Messy Color™ Smurfy
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An opaque turquoise blue.
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"Another turquoise [Smurfy] trick is to make it go brick red. For this, turn down your oxygen and work the bead from the start in a soft, bushy flame. Not so far as a reduction flame, just fuzz up the candles a little by turning down the oxygen." Read more at DragonJools blog. – Dwyn Tomlinson Click here for other interesting Smurfy discoveries.
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Messy Tester's Feedback
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Most testers agree that Smurfy is comparable to Italian Turquoise minus the metallic / silvering effect.
"Smurfy is a lovely color. It does seem to work a bit easier with a decreased tendency to go metallic. The reaction with other colors like Ivory seems to be a bit more subtle which I like. Used as a stinger for fine work, Fremen and Smurfy beat the Italian glasses hands down. They don’t melt into the surface as easily as the Italian versions. The Italian versions seem 'soft'." – Chris Haussler
"Smurfy is wonderful to melt, but thought turquoise was a bit brighter, prettier color. That said, I still wouldn’t hesitate to use Smurfy – the difference is subtle." – Donna Dorman
"It’s nice to not have a turquiose I have to worry about turning silver when I don’t want it to." – Elasia
"Smurfy has more striation than Italian turquoise which I like. This effect gives a bit of detail without having to provide a lot of extra effort." – Elizabeth Long
"I used Smurfy and turquoise in several tests and found that they pretty much acted the same. On an Ivory base bead I placed dots of each color on opposite sides of the bead. At first glance there is no difference. If the bead is placed in bright light it is apparent that the Smurfy is a much bluer color. I still get the dark rings around each dot, which happens with Italian turquoise, and can be an important part of the design." – Gail Witt
"It doesn’t devit or get an ugly grey surface like Italian turquoise does – that’s a major plus!" – Kathy Coon
"Smurfy and turquoise are nearly identical in color and consistency, with Smurfy being just ever so slightly paler in color. Both reduced to a coppery red and got grey smutz if exposed to too much propane in the flame." – Lori Bergmann
"Smurfy is a shade between light and dark turquoise Effetre 232 and 236 and behaves quite similarly to them. Italians are a little bit streakier. All the glasses react quite similarly to dark ivory, reaction is a bit stronger darker the shade. When reduced strongly, all glasses reduced to brick red." – Maija-Leena Autio
"I love Smurfy. The color is a little different and it doesn’t turn gray as easily." – Marcy Lamberson
"Smurfy is a really nice medium turquoise [but a little more blue] that isn't so prone to the weird metallic devit the Italian turquoises seem to give. I would like to see Smurfy just a tad more to the green side, because it's not quite as strong of a turquoise color as I'd like to see." – Renee Wiggins
"Smurfy is slightly more blue than a true turquoise tone." – Starleen Colon
"Smurfy does not give the 'orangey' discoloration as Effetre turquoise does which is good." – Sue Stewart
"This is the perfect replacement for Dark Turquoise! It melts nicely, can stand heat in a neutral flame, and presses well with no silvering after chilling and reheating. This color is just so amazingly brilliant." – Genea Crivello
"It is the unpleasant dirtiness that Effetre Dark Sky Blue and Dark Turquoise acquire in the flame that makes me prefer CiM Fremen and CiM Smurfy when I'm looking for a turquoise that is in this hue range. The CiM colours don't do this icky thing." – Melanie Graham
Smurfy is darker than both Light Turquoise and Fremen, more of a shade with Dark Sky Blue. Unlike Dark Sky Blue, it doesn't easily develop that grey sheen, although you can make it happen if you hold it in a reducing flame. Read more at Melanie's blog. – Melanie Graham
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Special thanks to Genea Crivello-Knable, Maija-Leena Autio, & Melanie Graham for providing the photos in this section.
Claudia Eidenbenz’s "Vetrothek" (glass library) is a great resource for color comparisons.
See Kay Powell’s frit testing samples.
Browse Serena Thomas’ color gallery.
Check out Miriam Steger’s CiM color charts.
Consult Jolene Wolfe's glass testing resource page.
"Smurfy is a medium to dark turquoise opaque colour. I found it really creamy and nice to work with, and vastly prefer it to the other dark turquoise opaques [Dark Turquoise, Dark Sky Blue] from Effetre because it doesn't easily develop that greyish dirty patina that other turquoises get, although you can make that happen if you really try. You can see in the bead on the left that when I reduced Smurfy it got a greyish haze on its surface. I reduced this bead a few times trying to get it to change colour. I was hoping for that solid red brick coating you can sometimes get on turquoises, but that doesn't seem to happen with this one." Read more at Melanie's blog. |
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| Rachel uses Smurfy to demonstrate the Veining Technique she developed. Check out her tutorial. |
Check out Jamie Lynne’s customizable murrini recipe using Smurfy in the October 2013 issue of the Soda Lime Times. |
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| "Smurfy with Z862 extra light beige. I find Smurfy to be slightly less reactive with Effetre COE 104 ivory than other soda lime turquoise glass so thought it would be a good choice to try out with this pale furnace glass frit." Read more at Kitzbitz Art Glass' blog. |
Deb's tutorial on making a Lightening Ridge Organic bead [shown here with Smurfy base, ivory, silver foil, and Taxco silver] is featured in the Fall 2011 issue of ISGB's quarterly magazine the Glass Bead.
– Debra Byrne
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| "Another turquoise [Smurfy] trick is to make it go brick red. For this, turn down your oxygen and work the bead from the start in a soft, bushy flame. Not so far as a reduction flame, just fuzz up the candles a little by turning down the oxygen." Read more at DragonJools blog. |
"We see some break up in the turquoise [Smurfy] between the dots [with Magic frit]." Read more at DragonJools blog. |
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A comparison of Smurfy with various other colors in a reduction atmosphere.
– Genea Crivello
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| "Swirls into Smurfy and Smurfy is a bit bluer than the turquoise. Both had about the same amount of reaction to SIS. They are very similar in color and I am not sure that I would chose one over the other."
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Leslie Anne Bitgood
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See how Smurfy fits into the 104 color palette. Read more and see more comparison beads including etched versions at Lush Blogs. |
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| Pantone announced turquoise as Color of the Year for 2010. "Lots of Turquoise Beads for 2010.... My favorite CiM turquoise is known as Smurfy!" Read more at Darlene's blog. |
"Smurfy [silvered] shards - twinkling with droplets of silver. There is less reaction between the silver infusion and turquoise base than I would have anticipated and have found when creating silvered turquoise shards from various shade of Effetre glass. I think these shards are simply beautiful." Read more at the Kitzbitz Art Glass blog. |
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| "If you have ever used one of the Italian turquoises, you know that they have a tendency to pit as you work with them. The Italian dark turquoise turns black /gray on the surface the more you heat it in the flame and is such a frustrating color to work with, that I stopped using it 15 years ago. The good news is that both Fremen and Smurfy are wonderful creamy pastel turquoise colors that don’t pit or turn black." Read more at the Frantz Art Glass blog. |