Lampworking was very popular in Italy in the 1300s. It differed from glass blowing in that glass was heated over small oil burning lamps instead of in a furnace. This art form eventually found its way all around the world. Today there are many lampwork bead artists who sell their amazing products at online stores.
Many of them prefer to work from their home studios where they painstakingly produce their unique creations. They are made one at a time using different colors, styles and techniques. Some have created their own recognizable style through many years of working with beads. They are so devoted to producing quality products that they have no hesitation in offering guarantees to customers.
They use many different types of glass but the most commonly used are soft soda-lime glass and hard borosilicate. Borosilicate does not crack easily and is more forgiving but it requires a higher temperature and therefore use of larger torches and oxygen instead of air. It is also more expensive and a smaller range of colors are available.
The tools used by these artisans are similar to those used by glass blowers. The glass comes in the form of glass rods. A torch with a stationary flame may be attached to a bench while a hand torch offers more flexibility of movement. Molten glass is wound onto a stainless wire called a mandrel. A tungsten pick may be used to bore holes in beads while a reamer made of graphite on a handle helps to enlarge them. A kiln is required to anneal the glass.
It is important for a lampworker to introduce a glass rod slowly into the flame so as not to break it. The mandrel is dipped into a releaser so molten glass does not stick to it. It is heated and rotated while the molten glass is wound onto it, forming the base for the bead. The combination of the heat, gravity and use of several tools go into creating the shape of beads.
Decorating and embellishing of the beads comes next with many different materials and techniques used for this. Gold, silver and other metals may be applied in forms such as metal leaf, mesh or wire. A technique called striking is used to apply colors with a silver base. The surface may have fibers of glass melted onto it.
Methods that work with glass in its cold state are called cold working techniques. Sandblasting, cutting, grinding, polishing and painting are some of these techniques, each offering an array of possibilities. Grinding wheels may are used to roughly facet it and an acid can be applied to the surface to frost it. The glass has to be cooled at a specific temperature in a kiln. If this is done too slowly, it becomes stressed causing it to crack. Many mass produced products do not go through this process or it is not done correctly.
Beads created one by one in this manner may be expensive but the quality is far superior to any mass produced product. Mass produced items are often not cleaned properly with releasing agent left in a holes and releasing hazardous dust. They may not be properly finished, leaving rough edges on holes so that stringing material is easily cut through. Quality beads create quality jewelry that can be sold at a higher price.
Many of them prefer to work from their home studios where they painstakingly produce their unique creations. They are made one at a time using different colors, styles and techniques. Some have created their own recognizable style through many years of working with beads. They are so devoted to producing quality products that they have no hesitation in offering guarantees to customers.
They use many different types of glass but the most commonly used are soft soda-lime glass and hard borosilicate. Borosilicate does not crack easily and is more forgiving but it requires a higher temperature and therefore use of larger torches and oxygen instead of air. It is also more expensive and a smaller range of colors are available.
The tools used by these artisans are similar to those used by glass blowers. The glass comes in the form of glass rods. A torch with a stationary flame may be attached to a bench while a hand torch offers more flexibility of movement. Molten glass is wound onto a stainless wire called a mandrel. A tungsten pick may be used to bore holes in beads while a reamer made of graphite on a handle helps to enlarge them. A kiln is required to anneal the glass.
It is important for a lampworker to introduce a glass rod slowly into the flame so as not to break it. The mandrel is dipped into a releaser so molten glass does not stick to it. It is heated and rotated while the molten glass is wound onto it, forming the base for the bead. The combination of the heat, gravity and use of several tools go into creating the shape of beads.
Decorating and embellishing of the beads comes next with many different materials and techniques used for this. Gold, silver and other metals may be applied in forms such as metal leaf, mesh or wire. A technique called striking is used to apply colors with a silver base. The surface may have fibers of glass melted onto it.
Methods that work with glass in its cold state are called cold working techniques. Sandblasting, cutting, grinding, polishing and painting are some of these techniques, each offering an array of possibilities. Grinding wheels may are used to roughly facet it and an acid can be applied to the surface to frost it. The glass has to be cooled at a specific temperature in a kiln. If this is done too slowly, it becomes stressed causing it to crack. Many mass produced products do not go through this process or it is not done correctly.
Beads created one by one in this manner may be expensive but the quality is far superior to any mass produced product. Mass produced items are often not cleaned properly with releasing agent left in a holes and releasing hazardous dust. They may not be properly finished, leaving rough edges on holes so that stringing material is easily cut through. Quality beads create quality jewelry that can be sold at a higher price.
No comments:
Post a Comment