| "Lampwork" What is it?
Lampwork is a term used
to describe glass beads made by melting glass with a torch and wrapping
it around a metal rod. The term "lampwork" means glass that is formed
and decorated in a torch flame hot enough to melt the glass.
 The "lamp" in lampwork
came from the oil lamps and blowpipes originally used in seventeenth
century France and Italy. Blowing by mouth or with a bellows into an oil
lamp flame with a small pipe makes just enough heat to soften and form
the softer types of glass.
Today lampworking is
usually done with an Air-Fuel torch (MAPP gas being the most popular
fuel) or Oxygen-Propane torch and a few
hand tools. The tricks and moves used to form and decorate the glass
haven't changed much in years.
Hot glass working skills
came to us from a long history starting with the Syrians around 1700 BC,
the Egyptians around 1450 BC, the Chinese around 550 BC, the Romans at
the turn of the first millennium, and with the French, German, Italian,
Indian and Islamic folks bringing us up to the present.
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