What is lampwork I hear you ask?

well...

it is also known as flamework or torchwork, also called beadmaking (if beads are what you choose to make) its called lampwork because originally, beads would have been made using the flame of an oil lamp.

The process involves using a bench mounted torch (also called a lamp or burner) usually two gases (oxygen and propane, though a single fuelled torch is available, its called a HotHead, it runs on Mapp gas or propane) to melt rods of glass, then using various tools and techniques it can be shaped into a bead, or vessel, or whatever else you want to make (within reason!)

My torch is a beautiful little fella called a Bobcat, made by GTT, its one of the oxygen/propane surface mix variety.

rods of glass come in many colours, and there are also different types of glass. Pyrex and bottle glass are just two different types of glass,but there are many others,including special glass just for lampworking, mostly American and Italian, they break down into two main types, hard glass and soft glass. Pyrex is a hard glass, bottle glass is a soft glass. Different types of glass are incompatible with eachother. Most beads are made from soft glass (also known as soda glass) although borosilicate, a hard glass, may also be used.

Each bead is formed around a stainless steel rod called a mandrel. The size of this determines the size of the bead hole.

The mandrel is coated in a substance called bead release which the glass grips onto whilst hot, and can be washed away when cold, allowing you to put your bead into any project you like.

If you have special requirements for the bead hole sizes, eg for seed beading, then please contact me.

After a bead has been made, and it is still hot from the flame, it is transferred directly to a temperature controlled kiln. This holds the bead at what is called annealing temperature for a set amount of time, then begins to slowly cool the bead so it won't crack. This is especially important for beads that are very large, or flat( these have uneven thicknesses) or have shapes that protrude beyond the round shape of a bead, eg a bunny bead.

All my beads are annealed this way, rather than cooling initially in fibre blanket or vermiculite and then annealing in a kiln in a batch later, this is called batch annealing.I use an SC2 kiln made by paragon.

Here is a short video of me making one of my glass flight trail beads

if you want to know more about lampworking, there are various books and websites you can look at

websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampworking

books:

'Making Glass Beads' by Cindy Jenkins
'Beads of Glass' By Cindy Jenkins (I would really reccommend this one if you are interested in making your own beads, it has really easy to follow step by step instructions and beautiful pictures)
'Passing the Flame' by Corina Tettinger