| When given the opportunity to show my jewelry, whether at a show or to prospective merchants, I enjoy talking with my customers about the process of lampworking. This web-page, while not as engaging as actually seeing the craft, is intended to give you a feel for how my beads are made and gives me the opportunity to share with you my passion for the art. If you have any questions, please feel free to visit my contact page and send me an e-mail or give me a call – I’d be happy to answer your questions and would enjoy hearing from you. | |
| To create a bead I begin with a glass rod that is typically the width of a #2 pencil and approximately 12 inches in length. I use a torch to heat the glass in a mixed flame of oxygen and propane. In order for the glass to melt, it must reach a temperature of approximately 1400 degrees Fahrenheit and once the glass turns molten I begin to wrap it around a thin steel rod called a mandrelWhen the beads is cooled and removed from the mandrel, the space that was occupied by the mandrel is the hole of the bead.. The mandrel is constantly rotated in my hand, rotating away from me so that the glass winds itself around the mandrel. When I have the desired amount of glass on the mandrel I will move the glass to a cooler part of the flame (always rotating) to slowly allow the glass to stiffen slightly. Glass is naturally drawn to the heat of the flame and it is important at this point to keep the heat focused at the center of the bead – doing so, and keeping the mandrel parallel to the earth and rotating in a steady motion will naturally form a round bead. | |
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Once the base of the bead is created I decorate the bead using thinner rods of glass called stringersStringers are created by heating the tip of a rod in the flame until there is a small gather of molten glass at its tip. Pliers are then used to pull a thinner "string" from the gather - this is done outside of the flame and quickly begins to stiffen. To separate the larger rod from the stringer the rod is quickly passed through the flame again to "flame cut" the two apart.. The stringer will typically be a contrasting color to stand out against the base bead and is used to create the dots, flowers, stripes and swirls that are found in my beads.
When I’ve finished the bead, I kiln anneal them for several hours in a digitally controlled kiln. AnnealingAnnealing is the process of “soaking” the beads at a high temperature to make sure that the glass is heated evenly and the beads are then slowly cooled to room temperature over several hours. Regardless of where you buy your hand-crafted beads, it’s important to ask if the beads are kiln annealed – this process makes for a more durable bead. is important because glass will shrink as it cools. Allowing a bead to cool in the open air will result in the beads exterior cooling faster than its interior. When this happens the stress between the hotter and cooler parts of the bead will likely cause the bead to crack and break – annealing will prevent this and increase its durability. Once the beads have finished annealing I remove them from the mandrel, clean the bead releaseBead release is a material applied to the mandrel to prevent the glass from sticking to the steel rod. If the bead release separates during the process of making the bead and the glass touches the steel, the beads will adhere to the rod. If this happens, the bead and mandrel are spoiled - however they make nice planter decorations...always recycle! from the hole and create the finished product (earrings, bracelets, necklaces etc.) using sterling silver findings, beads and Swarovski crystal elements to help make each piece a wearable work of art. |
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