What is Lampwork ?
Lampwork is a type of glasswork where an artist uses a gas-fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of glass into beads, small sculptures, or other works of Art.
The Process: Artists melt colored glass rods in a torch flame and wind the molten glass around a steel rod called a mandrel, which is coated in a special "bead release" clay so the cooled glass can slide off.
Alternative Names: It is also called flameworking or torchworking because modern artists use gas torches instead of old oil-fueled lamps.
• Types of Glass: Artists use soft glass (soda-lime, melts at lower heat) or hard glass (borosilicate/Pyrex, needs higher heat and pure oxygen).
• Annealing: Finished pieces must go into a heated kiln to cool down slowly (annealing) to relieve internal thermal stress and prevent cracking.