I've had a few discussions lately at fairs I've attended involving the price of my work!
It's made me realise that I haven't told people about the hours of work that goes into producing the jewellery and glass work that I send out in to the world, so I thought I'd let you know!
Today I'm taking you through the process of lampwork bead making as they play a big role in bringing colour to my work, so grab that cup of tea, and a couple of biscuits and come on a making journey with me!
It's made me realise that I haven't told people about the hours of work that goes into producing the jewellery and glass work that I send out in to the world, so I thought I'd let you know!
Today I'm taking you through the process of lampwork bead making as they play a big role in bringing colour to my work, so grab that cup of tea, and a couple of biscuits and come on a making journey with me!
I first discovered lampworking when I re-found jewellery making which was waaaay back in 2008 and I got quite bored of using bought in beads! I wanted to know how to make my own, but wasn't satisfied with using polymer clay, paper or wood, and at that point didn't think I would follow the silversmithing route, so stone setting wasn't an option. I loved coloured glass and wondered if you could make the glass beads myself! |
Fast forward to today, and I don't get as much time to make them as I would like, but they involve a huge amount of tooling, time and concentration, probably a lot more than you'd think!
Firstly what is lampwork beadmaking??
Essentially its the melting of glass in a flame (originally over an oil lamp - hence the name!) and wrapping it around a metal rod to make a shape!
Firstly what is lampwork beadmaking??
Essentially its the melting of glass in a flame (originally over an oil lamp - hence the name!) and wrapping it around a metal rod to make a shape!
There's loads of essentials when it comes to lampworking, all with their own importance, but you really couldn't do the job without a flaming torch! This is mine, it's called a hot head and uses propane as the fuel source. When I can work out getting an oxygen source into the studio I shall be able to improve on this by having a dual fuel torch (propane and oxygen) which will burn hotter and therefore enable me to be even more adventurous. Then there's some safety equipment - these amazing purple glasses which helps you to see what you're working on ( a little more about that in a bit!) Don't I look gorgeous in mine, if a little 70's??! |
Above is a range of mandrels.
These are metal rods which the beads are made on and come in a variety of diameters, do you have any Pandora glass beads?
They get made on a mandrel like the second one down.
How about a piece of glass set in silver?
They would be made with a flat back on the mandrel at the top.
The mandrels get coated with a white liquid, called a bead release, which dries and forms a barrier between the metal and the glass (which would stick together) allowing me to easily remove the bead once it's cool.
I think it's essentially a liquid clay which doesn't get fully fired, see how it's broken off around the bead second from the bottom?
I have to be careful with this once it's been heated, it can be carcinogenic if inhaled!
The mandrel gets heated in the flame from the torch until it glows red hot.
These are metal rods which the beads are made on and come in a variety of diameters, do you have any Pandora glass beads?
They get made on a mandrel like the second one down.
How about a piece of glass set in silver?
They would be made with a flat back on the mandrel at the top.
The mandrels get coated with a white liquid, called a bead release, which dries and forms a barrier between the metal and the glass (which would stick together) allowing me to easily remove the bead once it's cool.
I think it's essentially a liquid clay which doesn't get fully fired, see how it's broken off around the bead second from the bottom?
I have to be careful with this once it's been heated, it can be carcinogenic if inhaled!
The mandrel gets heated in the flame from the torch until it glows red hot.
To make the glass beads I need glass!! This comes in the form of 12 inch rods, in an annoyingly huge range of colours!! This is my small collection. see if you can spot your favourite! Mine is called Heffalump, and is a beautiful pale purple - although I do like the teal too!! The end of a rod of glass is heated over the flame and a small pea sized ball is created which gets touched to the red-hot mandrel and wrapped around forming a ball. The mandrel through centre is what creates the hole for the bead to be strung |
Once a ball of the desired size has been created in one colour, then I get to play and decorate with other colours and tools!
Ahhh tools!!
These include tweezers, pliers, picks, odd sounding mashers (which do exactly what they sound like - they mash the glass flat!), and other random household items including measuring spoons and (not pictured) a butter knife!
These all help make interesting shapes, keep things consistent, or smooth, or flat.
The process of making even one simple, single coloured round bead can take up to ten minutes, so to have six that arethe same shape and size, and patterned the same in a necklace and earring set means at least an hours work before the jewellery making!
Ahhh tools!!
These include tweezers, pliers, picks, odd sounding mashers (which do exactly what they sound like - they mash the glass flat!), and other random household items including measuring spoons and (not pictured) a butter knife!
These all help make interesting shapes, keep things consistent, or smooth, or flat.
The process of making even one simple, single coloured round bead can take up to ten minutes, so to have six that arethe same shape and size, and patterned the same in a necklace and earring set means at least an hours work before the jewellery making!
At then end of the initial making process I put my beads into a pot of these tiny little beads. They're called Japanese Bubbles and they help to cool the glass slowly otherwise it would crack and shatter almost immediately. Other lampworkers use a version of fire blankets, or vermiculite which do the same job, while others skip this step and go straight into their kiln to cool and anneal at the same time. I tend to batch anneal, this means I make beads over several sessions and then pop them all in the kiln together, and heat it from cold, through its cycle back to cold. |
Annealing is a process of relaxing the glass.
It doesn't mean all the hard work of making a perfectly round bead gets ruined, it doesn't get to the same temperatures as working the glass, but it allows the molecules inside to relax, shuffle themselves around to face the same way and strengthen the bead.
This means I feel confident in selling my glass beads, that they can be worn for years and years and provide you joy and happiness without the risk of a random breaking!
Obviously if they get dropped a LOT then they might break, but so would a semi-precious stone!
It doesn't mean all the hard work of making a perfectly round bead gets ruined, it doesn't get to the same temperatures as working the glass, but it allows the molecules inside to relax, shuffle themselves around to face the same way and strengthen the bead.
This means I feel confident in selling my glass beads, that they can be worn for years and years and provide you joy and happiness without the risk of a random breaking!
Obviously if they get dropped a LOT then they might break, but so would a semi-precious stone!