Glass beadmaking started started getting mainstream attention in the 60's. Then in the last decade, the art form has flourished. The art glass artists and galleries have sat up to notice in the past several years.

Lampwork beads are not a new idea, the concept has been around since our ancient ancestors discovered campfires and behive type ovens. There is a long seriously studied debate on the roots and history of lampworking. It is in my opinion that serious lampworkers came from the Egyptians about 5000 years ago. They were the first to work with core-forming vessels. This technique has been adapted and used by modern day beadmakers.

There is another school of that that the Syrians were the first. Yet another debate is that it was the Chinese. The Romans, French, Germans, Italians, Indians, Japanese, and Islamic peoples all touched this art form.

The lamp in lampwork came into being in the early 1700’s by both the French and Italians. Oil lamps and blow pipes where used to soften the glass, enabling them to form it. Modern lampworkers and flameworkers use torches that mix a fuel, such as propane, and oxygen for a hotter, more controlled flame. The principle is the same but advancements have brought a larger color spectum and technique that dazzle the eye.

Artisan lampwork is much different than the mass produced, imported beads. The craftsmanship and quality of artisan made lampwork transforms a necklace from costume to wearable art. These beads are annealed, so that they are durable in all your jewelry designs. Annealing is the process that takes place within a kiln, during a soak cycle. During this process, the temperature is slowly reduced so that the “stress” on the molecular level is removed the beads. Without the annealing process taking place, there is a good chance that the beads will later develop cracks and stress fractures. Over time, they can split or crack. It is the annealing process that keeps the glass bead stable and durable for generations.

I use Italian Effetre and Vetrofond or German Lauscha art glass. There are times that I also use either Gaffer, Reichenbach, Zimmerman, or Uroboros. The beads are made on a surface mix, oxygen-propane torch. I use either a GTT Bobcat, Nortel Minor, or Nortel Red Max. Immediately after each bead is torched, it is placed it a 960 degree pre-heated computer controlled kiln and it held there for proper annealing. This annealing process entails an overnight soak in either a Paragon SC-2 or Chili Pepper kiln; a seven section annealing and ramp down process. My beads are never tossed into a fiber blanket and then batch annealed. Each bead is carefully checked structurally, dremel cleaned, and then the process is repeated. This is to ensure strength and durability of the bead, plus to check my work.

~Moon

2006