This article was originally published as an 'Expert Advice' column in the June 2011 issue of Bead & Button. Some revisions, photos and further explanations have been made here.
Handmade lampwork beads, made by an ever-growing community
of people working in their home studios, are quite popular in today’s jewelry
designs, but do all of those odd words people use to describe them just confuse
you? The next time you hear someone say ‘Look at that shiny design- is that
fumed or did they use silver foil?’ don’t just smile and nod; pull out this handy
glossary and say ‘I think I see a bit of dichro encased in there!’
Techniques and Basics
Annealing- Cooling
a bead slowly in a kiln to equalize the temperature of the glass. This relieves
stress, which keeps cracks from forming; even a small crack in a bead can grow,
eventually causing it to break.
Some small beads are
cooled in a fiber blanket, annealing bubbles or vermiculite though annealing in
a kiln is preferred. Lampworkers should specify
the cooling method used.
Encasing
(overwrapping)- A covering of transparent glass that will magnify the pattern
in the core bead. The best encased beads will not contain unintentional bubbles,
though many do. These bubbles do not hurt the integrity of the glass.
Fuming- Flame-Vaporized
silver or gold thinly coats a bead; the metallic ‘fumes’ are deposited on the
bead.
Hollow Bead – Two
parallel disks of glass are wound on a mandrel and sealed together to form
thin- walled, lighter weight bead.
Imploding- A
series of dots placed inside a
hollow tube are encased and elongated, creating the appearance of an explosion
inside the piece. An ‘inside-out’ design
most often associated with boro glass.
Lampworking
(flameworking)- Melting and working glass over an open flame.
Masking- Melting
and overlapping dots to make a design which becomes more complex with each
additional layer.
Puckered ends-
Indented holes at the end of the bead. Beads should never have sharp holes;
these can chip or cut through beading cord.
Raking- Dragging
a tool across lines or dots on the surface of the glass creates a zigzag or
elongated pattern. Similar techniques are furrowing, feathering and combing.
Plunging- Trapping
air bubbles by poking a divot into the bead and encasing with transparent
glass.
Trail (stripe)- A
line drawn on a bead.
Materials
Cane- Any glass
rod, especially a handmade rod of layered colors, often used for plant stems
and leaves.
Devitrification
(devit)- A powdery looking glass surface that develops on some glass.
Dichroic Glass
(dichro)- Glass coated with a thin metallic film, causing the color to
shift depending on the angle and light in which it is viewed.
EDP- Evil devitrifying
purple, a color prone to devitrification.
Enamel- Powered glass
pigment used to add a thin layer of vivid color; mica and pixie dust are also
used in this way.
Frit- Small bits
of broken glass; a hot bead rolled through frit picks up pieces as it goes.
‘Raku’ frit can turn many different colors.
Metals- Silver,
Gold, Palladium or Copper may be used as a core, to coat a bead, or to create
different colors and designs; comes in the form of foil, leaf, wire or screen.
Murrini or millefiori-
A thinly sliced tube of glass with a design in cross section. Millefiori has a
floral design; other designs are referred to as murrini.
Reduction or striking
glass (reactive glass)- Shines or changes color depending on the heat and
amount of oxygen used in the flame. Also known as reactive glass.
Shards- Small
pieces of thinly blown glass used to apply color and texture to the outside of
a bead.
Silvered Ivory
Stringer (SIS)- Stringer made from ivory glass rolled in silver.
Stringer- A thin
rod of glass often used for drawing on a bead.
Twistie or latticino-
Different colors of glass are layered and twisted together. These can be
anything from a simple two color twist to very complicated lacy designs.
Types of Glass
Borosilicate glass
(boro)- Hard glass; a type of pyrex used to make beads, pendants, and
sculptures.
Soda Lime Glass- Soft
glass, used for most lampwork beads. The
type of glass used will vary depending on colors, effects and COE desired.
Bullseye and Spectrum- Produced
in the U.S., COE 90 and 96
CIM (Messy Glass)- Produced
in China.
Devardi Glass- Produced in India.
Double Helix, Rocio and TAG- Specialty glass made in the U.S. Most
of this is reactive glass.
Gaffer- Produced in New Zealand.
Kugler, Lauscha or Reichenbach- Produced in Germany.
Murano Glass- Made on the Italian island of Murano.
Effetre (Moretti) and Vetrofond are produced in Murano or Venice.
Technical Terms
Chill marks-
Concentric circles left after a cool tool touches the glass, causing stress on
the glass surface, usually ‘fire polished’ out over the flame. Minor chill
marks are infrequently used as design elements.
COE- Coefficient
of Expansion. A number describing how quickly glass expands and contracts. COE
determines whether the glass is ‘soft’ or ‘hard’. Generally, glass used in the
same piece will have the same COE, though sometimes small accent bits with a
different COE may be used safely.
Cold Working- Any
procedure done while the glass is cold, such as electroforming or using a
lapidary wheel.
Mandrel- The
steel rod on which a bead is built which determines the size of the bead’s hole.
The bead release or ‘sludge’ used to keep the glass from sticking to the
mandrel should be removed from all beads.
Tool Marks- Marks
left on beads from tools. Sometimes, as in the case of fish fins, tool marks
are used decoratively.
Wonky- Uneven or
out of round.
Bead shows, galleries, gift shops, even farmer’s markets are
great places to see the work of your local lampwork artisans up close; online
choices include personal websites, faccebook, etsy, artfire and ebay. The best
indicator of the quality of a bead maker’s work beyond the photos or handling
the beads yourself is their description of the techniques, cooling process and
materials used.
No comments:
Post a Comment