Blooming Beads
Lampwork Floral Beads
by Lauri Copeland

Intermediate project

Winter is approaching, but a medley of flowers may be all that’s needed to give a boost to the dreary days ahead.

Lampwork flower beads continue to be one of the most admired and requested styles of beads that I produce. Those new to lampworking often ask, “How do you get the flowers inside the bead?” Collectors and jewelry makers continue to appreciate the endless styles of flower beads available.

Here is one variation to add to your bouquet.

More bead projects available in our Step-by-Step Beads

Before I start the bead itself, I make the stringers. A stringer is a thin rod of glass that is pulled from a thicker rod of glass. To make a stringer, heat the tip of a rod (for this bead I used white and transparent cobalt) in the torch until there is a molten ball on the end that is just larger than a pea. Remove this from the flame, allowing the ball to chill slightly. (By giving the glass a couple of seconds to cool, you will have better control in pulling a stringer that is about 2mm-3mm in diameter.) Grab the tip of the ball with tweezers and pull slowly and evenly. Repeat this process for each of the colors you are using.

Heat the rod you are using for the base color - for this project, I used black. Wrap a base bead onto your heated mandrel. Flatten this by gently rolling it on your marver. This will create a smooth base to which you can apply your flowers.

Using the white stringer, apply five dots evenly spaced around the center. By working the stringer just outside the edge of the flame, you will have better control over the size of the dots. Add more white dots in between the first five dots, just to the left and then on the right. Give the entire bead a quick warming by rotating it in the flame. This will slightly melt in the dots and keep the glass evenly heated.

While keeping the bead evenly heated in the back of your flame to prevent the bead from cooling and possibly cracking, heat the transparent cobalt stringer. Position the bead and stringer as you did in Step 2 and add cobalt dots on top of the white dots and partially melt them onto the surface of your bead. Do not allow the glass to become too hot, or molten, as this will distort the design.

Concentrate the flame in one area between two of the original sets of dots. Remove from the flame and push the stainless steel pick into this warmed area, creating a small plunged hole. This will create the center of the flowers, by drawing the “petals” inward. Continue to add these plunged centers around the bead between each pair of dots; there will be a total of five.

The final part of this bead is the encasing. Although time consuming and sometimes frustrating to make, encased beads have a special appeal. A transparent casing adds magnification and enhances the surface design of your bead. Heat the end of a clear rod to a molten blob while keeping the bead just outside the flame to keep it warm. (As noted in Step 3, the bead needs to remain warm enough to prevent cracking, but if it is too hot the design will smear. This takes time and care.)

Cover the entire bead with the molten-clear by swiping it onto the bead. When applying, push the clear down onto the bead to prevent trapping air bubbles. Add clear until the entire surface is covered and all gaps are filled. Return the bead to the flame and heat evenly to smooth the casing.

Slowly work the bead into your desired shape. After the bead is finished, evenly heat the entire bead farther out in the flame. Remove the bead from the heat while turning the mandrel to maintain the bead’s shape. After a few seconds, when the glow fades, place the bead in your kiln and anneal. I anneal Moretti/Effetre beads for one hour at 960°F and ramp down 100°F per hour. When the kiln reaches 500°, it automatically shuts off and slowly cools to room temperature.

Feel free to experiment using different color combinations - this versatile technique offers endless possiblities.

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