Lampwork. What is it, beads, decorations. Master class for beginners

Lampwork is translated from English as working with a lamp, and is considered a manual art of decorating glass beads for jewelry. Melting glass with a torch is a type of jewelry craft that requires complete accuracy and fine motor skills.

Beginners are recommended to start with light oval or round parts. As their skills improve, they can begin to cast more complex elements.

What is lampwork?

Lampwork is a type of art in which glass is melted under thermal influence to form different shapes of decorative items. During the combustion process, an artistic painting will form on the surface of the material.

Thanks to the mandrel, craftsmen are able to make unusual and beautiful products by hand.

The emergence of glass production led to the development of various creative directions, in particular lampwork. The creation of glass beads of various shapes was already practiced in ancient Syria. Around 1800 BC, the first glass jewelry manufactories emerged.

According to one version, these decorations were considered gifts for misdeeds, sins or faults. With the help of glass stones, craftsmen could create not only jewelry, decor, but also amulets with charms. Beads were made by pressing in simple clay forms. As a result, it was possible to obtain products of various shades.

In Ancient Egypt, people believed that glass amulets were the most effective. The number of jewelry items allowed one to find out the social status of the owner. In Ancient Egypt, during excavations, a colored glass fragment was found, which is the first man-made glass object.

After several thousand years, the production of glass products was launched by Czech masters from the Crystal Valley. They created the technology of cutting with enamel coating of beads, which is considered a new step in the development of lampwork.

Ancient jewelry did not have sophistication and beauty. However, after several centuries, when Italian craftsmen learned the secret of producing artistic glass, the lampwork technique was brought to perfection. The world-famous Venetian glass from the island of Murano is in high demand to this day.

Melting glass beads requires special equipment with a burner or furnace. Beginners should stick to simple work patterns, because lampwork is not a simple technique. This is due to the fact that the master must be fully concentrated during the work.

When interacting with hot glass, it is necessary to take precautions, since the melting process requires a temperature of at least 1000 ℃.

What can be created?

Lampwork is a type of jewelry craft that allows you to create beautiful jewelry in the form of a necklace, beads, pendant or earrings from any bead.

Beads have a beautiful and original shape, so to make jewelry you only need to prepare the right fittings. Glass parts, designed in the form of flowers or berries, can be supplemented with appropriate ear wires to get beautiful earrings.

With this technique you can create simple parts with painting or without beads, as well as small figures of sea animals, insects, fruits, berries or inflorescences.

If you have basic knowledge of working with glass, you can create a frozen sea with a cosmic sphere, mycelium or a small bouquet, which are located inside the ball. The finished products can then be used to create table decorations with souvenirs, earrings, bracelets, beads.

Tools and materials

To engage in creative activities, you will need to prepare a special set.

In this case, instead of some equipment, it is permissible to take improvised means:

Inventory with materials	What are they needed for?
Gas burner	It is considered the main tool that melts the material with hot air and fire to a pliable, viscous texture. The torch is classified by the type of gas and type of combustion. Often, 2 types of gas are used for lampworking - fuel with oxygen.
Graphite blades	They are unique forms that give the finished object evenness and smoothness.
Safety glasses	Special safety glasses will protect your eyes from molten hot glass and the bright flame of the burner.
Ceramic blanket	Allows hot beads to cool down gradually. If the temperature changes abruptly, the product may crack. To prevent this problem, decorative parts should be placed under a ceramic fiber blanket.
Mandrel	It is a knitting needle that is required for even winding of hot material.
Muffle furnace	Allows for uniform drying of the finished product. At the same time, it can act as a replacement for a fiberglass blanket.
Tweezers with wire, needle and awl	They act as additional tools necessary for creating textures with patterns.
Respirator	Glass often contains various additives. To protect your health, you need to wear a respirator when melting the material.

Oxygen can be derived from:

• Air. However, the temperature regime of such combustion will be low.
• Oxygen cylinder. Working with such equipment is dangerous because the cylinder is explosive.
• Oxygen concentrator. Oxygen will be obtained from the air. Such a device is considered a suitable option for work. However, the equipment is expensive.

The main consumable material is glass tubes of different textures, colors and thicknesses. They can be purchased by weight or individually in a specialized store.

To charge the burner, you need propane or oxygen cylinders. A 5-liter cylinder will last for 55 hours of operation.

Stringers, which are thin strings drawn out from drops, and frits, which are glass chips for drawings, are often used for decoration.

Additionally, it is necessary to prepare a separating paste, which will allow you to easily remove the parts from the mandrel upon completion of the work.

Organization of the workplace

Lampwork is a creative activity that requires proper organization of the workplace with the preparation of a powerful exhaust hood, because melting glass at home requires a regular supply of fresh air.

This type of work can be carried out in a small room, up to 4 m.²With the onset of warm weather, you can work with the equipment in the yard of your house or in the country.

Organization of the workplace:

• Equipment. When working indoors, you must first remove flammable and combustible items. Since the oxygen-propane or propane burner operates from a cylinder, it must be at least 500 cm away from the work table. You can use an oxygen concentrator, because it is safe to use, but it is expensive. Gas equipment should only be installed by a specialist, taking all safety precautions.
• Protection. To protect your eyesight, you need to prepare protective glasses, as well as a lamp that will provide bright lighting.
• Preparing the work table and checking the serviceability of the devices. The table must be cleared and the torch must be attached according to the manufacturer's instructions. The remaining tools must be placed at a close and accessible distance. The spokes must be cleaned with a wire damp sponge, dried and inspected for deformation or cracks.

Once the preparatory work is completed, you can proceed directly to the melting process.

How to choose glass?

Glass with a variety of colors is used to create beads.

This material has a different coefficient of thermal expansion and has several varieties:

• Borosilicate. It has a low coefficient of expansion, so when there is a temperature difference, cracks will not form on the parts.
• Dichroic. This glass is coated with a thin layer of metal oxides.
• Lead. It has a viscous texture, so this material produces beautiful products with a surface that sparkles.
• Silicate. It is often used in work because it is inexpensive and lightweight. However, such material is easily deformed.

The raw materials are produced in Germany, the USA, the Czech Republic, and Italy. The production is carried out in small batches, and glass with the same article can have different colors. Due to this, the beads produced will be unique.

Decorative items can be made from liquid glass, which can be purchased at a construction or hardware store. Silicate glue is considered one of the varieties of this material, so it is suitable for creating decorations.

Melting technique

Lampwork is a creative activity that is suitable for both experienced and novice craftsmen. In relation to the complexity of the product, the work can be done in a minimum or maximum number of steps.

Melting technique:

• It is necessary to melt the edge of the stick, winding it onto the spoke in the form of a disk. The glass blank must be heated gradually so that it does not crack.
• When heating the material, the glass must be constantly rotated in the fire to achieve a round shape. When the rotation stops, the liquid raw material will flow onto the table.
• After heating, it is permissible to change and correct the shape of the part with a spatula, tweezers, or an awl. After that, you can continue careful rotation with heating.
• If you need to make a more complex product, you need to use additional tools, adding colored rods in several layers and applying decor. For painting, you can use gold with silver or copper. Glass chips are also suitable for decoration, which can be combined with the base or left in the form of a mound.
• Afterwards, remove the item from the mandrel and place it in the oven to dry. In the oven or under a ceramic blanket, the finished jewelry should cool for 6-12 hours.
• The final stage of the work requires cold decoration. In this case, the details can be polished, etched with acids to give a matte finish, or created using traditional cutting.

Master class on making beads

Master class on making beads in a marine style:

1. First, make a preparatory piece, which should be white. The length of the material should be 3 cm.
2. The raw material is leveled on a mandrel to obtain a smooth cylinder.
3. Place transparent glass on each side of the cylindrical white bead. Then lay out the 2nd glass layer.
4. Use aquamarine by placing the material on transparent glass.
5. Melt the glass completely into the white part, constantly rotating the mandrel over the burner. Rotate the spoke only in one direction to ensure uniform heating of the material over the entire surface.
6. When the raw material starts to flow, remove the mandrel from the fire. It should form a round ball, resembling a rugby ball.
7. When the spiral is fully formed, cool the decorative piece well and cover it with a light-colored aquamarine. Cover the bead in one layer. However, to give the product more volume, you can lay out a second layer of light aquamarine.
8. Carry out fusion. Cover less than half of the part with ivory shade and proceed to decorating the work.
9. Place a twisty strip along the border joint of ivory and aquamarine shades. Place a silver stringer on the ivory and fuse the parts evenly. Twist the bead in one direction to obtain a symmetrical alloy.
10. The material is cooled and pressed.

After finishing the work, it is recommended to polish the work to get rid of traces of the inventory on the decoration.

How to do painting

Lampwork is an art that allows you to buy ready-made or make your own blanks for painting from colored raw materials. The pattern will look especially impressive against a black background.

This technique does not involve drawing on the surface of the bead; it requires placing several shades inside the part using the melting method. Volumetric applications that need to be placed on top of the product are suitable for beginners.

To apply small dots to a part, it is recommended to use a raw material of a contrasting color and a thin stick. When applying a pattern, the workpiece must be periodically heated to give the bumps rounded shapes.

Beads can also be decorated with floral arrangements using different types of glass strings. In this case, you will need to heat the edge of the stick and slowly pull out a thin string from the hot material.

Tips for Beginners

Tips for Beginners:

• A torch that runs on propane can cause the material to darken. To prevent this problem, it is recommended to hold the mandrel higher.
• To give the design expressiveness and clarity, it is recommended to mix cloisonné enamel with fusing.
• To create jewelry, it is necessary to use glass with an identical coefficient of thermal expansion. If the material is different, the areas where they are joined will be fragile.
• By changing the temperature indicator, you can achieve volumetric and convex patterns. In this way, you can create flowing or solid contours. Shades can be mixed or retain clarity.
• If the curls are long, they need to be gathered into a ponytail before the baking process begins.
• If the blanks are not fired, the parts will burst or crack.
• If the match flares up after being brought to the burner, the gas must be reduced immediately. If the equipment suddenly goes out and then flares up again, the gas must be increased.
• It is not recommended to make beads of very large sizes. The optimal diameter should be 1.5 cm. The parts should have thick walls, so you need to make sure that the beads do not become thinner than the knitting needle.
• Before sending the workpiece to the oven, it is recommended to wipe the drawn contours with alcohol, otherwise they will be visible on the finished product.
• When using a separate mixture, it is necessary to wear a protective mask, because interaction with such a composition can have a detrimental effect on health.

Lampwork is an art that allows you to make unusual objects and decorations from glass. However, such work requires skill and patience. As a result, a hand-made product can be a great gift for a loved one.

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