Adventures with Glass and Fire

In the simplest terms, lampwork is the use of a torch to melt glass into a desired shape. For me, that means using a Nortel Minor Burner to fashion Morretti or Effetre soda lime glass into beads.  My torch is a surface mix design, which combines oxygen (supplied by an o2 concentrator) with propane (supplied by a handy barbecue grill tank) to create a flame hot enough to melt glass with a decent amount of speed.  There are much larger torches out there, capable of producing larger and/or hotter flames, but the relatively small Minor fits my needs quite well.

A Brief History of Lampwork

Depending on how liberal you want to be with your definition of ‘lampwork,’ it’s not inconceivable to say that lampworking is the oldest form of glass work known to man.  While the primitive ‘beehive’ furnaces used in the earliest forms of glass work did not have the traditional fixed flame so strongly associated with lampwork, the techniques and materials used with these furnaces would all be quite familiar to modern lampwork artisans.

The beehive furnace, essentially a small clay oven that looked like its namesake and which allowed air to enter at the bottom of the furnace and exit at the top, created a hot vent of flame and gas that was perfect for manipulating small amounts of glass. Beads and core-formed vessels (see below), were created on these furnaces and were treated as objects of art with great value. The core-formed vessels created by the Egyptians, for example, were highly prized and used only in religious ceremonies by the rich and powerful.

When the Romans began experimenting with the beehive furnaces, they made some refinements of their own. Multiple heat vents were added to the furnaces, allowing several artists to work from the heat of one fire. In addition, the Romans added easier access to glass within the furnace by creating small doors in the beehive.  But their most important refinement was the invention of the blowpipe. Rather than pulling the molten glass out of the fire with a solid metal rod, the glass artisans used a hollow pipe, which was then used to blow into the hot glass to create a bubble.

The invention of blown glass eclipsed the use of core-formed vessels and most other forms of glass work in very short order. Though beads were still created, they paled in comparison to the amazing and intricate work developed through blown glass.  The Italians eventually dominated the field of glass work and set up shop on the island of Murano around 1290 AD, where the fires needed to craft their art would not endanger the lives and properties of their neighbors.

The discovery of crystallo, a clear soda glass, in 1450 was a great boon to the rising field of alchemy. Clear glass vials and other scientific apparatuses were created from the glass, but the glass-blowing process was slow and energy-intensive, making it useful only for manipulating large amounts of glass.  Experimentation led to the discovery that a stream of air forced into a flame would increase the heat of the flame, creating enough heat to melt and work with small amounts of glass. And so modern lampworking was born.

The first lampworkers blew through a tube into their flame, but this has obvious drawbacks. Even using hyperventilating apprentices produced only an unreliable source of air. Foot bellows were eventually introduced, which allowed for much more steady and reliable streams of air into the flame, allowing extended periods of lampwork with relative ease. Further refinements have progressed the art and science of lampworking over the years, including the introduction of tanked oxygen, oxygen concentrators, and the invention of Pyrex in the early 20th century.

Today, lampworking is becoming better known and the tools and supplies needed to craft glass ornaments in your own home can be had for less than a thousand dollars. Lampwork artisans from all over the world make and sell their wares, often through eBay or other online venues.