Lampwork Beads: How to turn molten glass into wearable art

I have a big passion for molten glass, which almost hypnotizes me. A hot flame can melt a solid bar of glass and a professional artist can create a gorgeous fused lampwork bead. That bead can become a part of jewelerie, and it will be worn years in a row by many generations.

 

The first glass beads ever discovered were produced around 3000 BC and they were mainly used for trading purpose. In the late 1200’s the production of glass bead was moved on the Murano Island therefore Venice became the capital of bead manufacturers.

 

At that time beads were produced directly from a kiln. A mandrel was lowered into the pot of molted glass and twisted around the mandrel. The Venetians developed a more advance bead making technique using an oil lamp with a bellow attached. The bellow was pumping oxygen to the flame so that the heat will increase enough to melt the glass bar that was wrapped around a mandrel in order to create a bead.

 

My method of creating glass beads is not very different from the one used in 1500’s. However there’s no need of using a bellow to pump the oxygen. You only need a torch connected to a source of oxygen and gas. This mixture of fuels produces a very powerful flame which melts the glass bar that is wrapped around a mandrel covered with bead release to avoid sticking.

The bead design can be made in many different ways. One of these methods is by using pliers to pull a thin glass fiber called “stringer”. This stringer is attached to the bead in dots or line using a flame to create a diversity of models.

 

There are many lampwork glass bar producers available on the market. However, it’s extremely important that the glass used in manufacturing a bead to be of the same COE (coefficient of expansion). To have the same COE the glass must be compatible so it will contract and expand in the same way. Different contraction rates will cause fissures. Glasses from different producers or sometimes even from the same one may differ. I use a slightly different method to create lampwork beads as I prefer to work with compatible glass bars that I cut into pieces. As a result I can use a large color palette.

 

A thin silver string can offer some great visual effects. Included between two glass layers the thin silver string will get a golden shade, but if added on the surface it will keep its silver color. Silver, cooper or gold can always be added to create some great and rare lampwork beads. New shapes and designs can be created every day. The durability is the main issue when it comes to lampwork beads. All the beads should pass through the annealing process after being taken out from flame.

 

To accomplish this procedure I place the beads into my kiln at about 530ºc/985ºf. The beds remain in there for 7-8 hours at this temperature and then I switch off the kiln. The temperature will slowly decrease in about 9 hours. The annealing procedure gives durability to the beads and eliminates any imperfections.

Lampwork beads are small works of art. They are also a chat reason that will always attract people. The lampwork beads can be appreciated as jewelries or as part of a collection.