About Me
From early on I have always been creative and I have tried my hand at a number of arts and crafts. Knitting sewing macramé, pastels, water colours, and tassel making were amongst the things I did.
In the 1980's I started an evening class in china painting followed by a two year part time course in the art of painting on china and porcelain. The colour theory and design principals I learnt on this course I now apply when making beads.
In the 1980's I started an evening class in china painting followed by a two year part time course in the art of painting on china and porcelain. The colour theory and design principals I learnt on this course I now apply when making beads.
A back injury led to six weeks enforced idleness, during this time my husband brought home a big bag of beads to keep the boredom away. It was in the summer of 2006 a friend dared me to take a bead making course. I had watched a demonstration and was given a go several years before, but could not get over the "fire" in front of me. On the course, we covered all the health and safety aspects of working with a torch and basic bead making and glass control. After that, I was hooked and soon progressed to oxygen-propane mix torch.
Apart from that days course, I am self taught. So, that's how I ended up in a little green shed at the bottom of the garden, happily making beads.
More recently I have started to add other aspects to my work. I make jewellery using my beads, and also make some of the silver findings I use in the jewellery making.
About Lampwork Beads
All my beads are shaped in the flame on a stainless steel mandrel and when formed, put into a kiln to anneal them. The annealing process takes several hours and then the beads are left in the kiln overnight to cool. They are removed from the kiln and left on the mandrel to soak in some warm water. This helps release the bead from the mandrel. Each bead is then cleaned with a diamond reamer to get rid of any residual bead release.
Sometimes I will add dichroic glass, copper, silver, gold leaf and cubic zirconas to enhance the design.
Kiln annealing the beads gives them strength and with the right treatment they will last a lifetime. However they are made of glass and will not stand up to harsh or abusive treatment. Normal, everyday wearing of beads in jeweller or as decorative items will not harm them. Beads can be affected by sprays such as perfume, hairspray, deodorant, etc, which builds up on the surface and discolours them. Always put spays on before putting on your jewellery. If they do start to look dirty or discoloured, a gentle rub over with a damp cloth will freshen them up.