[Kristin]

By: Stephanie White

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Lampwork beads are a special kind of alchemy produced when fire meets the glass. They're tiny masterpieces of color and technique, each made by hand through a painstaking process of many delicate steps. Look closely at the jewelry made from lampwork beads: The beads may match, but they're never quite identical. Each one is a miniature sculpture of glassworking art.

This is what makes lampwork bead jewelry so unique. You'll never meet anyone wearing exactly the same thing, which makes this the perfect gift for someone who stands out from the crowd. Larger lampwork beads are often used as stunning centerpieces of necklaces or bracelets since even a single bead creates a statement.
Working with high heat and molten glass is tricky and exacting, but it's a fascinating process to watch. Each bead is constructed on a specially-prepared steel rod called a mandrel. The bead is built as molten glass wraps around the mandrel, creating the bead's hole. The artist uses a high-heat torch to melt thin rods of colored or transparent glass, which are expertly applied to the surface of the bead to form patterns. Some lampwork artists fuse thin layers of gold or silver to the bead. And some of the most fabulous beads result from "accidents."

But all this exacting work can be ruined if the glass cracks as it cools, so the artists use a slow process called "annealing" to make sure that each layer of each bead cools at an even rate.

All this is why lampwork glass beads are so highly prized, both for their beauty and their individuality.


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[Kristin]

The History of Lampworking Glass Beads

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One of the most unusual and exquisite types of jewelry is lampwork beads, which are made from glass. If you've wondered about the process of making lampwork jewelry, and how the ancient art of lampworking began, here’s what’s involved and its history.

How Lampbeads Are Made

Basically, the process involves melting rods of colorful glass on a certain type of torch. After the melted glass is wound around either a copper wire or metal rod to form a bead.

Skilled bead artists know the level of heat needed for glass to flow, besides the amount of heat that’s required for applying to beads. These professionals also understand how various glass colors interact with one another, as well as when it’s time to add the decorative, attractive components.

History of Lampworking

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Lampworking dated back to ancient times and was originally done in the 1st century B.C. in ancient Syria. It later spread to Asia and Africa. This type of glass work became popular in Murano, Italy in the 14th century, and today it remains a trendy type of glass work in this Italian city, known for its beautiful lampwork jewelry.

Lampworking became popular in France in the 19th century. The German glass maker, Otto Schott, developed what’s known as Borosilicate in the latter half of the 19th century. In 1915, Borosilicate became known as the familiar household trademark, Pyrex.

However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the process of making glass using metal fuming was developed, by Bob Snodgrass. This is the process in which metal is heated so that metal can be formed into stunning colors that have a metallic shine.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Glass Alchemy was founded by Henry Grimmett. Trautman Art Glass began a couple of years later. The popularity of lamp working has continued to skyrocket for the past two decades.

Considerations

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- Besides beads made for jewelry, there are also lampwork beads used for art exhibits, such as in creating sculptures.
- The ability of the glass to stretch and be pulled into just about any design or shape is why so many creative people are attracted to working in this bead craft.


Article Source: https://www.swcreations.net/