Soft Glass - trials and tribulations

I was recently given a present for my birthday. I had the opportunity to go to Glass Obsessions for a class. The class was to learn to make implosion pendants from soft glass like the ones shown above. I usually work with Boro glass. Boro is Pyrex, a hard glass. You can heat it up and take your time working with it and have good success. But I really wanted to learn implosion methods and thought it would be a good experience.

Boy oh boy. It was a hot day, and I got so warm I nearly passed out! The heat combined with a nice hot summer day and the frustration of learning a new skill nearly kicked me around the block! The other class participants did well, and we had a good instructor, I couldn't handle the heat. bleh. I did learn the technique and should be able to make a few pendants with the boro glass I have. I did learn a HUGE level of respect for soft glass artists! The glass is a lot softer than boro and can only be heated to a certain level before it is dripping off your rod and falling to the table. It takes finesse and lots of practice. My hat is off to the soft glass flameworkers of the world!