass fish. And I'm happy to say that they are easier to make than one would think (am I giving away a craft secret here?), at least the simple ones. I base my design on the important, evolutionary premise that

FISH DON'T HAVE LIPS

Yes, for all you fish bead lovers out there, those cute little fishes with the gorgeous fins, the bright colors, and the LIPS... they're not anatomically correct. They are cute, I agree.

And I'm not saying that my fish are perfectly shaped, either. My colors certainly are not like the real thing. But I have a problem with fish lips.

Tips for glass artists:

• Glass fish beads are useful for more than necklaces - you can string a copper or silver wire through them and solder the beads into your stained glass work. They also make nice dangles or decorative tails for suncatchers.


• If you're creating a glass fish and you want it (him, her?) to have a decorative tail, decorate half the bead before you start sculpting it. One of the first steps in making a fish is flattening your round bead, which is done after this decoration. Just be sure to flatten the bead so that the flattened part on the left side of the mandrel is plain, and the flattened part of the right side of the mandrel is decorated. You'll pull that decorated side into a tail, and shape the plain side into the fish head.
  
• If you start with a hollow bead, your fish will be a bit lighter.