Posts Tagged 'glass'



I’m getting better at this… more glasswork

I’m getting better at this :)

lampwork bracelet

This is the front view of my latest bracelet.

lampwork bracelet

And a side/clasp view. With this one I used the same colour scheme for all beads but experimented with different forms and shapes. I discovered that flattened beads sit more comfortably against my wrist. I’ve got a bunch more ideas stemming from this, can’t wait to get back to beadfx!

lampwork pendant

This is my favourite piece so far – I took the best bead from my last session and purchased an attachment that would let me hang it from a chain.

lampwork pendant

Out of all my lampworked stuff this is the first one I’ve loved enough to wear.

In other news I’m almost out of the long dark eternity of the sweater – I’m finishing up the seed stitch hem on my TFA sunset cardi and will be starting the sleeves this weekend! I’m well on target for getting to wear it at the knitters frolic this May, but hoping to have it earlier as it’s occurring to me that, by May, things in Toronto may be a little warm. I’ve also got a fun idea for making the clasp out of glass, we’ll see how that plays out ;o)

Speaking of that sweater – I had started a fair isle design at the bottom that turned out pretty badly owing to a) my poor understanding of intarsia and when you need to secure your strands differently and b) tight strands, which started to pucker. I had to frog it back for 4 inches and chickened out of re-attempting the fair isle in favour of just finishing it with the sunset. To aid me in this adventure I used this handy tutorial from knitty.

Glass Lampworking, take II

Before I show you todays piece I want to express my sadness and horror at the devastation Japan experienced with this morning’s earthquake and Tsunami. I’ve been to Japan, and I can say that they are an impressive people; strong, disciplined, brilliant, cooperative and resilient, and I know they will show all of those wonderful qualities in the days ahead as they deal with this terrible tragedy.

glass lampworkingThe bead above is just a solo bead that I didn’t do anything with yet, but I was so thrilled with how beautifully it turned out that I had to put it up here – I love the colour, the details and the way the brown just sweeps across the blue! If I had the skill I’d make 12 more beads just like this one so I could make a bracelet, but alas I don’t have the skill to make things that actually match yet.

glass lampworking bracelet

Speaking of trying to match things though, here is my 2nd attempt at a bracelet. Though none of the beads match each other, they were made with the same techniques, and the same colour glass, so that helped create a cohesive result.

glass lampworking bracelet

Here is a close up view. I broke out of my colour scheme a bit this time by going with violets in stead of the predictable turquoise. I’m back in the studio for 2 hours tonight though, and I think I’ll try and make earrings this time.

glass lampworking bracelet

glass lampworking bracelet

glass lampworking bracelet

glass lampworking bracelet

I’m definitely addicted, can’t wait to go back and try some more tonight!

Glass Lampworking

Lampwork beads

This past weekend Tito and I went to BeadFX in Scarborough for my long-awaited birthday gift – an introductory course in lamp working.

Lampwork beads

Lampworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. It is also known as flameworking or torchworking, as the modern practice no longer uses oil-fueled lamps. <<Taken from Wikipedia>>

I love how he looks with the protective eyewear on, reminds me of the crazy scientist from Despicable Me!

lamp working beads

lamp working beads

It’s a lovely process – our instructor Amy walked us though how to melt the glass, ‘paint’ it onto a metal rod, shape and decorate it. The results are beautiful, I’ve already got tons of ideas on how to take this further. One of the great things about BeadFX is now that we’ve completed a course, we can rent studio time from them. I can’t wait to get back in there and try out some new ideas!

lamp working beads

Here are Tito’s beads – we did well for beginners!

Here are my beads – this was very different from glass blowing, it felt more controlled and you could focus more on the decorative aspect of each piece.

lamp working beads

I decided to string mine into a big, chunky, colourful bracelet – I love it!

lamp working beads



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