Glass Lampwork…what is that all about?

Lampwork…..why is it called that?  Do I use a lamp to see my work? Not exactly.  Glass Lampwork is an ancient art.  Long ago before specialized torches were available, glass artists would use the flame from an oil lamp to melt glass into shapes and beads.  Thus,  the term “Lamp Work”.   This term is still used today, even though most artists will use more specialized torches and equipment.  In general the term Lampwork now refers to the art of using a flame to manipulate glass into an end result- usually beads or glass sculpture.

The set-up that I use is one of the most basic and least complicated.  I use a simple Propane torch that was made specifically for glass lampworking.  (Many artists will use a torch that mixes either Propane or Natural Gas with Oxygen from a tank or concentrated from the air with a machine called an oxygen concentrator.  This type creates a much hotter flame than the one I use and is necessary if using harder, more dense glass types.)   Because I use what is considered “soft glass” (It has a lower melting temperature), I am able to use a single fuel torch with no additional oxygen.

I begin by purchasing “Rods” of glass.  These rods come in various colors including many that are reactive and provide interesting variations when reacting with other colors.  Some are simply reactive to the temperature of the flame and some to the amount of oxygen in the flame.  (These reactive glasses are my favorite types to work with and you will them often in my beads).

How do I turn these rods of glass into intricately detailed beads?   The base color of glass is carefully passed in and out of the torch flame to bring it to melting temperature without shocking it.  Once it is glowing red, it is then melted and wound onto a steel rod, or mandrel, that is coated with a release formula to prevent the glass from sticking permanently to it.  (Ocassionally the release will break and I will then be left with a beautiful “plant stake”!)  Onto the base color, I can then add endless variations of colors and shapes to create my design. 

 Many of my designs are encased with a layer of clear glass to magnify the designs underneath.   Adding pure silver foil or leaf to a base color can give dramatic effects.  (This is how I achieve the look of space in my galaxy series of beads.)  Poking holes in the hot glass and then covering the hole quickly with clear glass gives the effect of a floating bubble.  I also pull the molten glass into thinner rods, or stringers, so that I can make smaller details or twist different colors together for even more interesting effects.  Using various tools I can manipulate the glass further and obtain different final shapes to the beads.

Once I am finished “building” my bead, it is then set into a hot kiln to “rest” while I finish my lampworking for that session.  When all beads for that day are in the kiln, the temperature is raised up to 960F and held there for 90 minutes.  It is then slowly lowered over the course of several hours before shutting off the kiln and letting it cool slowly to room temperature.  I usally do not get to see my work finished until the next day.  It is definately an excercise in patience!  The reason for the slow heating in the kiln is that the glass acquires stress points from the temperature changes of working it in the flame.  By slowly lowering the temp in a controlled environment of a kiln, the stress points are removed and new ones avoided while the glass molecules get a chance to “settle”.   This is called “annealing” the beads.  One MUST use a kiln in order to ensure that the beads are annealed.  Beads made in China and by those who use other methods of cooling (cans of Vermiculite, or layers of fiberglass blankers) are not truly annealing the glass.  Beads that are not annealed are much more likely to break, and can even sometimes explode while just sitting on a table! 

The next day, when the beads are removed from the kiln, I can then inspect, admire, and clean the beads.  Those that have survived all the stress of the creative process are then cleaned under warm water to remove all remnants of release that might be left in the hole after removing them from the mandrels. 

 The only thing left to do after all of that, is to add them to a chain or photograph them and offer them for sale for another jewelry designer to use in their work.

If you are interested in viewing bits of this process at the torch, visit http://rosesofonegarden.com/about.html  and scroll down!

Until next time… when I discuss the basics of glass fusing in the kiln….
Lori B.