Posts Tagged ‘glass lampwork beads’

Collecting Lampwork Glass Beads

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Lampwork glass beads are an up and coming collectible. With only two or three decades of history, it is still possible to get handmade glass lampwork beads by the pioneers of the art, and by current practitioners. After collecting a few glass lampwork beads, you will undoubtedly have learned how to make lampwork glass beads and perhaps even take a class to try it yourself. The method is fairly simple and the equipment finite, but the bead making possibilities are endless.

Handmade lampwork glass beads are made by winding melted glass from glass rods around a mandrel, a steel rod the size of the intended hole of the bead. As the artist winds the glass in an open flame, he or she has opportunities to select colors and make specific shapes. First tries are limited to the regular bead shapes until they can be produced on demand, then the lampworker can expand to experimenting with shapes and colors, and make beads as seen in their imagination.

As lampwork artists progress in skill, they generally find one or a few shapes and techniques that fire their imagination, and which they pursue to perfection. The artist will become known for these beads, and will continue to make them even when they move onto new bead visions. Having the signature beads of each artist is a good way to begin a lampwork glass bead collection, but don’t forget to get some of the beads that have not become their forte yet.

Handmade lampwork glass beads are small, and not really expensive in the world of art. You can carry an entire collection in a suitcase, if needed, although there are more and more lampwork artists every year. You can find the beads at bead shows and online. Often these beads are featured as the focal point of a beading project in beading magazines, so subscribing to these magazines can be a way to find new artists and help you find the beads of established artists as well.

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Lampwork Fish Beads

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

One of the most fun glass lampwork beads to make or own is the fish bead. These lampwork beads can be made to resemble actual fish, or they can be fantasy fish. I will tell you why they are fun.

First, for the lampwork artist, the basic body is a relatively simple bead to make. Then the artist gets the fun of adding stripes or spots to the bead, which becomes the body of the fish. Then the artist can add eyes and lips to give the fish character. Finally, using colored or clear glass, the lampwork artist adds fins, simple or ornate. Whether the hole runs horizontally or vertically through the fish, this bead is an easy one to make and its good looks mean instant gratification for the lampwork bead maker.

For fish beads that replicate nature, the task is a little more difficult. Since the lampworker has decided on which fish to make, more time must be spent choosing the colors and making the basic body bead to get the right shape. Then lips, eyes and fins are added to resemble the real fish. There is less scope for imagination in making realistic fish beads, but the satisfaction of replicating nature’s forms can be quite satisfying. Selling the bead to a fish lover who recognizes the fish is an added boost for the lampwork artist, as the maker has realized the fish well enough to someone else to recognize it.

For the purchaser of a real lampwork fish bead or a fantasy fish bead, the thrill is in owning a miniature work of art. Handmade lampwork beads from people who carefully create each bead with time and skill, are works of art. Unlike lampwork beads wholesale, these beads are one of a kind unless the artist intentionally makes the exact same bead two or more times to sell as a group. Lampwork fish beads, like all the lampwork glass beads, include a bit of the maker in the imagination and skill the artist brings to their work. And these works of art are within the reach of many people monetarily.

Lo0k for glass lampwork beads and especially lampwork fish beads online, in bead stores, at bead shows and in the beadwork magazines. You will be amazed.

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The Beautiful Lampwork Aquarium Bead

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

One of the better developments of the last two or three decades of the Twentieth Century, and continuing today, is the art glass movement that produces lampwork beads. These small wonders are made with the skill and inspiration of the lampwork artist, and among the most beautiful of the lampwork focal beads is the lampwork aquarium bead.

This lampwork bead is made in layers, each adding to the diameter of the bead. The innermost is usually a dark color, to help the rest of the figures on the bead show up. The artist draws fish and sea creatures on the outer layer, and then encases it in a thin layer of clear glass. As each layer is added, more fish and other denizens of the deep are added, until the artist is satisfied and the final layer of clear glass is put in place.

The aquarium bead allows the owner to have a tide pool or fish tank as a piece of jewelry. The lampwork glass beads can be hung singly on a ribbon or chain, or can be incorporated into a large beadwork necklace with fringe and other glass sea creature beads included. Some people simply keep their aquarium beads as an object to enjoy and have.

A word about lampwork beads wholesale: when the price of the lampwork beads you are considering buying is low, you can be sure they come from piecework factories where the lampworker has little time to make each bead and where the annealing time may be shorter than required. These beads can be used as filler beads for jewelry projects, but for focal beads, go with better quality and higher priced artist made beads. Handmade lampwork neads made by an artist are generally priced at one dollar per minute to make the bead itself. That covers prep time and equipment cost, etc. If you can get a string of thirty beads for three dollars, they have not had the attention, skill and care of an artist.

Look for lampwork aquarium beads and other types of lampwork beads at bead stores and shows. Find the local bead club as another way to track down bead artists, or watch the advertisements in the beading magazines. You should soon see, and perhaps purchase, a lampwork aquarium bead.

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