Question:
I'm still trying to wrap my head around exactly what lampwork is :-/
I was thinking of putting a few glass blown beads I bought years ago in
Vermont. They were made by a glassblower Lucy Bergamini. I never got around
to using them (although the earrings I've purchased from her have gotten
tons of use!) Can anyone explain what is the difference between blown glass
beads and lampwork?????
Answer:
-Well, I think Tink would answer better because she makes blown beads:)
But the main difference is that in blown beads, air is blown in to
expand the glass, and in lampworking the glass rob is melted around a
mandrel and air is not blown in.
When you make blown beads, you can use a hollow mandrel for this. I
have made a few letting the hot air expand inside the bead and the air
expanding the glass. This you can do without a hollow mandrel. Usually,
the blown beads are larger (and lighter for the size,) due to the
blowing and the glass expanding.
-Depends on what you mean by a "blown" bead.
If it is a glass bead that was made over a torch - it is lampwork.....
if you mean hot glass "furnace" beads -- which are made by a gather of
glass from a furance, a bubble is blown into the center, and then it is
pulled out into a long cane and cut into sections - then they are not
lampwork.
The more common name for that type is "furnace glass" beads.
Lampwork blown beads are generally made from borosilicate tubing (with
various color added) = but are still technically lampwork, because they
are made at a torch.
Howeve not all lampwork beads are "blown" -- solid glass beads (i.e.
wound glass) is commonly known as lampwork.
If your beads are "hollow" they may be "blown"
if they were made by blowing air into them while the glass was hot...
However- again another "catch" - is that not all hollow beads are
blown.... There is a mandrel technique that makes hollow beads.
-The ones my friend was doing would be classified as furnace beads then. I
can't believe the work that I'm seeing here in lampwork. It's all so
stunning!!! I asked later in the thread if it is feasible to combine
lampwork with semi precious non faceted gemstones. What do you think??
I'll take pictures of the furnace beads today or tomorrow and get them up on
the back of one of my sites
I'll put up a great necklace she did for me years ago (early 1990's) also.
Hope you are having a nice holiday!
