Sunday, November 1, 2009

What is lampworking?





Lampworking is a style of glassworking. I begin with glass rods made by Bullseye Glass located in Portland. I melt the rods in a flame from my oxygen/propane torch. When the glass becomes molten, like thick honey, I wrap it around steel mandrels. Then I shape them in the flame of the torch. Sometimes I think it feels like melting a marshmallow in a campfire. Then when the bead is just right, I put it in a digitally controlled kiln that anneals them overnight. Annealing is the process of slowly cooling glass that has been worked with so that it will be durable. In the morning I check my creations...it is always fun to see how they look.

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