Every day all over the world among lovers of needlework lampwork is becoming increasingly popular. What this is, this article will help to find out.
Workshop
As the name implies, lampwork technology is workwith glass in the flame of the burner. In order to create elegant and fragile decorations at home, you need to equip a workplace with good ventilation, and in the warm season it is better to do this exciting business in the yard - in the country, in the fresh air.
Если вы предпочитаете работать в помещении, то there should be a hood. Those who are engaged in lampwork seriously prefer to order such devices in specialized workshops. The fan power is calculated based on the volume of the room, by multiplying it by 15-20.
Lampwork at home: what is needed
For the manufacture of jewelry and trinkets of glass you will need:
- Propane burner.
- A respirator necessary for your safety if you intend to use silver foil, glass with enamel or with silver additives, etc.
- Safety glasses to prevent eye damage from radiation emanating from the burner flame.
- Coating or separator, which is a paste mixture based on kaolin clay. It serves to separate knitting needles from glass.
- Special steel spokes to wind molten glass on them.
- The tools used to form beads of various shapes (graphite blades, etc.).
- Керамическое одеяло, заменяющее печь, в котором the hot beads “wound” on the needles will cool down. It prevents the beads from cooling too fast and cracking them because of the stress that occurs between the inner and outer layers of glass.
- To ensure greater strength glassbeads, they are annealed in a special furnace. They are slowly heated to 510–530 degrees and maintained at this temperature for 30–90 minutes. Then it is slowly and evenly reduced, and after complete cooling the bead is considered completely finished.
Glass
У нас в стране есть очень мало магазинов, где sell the raw materials needed to make crafts in the lampwork technique (you already know what it is). The largest of them = Art Lampwork. At the same time, those who have been working with glass for a long time are advised to order tools and materials from online stores.
Glass rods sell by weight and individually (the second option is much more expensive than the first). Abroad, the minimum order weight is 113 g, and in the Russian Federation - 100 g.
Simple bead master class
In order to carry out the lampwork at home and get the simplest bead, perform the following steps:
- heat the tip of the glass rod, holding it over the lamp;
- when it becomes soft, it is rolled onto a steel needle, forming a disk;
- slowly melt the disk in the flame of the burner until a bead is formed, in the shape of a donut with holes recessed inwards.
- Before the glass cools, the product can be decorated or changed its outlines.
Master class on making beads with dots
Glass sticks sold in stores vary in thickness. To create beads with "pimples" they use the thinnest. In this case, you can choose a glass of the same or a contrasting color. Further:
- the knitting needle is heated in the flame of the burner with a bead set in it;
- take her aside;
- heat the tip of a thin glass rod;
- put a point in the right place;
- to cut it off from a thin glass tube, return the bead briefly to the flame of the burner;
- put the required number of points, periodically bringing the bead into the flame so that it does not cool down;
- in order to make the specks even and round, they are once again melted in a flame;
- from above it is possible to put also points of another color according to the same scheme.
Master class on making beads with flowers: what types of glass will be needed
The lampwork technique at home allows you to create very beautiful multi-colored products with a beautiful pattern.
Glass required for work:
- 058 Effetre Ink Blue;
- 006 Effetre Super Clear;
- 204 Effetre White;
- 144 Double Helix Helios;
- 128 CiM Sangre.
With their help, you can create a beautiful floral decor and decorate the bead with silver specks.
Operating procedure
Before you start making beads in the techniqueThe lampwork (what you already know) is lighting the burner and putting on glasses. Next, "pull the strings." This requires very slowly, so that the glass does not crack due to the high temperature; the stick is heated at the very tip of the flame. They form a small droplet and, capturing it with tweezers, begin to pull away from the glass base, so that the necessary thin “string” is obtained. Thus, all types of glass, except white, are treated.
Making beautiful beads with delicate floral pattern in the following order:
- on the needle put a separator and heat its tip;
- also come with a white glass wand (204);
- holding the burner in the flame, and constantly rotating the needle, wind the necessary amount of molten glass on it.
- they make a bead blank into the flame and carefully melt it, forming a ball and constantly turning the steel needle to prevent the glass from flowing down;
- take a string of glass "Sangria" (128);
- melt its tip and put on the surface of the bead 18 points, in 3 groups of 6 pieces;
- alloy all the droplets to the smoothness of the bead;
- heat the plot with a flower and pierce its middle with an awl;
- also come with two other flowers;
- take the string, made of transparent glass;
- again heat the area on the surface of the bead;
- a transparent string is vertically “implanted” into the center of the flower and a rotational movement is made between the string and the fingers;
- repeat the same steps for the 2nd and 3rd flower;
- take the blue string (058);
- flowers complement the three petals, repeating all actions, except for the step with twisting;
- decorate the bead with dots, which are applied with a string made of "Helios" glass (144).
The last operation should be carried out carefully enough, having put on a respirator. Points do not need to be fused. It is better that they are slightly convex.
At the final stage of work on the bead, a special “propane” lampwork technique is used:
- cool the bead;
- the propane component is added to the burner;
- they bring a bead through the flames so that the silver-glass reaction takes place and it looks like shiny metal.
They put the product into the furnace to relieve internal stress. The process lasts about 10-12 hours until the bead cools completely. Then it is removed from the spokes and used at its discretion.
Lampwork (what it is, is explained in detail above) is an original technique that allows you to create beautiful jewelry and knick-knacks that will be a wonderful gift for your family for any reason.
