Rising Star: Vetrofond 942 Poppy (aka Watermelon) Odd

One of Vetrofond’s more recent Odd Lot selections, this color is….interesting. When I saw the picture of Poppy on Frantz Art Glass’s newsletter, I got excited. When I finally was able to order some, and saw the rod color for myself, my heart started pounding. Because - and I say this with the most maturity possible - OMG!!!! The rod color is just the most delicious shade of bright pinky-coral-glowy-juicy-watermelon imaginable.

If only the glass stayed that color when melted. **heartbreak**

Don’t get me wrong - this is still a lovely, cheerful color. But for the most part, it stays a bright coral orange, and loses a lot of its translucent pink quality. The color variances in this glass really depend on your ability to strike it. It’s VERY picky about temperature and timing.

This color reminds me a little bit of the first batch of ASK 104 Passionate Pink - back when that color first came out. Poppy shares that color’s way of responding to temperature.

The glass itself is somewhat stiff - and turns a weird sparkly grey in the flame. When you strike it, the surface can turn a murky orange brown - and that’s kind of what you’re looking for. The darker the bead when you put it into the kiln, the brighter orange you get when it comes out of the kiln. Most of the time. Did I mention this glass is really picky?

Encasing this color in any pale pink or clear transparent yields a pretty, pale creamsicle color. I love this, because you can’t get that pale of a color with most of your typical orange shades.

Poppy almost never comes out as a solid color after annealing. It usually has quite a few striations of color ranging from coral pink to sunshine orange on the same bead.

This is one of the only colors I have that I really wish would stay the same shade as the rod. Hopefully Vetrofond will figure out a way! But it’s still really lovely. Get some, especially if you love juicy summer colors.