Archive for the 'glass beads' Category
(My Note: Watch how the dichroic glass earrings are fused. Also, Did you know you could make your own fusing kiln? Interesting…) Jerry Webmaster, CraftingGlass.com
This is a sample clip of an instructional video for the building of a small glass fusing kiln. It can be used for the pre-heating of glass rods for beadmaking, and for annealing beads. Parts in 2005 cost $200 to build. Runs on 5 amps, 110 volts, so it just plugs in to a regular household socket. The video is intended for people with no kiln building experience, so is slow paced, thorough instruction with emphases on modifying the design to meet you own specific requirements. The full 2-dvd set also has demonstrations for the making of a complex bead, glass jewelry production, and the making of small mosaic dishes. Please see www.mayneislandglass.com for more info. Please look at my other sample clips from other videos, and my various tutorials on glassmaking.
Duration : 0:4:57
From Glass Eyes To Glass Flowers, The Incredible Artistic Flowers Of Glass At Harvard
1 glass flower bouquet Blaschka Harvard Ware
It has been said at least once that the best of Mozart’s music was like the very voice of God. If that is true then these incredible glass flowers are likewise wondrous, like a creation by Gods own hands and eyes. They are that special, in many peoples’ opinion, including my own. The detail and color and true to life form are unbelievable, nearly other worldly. The most often heard comment in the museum, when the flowers are seen for the first time is: “where are the glass flowers?” Most first time viewers cannot really believe that the Blaschka flowers are not real. “They can’t be made of glass” is another comment heard frequently. The detail is astounding, according to many botanists. One model of the Angelica plant and flower has over 2,500 buds and blossoms. That is not a misprint. Some of the cacti have hundreds of spines or needles. Oohs and aahs are often audible in the glass flower viewing area as well. This reaction is even more remarkable because these glass flowers have been on display in the Harvard Museum of Natural History for no less that 74 years (the latest flowers added) to as long as 123 years (the earliest glass flowers added to the display). Unfortunately there has been some “glass disease” in the soda-lime glass used by the artists. And some dust particles and dirt cannot be removed totally without a risk of damage to the fragile plant parts. Despite this deterioration there is nothing today to match the present beauty and detail of these stunning artistic flowers of glass.
The Harvard Museum of Natural History’s collection of extremely detailed models of flowers (and stems and leaves) is made of colored and (some) painted glass. In the display are over 800 models of life-size plants or flowers representing about 780 species and nearly 165 plant families. Altogether there are over 4000 models including details of enlarged flowers and sections of vegetative parts. There are intricate glass models showing pollination details of many plants, as well. All of this remarkable display was created by just two men, Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolph. This entire display at Harvard is known as the Ware Collection. A generous donation by Elizabeth Ware and her daughter Mary (about 1886) made it possible for the Harvard Natural History Museum, under director Professor Goodale, to commission the Blaschkas to create these glass flower models. For nearly 50 years Leopold and Rudolf (Blaschka) furnished the glass models to Harvard. After Leopold’s death in 1895 Rudolph continued alone making the glass flowers until about 1936, several years before he died.
The exact method(s) used to create the models was never fully revealed by the Blaschkas, although broad hints were given out. The elder Blaschka (Leopold) said that many people think we have some secret apparatus by which we can squeeze glass suddenly into these forms, but it is not so. Instead, we have tact, he said. I think he meant skill and patience, or perhaps the word “tact” was used differently or had a different meaning before 1900 than it has today. Leopold also said that to have great skill in artistic glass creation one must have a whole line of glass artist ancestors, starting with at least your great-grandfather, and continuing through your father. The Blaschkas themselves had this ancestry to their apparent benefit! The actual technique they used was not actually “supernatural” or miraculous. Although their skill was incredible the glass flowers were created by their hands, not Gods. The process they used is thought to have been mainly “lampworking”, a technique involving heating bits of glass over a flame. Modern glass artists use this process to create lovely glass beads and other glass art.
Many years before he began making flowers, Leopold Blaschka made and sold glass eyes. He also made glass beakers, test-tubes, and beads. Somewhat later he made models of marine creatures (jellyfish, octopi, squid, etc.). These glass models were also extremely detailed and lifelike. These glass creatures were widely admired and contributed greatly to his (and his sons) fame. The sea animals were sold to museums all over the world. Viewing the glass marine creatures eventually led Professor Goodale (of Harvard) to request that they (the Blaschkas) create some glass flower models. The beauty and exquisite detail of those flowers created the desire in Goodale and the Wares to start and enlarge the Harvard glass flower collection into the remarkable display it is today. In final tribute to the Blashkas I give you this quote : (their work is) “An artistic marvel in the field of science and a scientific marvel in the field of art.”
2CactiMapleFlowerBlashkaHarvardHerbalGramFlickerH.Burger
Enjoy the pictures! Jerry (webmaster CraftingGlass.com)
Aug
1
Welcome to CraftingGlass.com! Crafting Glass features videos, articles, pictures, and blogs on making and caring for beautiful glass objects. Whether it is information on stained glass, etched glass, or glass beads you will find it here. The sources for the tools and supplies you will need for crafting and maintaining decorative glass likely will be found here as well. Tips on buying, installing, and repairing window glass are provided on this web site also. For a list of categories please look in the column on the left side of this page. Please feel free to comment (blog) on any article or video. I also welcome suggestions for new articles, pictures, or videos in the broad catagory of “glass” (use the “contact us/me” page), How awesome can glass be? Well, just look at the beautiful images below for some idea of the beauty and versatility of glass.
Central Train Station R10/O5, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Architectural glass by Derix Glass Studios (derix.com). Pictured is the Glass art ceiling and glass art pillars.
Narcissus Quagliata, artist
A small stained glass window in an near 100 year old home.
A hand blown and hand cut small glass vase. 
Agate glass pitcher 
When creating flamework glass beads, the first step is to remove moisture from the beads. Learn how to create a flame-treated glass bead in this free bead-making video from a professional bead-making instructor.
Expert: Harlan Simon
Contact: www.HarlanGlass.com
Bio: Harlan Simon has been making beads for more than 10 years and gives bead-making workshops at Oaklands public art studio, Studio One.
Filmmaker: Bing Hu
Duration : 0:2:22
A kiln in glass bead-making is used to anneal as well as cool beads. Learn how to use a kiln to cool glass beads in this free bead-making video from a professional bead-making instructor.
Expert: Harlan Simon
Contact: www.HarlanGlass.com
Bio: Harlan Simon has been making beads for more than 10 years and gives bead-making workshops at Oaklands public art studio, Studio One.
Filmmaker: Bing Hu
Duration : 0:4:17
When starting up a glass bead-making torch, turn on the propane first and then the oxygen to control the flame. Learn tips for controlling a torch when flame-treating (fusing) glass beads in this free bead-making video from a professional bead-making instructor.
Expert: Harlan Simon
Contact: www.HarlanGlass.com
Bio: Harlan Simon has been making beads for more than 10 years and gives bead-making workshops at Oaklands public art studio, Studio One.
Filmmaker: Bing Hu
Duration : 0:2:17
Being comfortable is the first step to setting up a glass bead workstation. Learn about common workstation considerations before working with glass in this free crafting video about the equipment for making glass beads.
Expert: Teresa Metcalfe-Johnson
Contact: www.refinedwithfire.com
Bio: Teresa Metcalfe-Johnson has been making jewelry since childhood, and now sells beads and jewelry as her profession.
Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz
Duration : 0:1:24
Hello Everyone!
Starting in October I will be writing an article on an artist in one of the glass categories featured on Crafting Glass. These categories are: glass blowing, dichroic glass art/jewelry, etched (and carved) glass, fused glass, glass beads, and stained glass. There will be no particular order (such as alphabetical) in which the artists will appear. I have several artists in mind for the first and subsequent articles. If you are an artist and want to appear here please contact me and be willing to let me use an article about your work or a video or picture of your work. New artists in the field of glass arts are welcome to apply also.
Thanks,
Jerry (webmaster, Crafting Glass)
Glass and glass products may be taken for granted now, but they were a luxury item a very few people could afford, sometimes in the 3000âs BC when its manufacturing history started in the Middle East.
The glass manufacturing grew during the Roman Empire and spread from Italy to all countries under Roman jurisdiction. During the times of the Venetian Republic the glass craftsmanship flourished as a result of good contacts with Byzantine Empire. In 1291, fearing fire and destruction to the cityâs mostly wooden buildings, or maybe for better protecting their secrets, the glassmakers were ordered to move their foundries out of Venice and into the island of Murano. For centuries afterwards the glassmakers of Murano have held the monopoly on quality glassmaking, developing or refining many technologies including crystalline glass, enameled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass. But mostly what made Muranoâs glassmakers so special is the simple truth that they were the only people in Europe who knew how to make a mirror!
Today, the artisans of Murano still make use of their century-old techniques, hand-crafting everything from contemporary art glass and glass jewelry to murano glass chandeliers and wine stoppers.
Technology and tradition in Murano glassmaking
One of the attributes that distinguish glass from other materials, such as metal, is the way it solidifies. It is based on this specific glass feature that the murano manufacturers stage their unique technique of glassmaking. Working the glass in this specific frame of time requires talent, skillfulness, know-how and sensitivity, which only a few expert glassworkers have mastered today.
The making of a murano product follows a working cycle of 24 hours. The mixture of raw materials is loaded two or three times into the initially empty pot. The first load goes in about 5pm, at a temperature of 1250°C to 1300°C. The last at 9pm to 10pm and afterwards the temperature is raised to 1400°C to drive out any bubbles from the liquid and to let the glass become homogeneous. At about 2am the melted glass is ready and the temperature is lowered to 1000°C to 1100°C. At this temperature the glass will, at 7am, have the viscosity necessary for working. Afterwards the blowing and the manipulation with iron take place, thanks to the malleability guaranteed by the continual contact with the fire.
The glass rod is the starting point to make the glass beads. It is made by pulling both ends of the single color glass bubble, until the right diameter is reached. The rod can measure up to 100 meters long, and is then cut into smaller sections of approximately a meter each, which are then bound in bundles. The solid glass rod is used to make really beautiful beads with the âflameâ technique. Over the heat of a flame the glass melts and creates a thread that is wound around a fine metal rod. This way a sort of hot glass ball is produced that is worked and shaped using pincers or bronze moulds to give the bead the desired shape (round, square, star, etc.). Once it has cooled down, the bead is placed in acid that dissolves the copper rod and leave a hole in the bead.
Various and important techniques can be used for the flamed beads, some of the most interesting and typically âVenetianâ are those made with gold or silver leaf, which are achieved by forming the first liquid glass which is then rolled over a very fine leaf of 24 carat gold leave or pure silver; with the heat, the leaf breaks giving a cracked effect that is always different. The glass can then be covered with a second layer of transparent glass to make the bead shinier, while if it is left without the second layer it has a less polished look.
Millefiori or thousands of flowers
Millefiori is a polychromatic, colorful design as thin as a straw. Exactly when the very first design of millefiori was created is not known, but the archeological testimonies place them during the Alexandrine and Roman times.
The colors of the millefiori beads are created one at a time. First a hot ball of glass is pressed and pulled by the glass manufacturer into a certain shape like a flower or a star or a geometrical shape, and then the rod is covered in layers of different colors of glass.
Another very important technique is that of applying pieces of Millefiori rod to the main nucleus. Also known as Millefiori or Mosaic beads, they are made by applying fine pieces of rod to the hot glass core so that the entire surface is covered. The bead is then heated a second time so that the murrinas weld together. The result is that not two Murrina pieces are the same.
Murano – Hand-Blown Glass Jewelry
âBeauty is a quality of a person, object, place, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, affirmation, meaning, or goodness. The subjective experience of “beauty” often involves the interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature. This leads to powerful feelings of attraction and emotional well-being.â (wikipedia)
Just like one canât be totally objective when looking at two beautiful women and freely choose one of them as the most beautiful one, or honestly decide upon the purest ray of sun or the most perfect rainbow, one will never find two pieces of murano jewelry the same.
Mirroring the freshness of light, the fluidity of water and the intensity of fire, the murano jewelries please both the eye and heart. The foil of gold or the bits of silver ads to their noble allure as the eye catches a glimpse of them through the rich color of the glass.
Endowed with an unique design fit for an unique woman, a cherished occasion or for an out of this world partner, the murano jewelries are the perfect gift. The proud wearer exhibits a piece of jewelry unlike any other piece in the entire world.
Article courtesy of Alluring Creations CC, http://www.alluringcreations.co.za
Patricia Furstenberg
http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/a-short-history-of-glass-and-how-the-murano-glass-making-tradition-has-started-135916.html
Just want some tips on how to use the sheeting and mica that can be added to the glass bead.
Normally you use a slab of graphite as a marver. You set it where no breeze will cross it, perhaps surrounding it on three sides with part of a cardboard box. The gold leaf and gold and silver foil are very thin, so they are normally handled by leaving them on the paper and cutting the paper, then moving them off with a natural hair brush used only for that purpose.
You sprinkle mica on the surface.
You heat the surface of the bead to a very soft state and roll the bead in the leaf/foil/mica to pick up pieces. Normally you immediately begin to case the additions with clear, winding clear rod around the bead and smoothing it down on a clean part of the marver.
If you don't have a graphite marver, most glass beadmaking suppliers sell them, some of which mount on the torch, which is not a good place to pick up leaf/foil.