Making glass beads is called lampwork because hundredsof years ago, artisans heated glass over oil lamps. Today, we use a propane/oxygen torch to heat imported Italian and Czech glass rods to approximately 1200* F and wind the molten glass onto a stainless steel rod, which has a thin coating of clay, this prevents the glass from sticking.
The molten glass has the consistency of thick honey, and the art is somewhat like sculpture, using colour, form and design to create a small treasure that is wearable.The beads are created one at a time, after the piece is completed it is then put into an annealing kiln, which keeps the tempreture stable then cooled very slowly to prevent future cracking . Then the bead is removed from the mandrel and the hole thoroughly cleaned in water with a diamond bit to remove all the excess clay . Thats basically it ....A bead is born ...