In my small back garden studio, in what little spare time I have, I occasionally dabble in lampwork. It’s a hobby that I have had for years and one that I absolutely love. It involves melting rods of italian soda lime glass over a flame, shaping and decorating them into beads. Aside from gin, there is no better way to de-stress! My signature bead is a “bloom” bead, designed to look like petals floating in glass. My inspiration comes from flowers so I`m hoping the new cut flower bed will provide me with plenty of it!
I work on a Bobcat torch which is driven by a propane tank, with additional oxygen to make the flame burn cleanly. The glass is melted by the torch and wound around a stainless steel mandrel which has been dipped in a chemical solution to prevent it from sticking. This creates the hole through the bead. Once the bead is complete it is placed in a kiln for a period of controlled cooling. By doing this you prevent the outer surface of the bead cooling before the inside and causing thermal cracks. The whole process takes around 12 hours.
The bloom beads are my favourite. Made by using hair thin pieces of glass formed into dots. Layers of clear glass are wound on top of the dots, which when melted and dragged with gravity, provide the illusion of a floating petal. The colour combinations of this type of bead are endless and although they can take up to an hour each to make, it is so relaxing to do so.
damsonsandlavender.com 