If you want to do an original hobby - lampwork is definitely suitable. In the old days in Russia it was called "pebble business", or simply beadwork. It turns out that this craft has not been lost, and it is quite accessible to anyone who wants to make himself an original necklace, pendant, bracelet or figurine made of glass.
This is an almost magical hobby, and enthusiastic people can no longer give up on it - so much it attracts and gives positive emotions. For those wishing to do lampwork, there are two ways: to make a workshop at home or go to a studio where you can rent a place.
For a home workshop, you will need equipment:
- annealing oven
- propane tank
- oxygen concentrator or oxygen cylinder (concentrator is better)
- oxygen-propane burner
- extractor hood (kitchen hood will not work)
Instruments:
- graphite blade
- scalpel
- tweezers
- goggles for protection against bright yellow radiation
Materials:
- mandrels of different diameters (metal rods)
- mandrel coating separator
- glass (usually sold in sticks - these are called "births" or "drots")
In any case, it is better to get a master class from professionals in order to find out all the details and avoid mistakes of novice lampworkers. And yet it doesn't matter where all this is done - at home or in the workshop, the result can be this:
These beads are made by hand using the "galaxy" technique - they really look like some kind of cosmic formations. One such galaxy is enough to dress it up in silver fittings and get an exclusive pendant, which no one will ever have, because it is almost impossible to repeat the pattern. You can make beads in exactly these shades, but they will still be slightly different.
Although this is not so important, because quite original bracelets and other handicrafts can be made from different beads:
Or such a bracelet
How beads are made
In order for them to turn out beautiful and different, glass sticks are needed - it is from them that different beads and figures are made. The sticks look like this:
The master turns on the stove to warm it up, then turns on the burner - and the magic begins. The stick is placed in a flame, the glass becomes fluid, and it is wound around a mandrel. When one revolution is passed, a small bead is obtained. If you wind another layer and another - you get a huge ball.
And in this photo there is an almost finished bead in the flame of a burner. I must say that from the first time it turns out not very smoothly, but from the second or third time it will turn out exactly. In addition, the master gives advice and helps, if necessary. At home, of course, you have to do everything by trial and error, but over time it will work out too. It takes about 10 minutes to make one bead.
After the liquid glass has turned into a product, it is placed in an oven for several hours. And now - ready-made beads on mandrels, already taken out of the oven. They must be removed and cleaned from the separator, which covers the mandrels.
And you can make such monsters or something else - here there is a place for fantasy to roam.
The most unusual item for a beginner in a workshop is a burner. Fire bursts out of it in a powerful stream, which strives to burn. Therefore, first, a safety briefing is required and special glasses are issued through which you can calmly look at the fire and how your bead begins to take the shape you ask it. While the bead is hot, it can be tweaked with various tools - spatulas, etc. Tweezers are used to make figures - to pull glass.
And now it is ready - your first creation, melted in fire and tempered in a furnace, is born. And you understand that you have become a real lampworker.
Now this hobby is gaining more and more popularity all over the world, and in this area there are recognized masters who have reached great heights. They make products amazing in their beauty and grace. Looking at them, it is impossible to imagine that this was done by human hands. Moreover, each master admits that he still has room to grow - there is no limit to perfection.
