WHAT IS LAMPWORKING?
In it's most simple terms, lampworking is the process of melting glass on a specially coated metal rod to make a bead. Today we use gas torches, but for centuries it was done using the concentrated flame from a lamp. While many ordinary beads are now mass produced, some are highly crafted by artists and prized for their unique qualities.
To hand-make a bead, start with a small diameter (1/16" to 1/4") stainless steel rod about 12" long. This will be used as a mandrel to work the glass. About 2" of the end of the rod is dipped into a liquid slurry called Bead Release. When allowed to dry, Bead Release prevents molten glass from sticking to the metal.
Hold the mandrel in one hand and a glass rod in the other hand. Place the tips of each in a torch flame. Slowly rotate each in the flame until the glass begins to melt. (Neither the stainless steel mandrel or glass rod conduct heat very well so you can hold them in the flame comfortably.)
When the heated end of the glass has melted and is very soft (almost dripping), slowly roll the mandrel in your fingers and wrap a layer of glass around the Bead Release.
Additional layers of glass, dots, and string patterns may be added or the glass may be manipulated with heat, tools, and other materials while it's soft.
Just before the bead is finished, it is evenly heated in the flame. Then the tip of the mandrel with the hot
bead is placed in a special annealing kiln. When the lampwork session is finished, all of the beads are annealed together. Annealing evens out the stresses in the glass as it cools. It prevents cracking and is a neccessary step
in making high quality beads. The beads must be cooled slowly over a period of several hours.
When the kiln has cooled, remove the beads. Hold the mandrel in one hand and firmly twist the bead with the other hand.
The Bead Release will crumble and the bead comes off with a perfect hole in the middle. The remaining release material is cleaned from inside the hole
and Voila! Handmade bead. At this point the bead may be further manipulated with etching or grinding or used as is.
For further information on the history of lampwork beadmaking, visit
the Glass Museu. The Wikipedi also has
additional information on the process.
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