Ghana Sand Cast - These beads are also commonly called Powder Glass Beads. The technique for creating this style of bead started in Ghana during the 16th century. Very fine pieces of crushed glass are held together with a binding material such as saliva or gum arabic and spread over a grass stem or a bottle glass core. After cooking in the oven, the beads are rolled in other small pieces of glass to create patterns.
Ghana Powder Chevron - Pieces of glass are crushed into a powder and heated so that all of the particles fuse together. The liquid glass is then poured into clay moulds with a cassava leaf stem used for creating the holes of the beads. The glass and leaf stem are then placed into an oven. The beads are done when the glass fuses and the stem burns up!
