Greetings to all!
So many of my new gather friends have requested info about lampworking, so I will gladly share some of my own lampwork experience here. About me - I am a full-time, self-supporting artist and my favorite medium is hot glass. I adore creating glass and I am very passionate about what I do. I support myself entirely with my lampworking & wire-wrapping skills.
Simply put, lampworking is the creation of glass objects using a blowtorch & simple hand tools.
Lampwork is how many, even most glass BEADS have traditionally been made (nowadays some beads are furnace created, but that's another subject entirely hehehe... ).
A simple lampwork bead is created by wrapping molten glass around a very thin steel rod called a mandrel. When the glass is ready, cooled & annealed, the glass is removed, twisted off of the mandrel and the result is a hole in the center of the glass where the mandrel was.
A bead is born!
(my own handmade wearable creations, the most popular of which are my hearts - have no holes, hence they are not beads. They are little freehand sculptures wrought from the molten glass, then wrapped with precious wire for the bail & presentation)
We call it LAMPWORK because long ago this art was created over an oil lamp with an assistant wildly fanning the flames to add oxygen for a hotter fire. Now we use a blowtorch with pressurized flame from a mixture of propane & oxygen.
A hotter fire was needed to create enough heat to make bigger & bigger beads, then larger glass beads, then ornamental creations & sculptures, and eventually large scale utility creations, plates, bowls, cups, pitchers, goblets, & other items created by glassblowing (another subject once again).
I hope this simple lesson - lampwork glass 101 has been helpful! I will answer any questions if I am able.
Thanks again to all for the wonderful responses to my work, I truly appreciate it!
Peace & Love to all, always, all ways!
Hillel
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Comments: 19
I just adore lampwork glass beads, and use them often in my jewelry creations, especially earrings. I've seen someone make lampwork beads and it's a fascinating process.
I'm looking very much forward to a future tutorial on furnace glass [hint, hint].
Meanwhile here's thanks to all who have come here, and who have read & were touched by my article enough to comment on it!
Thanks again to:
♪Joanne Huspek - Yes, I have a studio in Laguna Beach, California. I create here full-time & do shows, & etc. Lampwork creations are not easy to do for most people but they are easy for me. I will continue to share some pics of my art, thanks for asking!
Christine Z. - The answer to your question is: My tiny lampwork hearts are loosely arranged on my scanner bed. This art form is indeed FLEETING (only I saw the ACTUAL piece, made of many pieces, sitting on the scanner) and the only rememberance is the SCAN that I shared with everyone here! They are like a toy... hehehe... Some art is fleeting to be enjoyed only for a sheer moment, an instant, a flash in time. Then it's gone, only to be remembered by someone, somewhere, who was touched by it.
Mary H. - Thanks again!!
Susan P. - Thank you so much for all your kind words. My hope & prayers go out to you & your Dad for strength & good health. Everything else comes after. I'm also glad to have connected with all my new friends here at gather.
Michelle W. - Thank you again!
♡Nicole P. - You got it right, the tiny hearts are loosely arranged upon the scanner bed. However, I am capable of FUSING these together into a single piece of art, I have done many fused pieces. Ah... the joys of glass!
Auntie Smedley - Thanks for the compliments. It was people like you & others who inspired me to write some more... & more... LOL... Thank you very much for featuring the article in your BeadersAnonymous group. Making creating with molten glass is truly a joy to behold, and a great joy to actually do. Sometimes, even as I'm creating a piece, I just am watching... it's a TRIP!
Kristina G. - Thank you, I'll write more as I am able.
Indigo Blue - Thank you!
~juniper~valium - Thanks again & again & again to you!!! You are always awesome to me.
OK - caught up on THIS one...
Peace & Love to All... Always & All Ways!
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Hillel
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/artisanship
Thanks for the wonderful remark!
Thanks again!
I love the colors you incorporate into the hearts! I'm in the middle of getting my new studio set up but once I'm done I might have to buy one to add to one of my silver creations.
The glass bug got me a long time ago hehehe... I understand your desires, we all must prioritize in our lives... I hope you get to do ALL you desire!
I've only shared very few pieces of my work here, I have only a scanner & cellphone cam LOL... I'm shopping for a digi cam now.
In my studio & at my shows I have been bringing over 1000 FINISHED pieces of my wearable art. I do many different shapes & styles but my hearts sell the most. Last weekend I sold over 100 pieces of mine in 2 days.
If you are interested, truly, just email me I have 240 different colors & types of compatible glass before mixing. The possibilities are infinite...
Thanks again, Lisa!
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