A dream come true!

I had a spectacular weekend!!!  I got to realize a dream that I have had for a Long Long time.  I got to try my hand a making lampwork glass beads!!  I had so much fun and I am hooked for life!

This is Paige.  She was my teacher.  I was so lucky to be the only one in the class yesterday.  I was so happy that she did not cancel.  I learned so much from her.

We started the day talking about materials and safety. 

While Paige gave me an overview of the day, she set me to work dipping the mandrels. 

Then she taught me how to flame-dry them.

Mandrels are the metal rods that the beads wrap around.  They can either be left to dry overnight or dried in the flame of the torch.

After we got a mandrel dried, Paige showed me how to make my first basic bead.

She heated the glass rod.

Then she started putting the hot glass on the mandrel.

Then, it was my turn to try!

These are my first three beads!!  The bead on the far left is my first bead.  It is a basic bead in my favorite color, purple.  The other two are three-color beads. The one on the righ has a texture done with a marver.

Then, we moved on to adding dots.  These are dots that I allowed to melt into the glass. 

Had I chosen, I could have left them raised.

And this bead combines dots and another technique using clear glass to create a flower bead.

I still need a bit of practice on this one. Hopefully, I will get some time this weekend.

And these are two of my three-color barrel beads. 

I was so happy that they came of the mandrel easily.

 And this was the last bead of the day.  I tried to combine several things.  I made a three-color bead, then I used a red stringer to draw the strip.  While the glass was still molten, I use a rake to move the red glass into the line that you see.  Then I filled in the space with the yellow dots.

I have to say, I am hooked!!!  I brought home a Kit to start working in my garage.  Then I spent all day Sunday cleaning to set up my space.  Today, I am going to buy the fuel for my torch and some more glass rods.  Hopefully, this weekend, I will be able to make some more beads.

Blessings,

Beth