They were considered to ward off evil, by always watching out for the owner. Both begin by trailing a contrasting color of glass onto a base bead to form parallel lines. In the festoon, all combing is in one direction, while the feather alternates direction. Filigrana - A clear cased glass rod with a colored core. Frit - Granulated colored class, sometimes referred to as crumb glass.
Hot glass is rolled in frit to create the effect of small dots of color.
A single color can be used at a time, or mixed colors applied to form a pattern of spots. Fusing - Fusing is the joining of glass while in it's molten state. It is what happens to each gather of glass added to the piece being worked, a fundamental step in all glassblowing. It also is used to describe work done in a kiln or an oven where the pieces of glass are allowed to fuse together while hot. Gathering - Another fundamental step in glassblowing, molten glass must be accumulated in the proper amount and location, referred to as gathering.