Beads Ashore
Lampworking originates from early days in Venice where artists melted glass over the flame of an oil lamp to make a bead.
About the Craft
Today Lampworkers like myself use a modern torch fuelled by a mix of oxygen and propane, this provides a clean flame to melt the glass in, protective eyewear is essential to shield my eyes from the glare of the flame.
I have been fortunate enough to take a number of workshops in Italy, from the Masters in Florence and Murano Island, Venice.
Using Moretti-Effetre glass rods (these are of a high quality) produced on the Island of Murano near Venice, Italy, I heat the tip of a rod of glass to flowing, next holding a steel rod (mandrel) I quickly wrap the glass around the mandrel, similar to winding thread onto a spool, then the glass is shaped around the heat of the flame by means of gravity. To complete the bead it is then decorated in a variety of ways with other colours of glass, silver leaf or enamels, every bead is unique with stunning colours.