How And Why I Started Lampworking
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I have been fascinated with glass jewellery for as long as I can remember. As a child I would spend hours investigating intricate glass beads by visiting craft shops, reading crafting magazines and then later, browsing the internet. My spare money would be spent on collecting the most interesting and unusual handmade glass beads that I could find.
As my interest gathered, I no longer wanted to be limited to what I could buy. I wanted to make the wonderful glass jewellery myself - but I didn't know where to start! |
Why Lampworking? |
I initially undertook a weekend glassblowing course, which although I liked, made me realised that glassblowing is not really a very practical hobby - where in my house would I put the furnace?!! The course tutor directed me towards a type of glassmaking called Lampwork.
In 2012, I signed up for a half-day lampwork bead making course. Making the beads came more easily than I expected, and I realised that with a little practice, I could really begin to understand and work with the flame to create beautiful and unique pieces of art. Lampworking was affordable, easy to set up, and more importantly, fun. My lifelong interest in glass had now become a practical hobby - my adventure in glass had begun! |
Getting Started |
After a little research, I bought 2 books: 'Passing The Flame' by Corina Tettinger and 'Making Glass Beads' by Cindy Jenkins. These books described the tools I needed, and provided further inspiration and tuition from the initial lesson I had taken.
After hours and hours of practice, I was producing glass beads that attracted interest from friends and family and it wasn't long before I started receiving commissions and requests for personalised gifts. |
Inspirations |
I have taken classes with respected artists such as Amanda Muddimer, Carla Di Francesco, Anouk Jasperse and Astrid Riedel. Each course has reinvigorated my desire to create new and exciting glass beads and taught me new techniques that I can work with to further my skills and ideas. However, I strongly believe it is important to use the experiences and lessons from others to develop our own abilities - not simply produce carbon copies - therefore I will not knowingly replicate a design I have seen, but instead I will add my own twist, be it using different colours, patterns or shapes to make the glass beads or cabochons.
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