African Beads, Part Two

Here is the second part of Mr. Cedi’s explanation of how the African powder beads are formed. Now you can see the clay crucible in which the powders are layered. In the first photos you can see how much denser the glass is now that it has melted and the Casaba stick is now burnt out of the bead. Here is where the steel rods are used to pull the glass from the form and shape it into a round bead by tugging and pressing it against the sides. After the forming is done and the bead is allowed to cool completely it’s taken out of the mold and the outer clay washed off by gentling rolling them against a water filled granite bowl.

This set of photos shows a fish pendant being formed. It’s really an interesting process and Mr. Cedi teaches this around the country. Here is a link to Mr. Cedi's U-Tube Video so you can see the process yourself: Cedi Bead Factory