Lampworking Glass

        Making glass beads is called lampworking because hundreds of years ago, artisans heated glass using oil lamps. It is also known as flameworking or torchworking, Glass beadmaking is an ancient art, and has been practiced for more than 3000 years but throughout history the art of making glass beads has been shrouded in secrecy. Now the word is out and beadmakers willingly share information. Glass beads have been used for adornment, trade, currency and religious rituals in cultures all over the world. Many cultures have used, worn and traded glass beads, and they are still prized for their ornamental and collectible value today.It’s hard to imagine a time when glass wasn’t a part of everyday life, Glass objects were reserved for royalty in some cultures. In other societies, ownership of glass was regulated by price — if you could afford the luxury of glass, it was yours. Glass can be cut and polished into faux gemstones, also be stretched and pulled into any shape imaginable. It’s no wonder that creative people throughout the world choose to express their artistic talents with glass. How Lampwork Beads are Made? To create glass beads, lampworkers melt narrow rods of glass with the flame of a torch. The molten glass is wound around a mandrel, a thin length of stainless steel. The space occupied by the mandrel becomes a hole through the bead when the bed is slipped away. Turning the mandrel and holding it in different positions allows gravity to help the bead take form, but tools are also used to push and pull glass beads into shape. Lampworking is a skill that takes a great deal of practice and patience. A lampwork bead artist understands the glass and the torch, and must learn how much heat it takes for glass to flow, how much heat can be applied to a bead that’s already shaped before it becomes molten again and loses shape, when to add decorative elements and how different colors of glass interact with each other.