MAKING BEADS

MAKING GLASS BEADS

I’ve always enjoyed fire. Whether I’m sitting on a rock next to it after a long & chilly hike, or blasting it out of a half-million BTU torch head as I super heat metal in hopes of transforming it into something beautiful.

However, after years of working through really hot summers & really cold, wet winters in our not-so-insulated Metal Studio, I felt as though I’d really discovered a kinder, gentler way to use fire to create artwork when I was introduced to Glass Bead Making by friend and fellow Glass Artist, Ken Boyd.

With my husbands’ help, I’ve been able to carve out a little space, (which is all you need for little beads), right off of our kitchen. Now, my commute is easy in my slippers & my comfort zone... well, more than slightly elevated...(a very important aspect of life in general!)

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$How to Make Glass Beads There are many types of glass to choose from as a glass bead maker. I have chosen to work with “Soft Glass” a.k.a., “Soda Lime Glass”. I was drawn to the color palette offered by a German Glass Company called Reichenbach. But of course, I couldn’t just stick with one, so I also use Moretti, as well as “A.S.K.” colors. The tough part is keeping them separate. Because of their different C.O.E. ratings, if you melt them together, (even if you love the colors), they will be incompatible & somewhere along the line during the annealing process, the colors will separate and/or explode! That’s right! Another good reason to read up on your craft! Anyway, so I don’t bore you to death with details, let me just give you the finer points of how I make my beads. Decide what you want to make. Color, size, shape, design, etc. Select your glass rods. Set your oxygen & propane tanks to the correct pressure. Pray for safety & a “Blessed Batch”. (I always do before I spark up. Good rule for added protection & productivity!) Get seated comfortably & spark up the torch. Heat up the mandrel with one hand while slowly introducing the glass rod with the other. When both are hot enough, begin winding the melted glass around the mandrel to start the bead. Continue adding colors & designs until it looks done. Then cool it down in the “parking lot” or back of the flame until it’s ready to go into the kiln. Set the mandrel with the hot bead inside the 960o kiln to anneal it for about 5 hours. Take cool bead out of cool kiln. Use pliers to hold mandrel while turning bead under the faucet until the bead comes off. Use bead reamer to clean out the hole. Dry it off & check for stress fractures. If it made it through all of that, then it’s ready to be turned into a piece of jewelry!! So, how much patience do YOU have?? Believe me...bead making has taught me more about patience than I ever thought I needed to learn! For even more info, here’s another link to check out... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampworking$ shapeimage_3_link_0

a little history...
“Man has made glass beads for more than 2,000 years and has used them in many ways, from decorations to currency. Techniques of the glassmaking industry were trade secrets until the early 17th century. A popular method of bead making produces "lamp worked" or "wound" beads, so-called because the glass rods were heated in the flame of an oil lamp and the molten glass was wound onto a rod.”