On December 8th Lady Ethelfleda taught an excellent glass bead making class for our Shire. What follows is a pictorial overview of this really fun class.

Here's the tools we used, from left to right: mashers, graphite marver, brass marver thingie, a groovy tool, a bolt used as a tool and glass rest, flame proof surface, dental pick, hollow stainless steel chopstick to be used as a punty, SAFETY GLASSES (shaded to reduce soda flare), container of bead release, nippers, Mapp gas for fuel and a hot head torch (this is a specially designed torch head for use with Mapp gas). It has extra air holes to allow extra oxygen to be pulled in preventing muddying of colors. Also used but not shown in this picture are mandrels coated with bead separator, glass scissors for cutting molten glass, ceramic fibre blanket (or you could use vermiculite warmed in a crock pot), fire extinguisher – just in case.

We used Moretti glass rods. Moretti is a brand name. These are Italian glass rods, pliable at around 1200 degrees F., purchased by the pound.

After putting on our SAFETY GLASSES the gas on the secured torches was turned on and they were lit with a striker and flint. The glass is introduced to the direct heat slowly, to prevent it shattering from shock. It is moved in and out of the hot air far above the flame and then gradually brought in closer. The glass is then held into the flame and it begins melting.

The mandrel can be introduced to the heat more quickly, but must be red hot also before the molten glass can be applied. When both the mandrel and the glass are red hot and ready to go the molten glass is touched to the mandrel and the mandrel is slowly turned. This draws the hot glass onto the turning mandrel. While this is going on the glass is kept in the heat of the flame to keep it pliable. When you have as much glass onto the mandrel as desired the glass rod is pulled away and laid on the rest, hot part elevated.

Keep turning that mandrel! If you stop turning the mandrel, glass will blob up towards the bottom; but if you keep slowly turning the mandrel and nice round bead will happen. At this time you can call it done if you wish. Blast it back into the flame – keep turning it.

Then remove it from the heat, count to 10 or 15 and gently tap it onto a heat proof surface. You're listening for a tink tink sound vs. a thunk thunk. The tink tink means it's cooled enough to be put to bed in the ceramic fibre blanket so it can cool the rest of the way slowly, preventing cracking from shock. A thunk thunk means it's not quite cool enough to put to bed and some fibers might stick; give it a couple more seconds and try again.

But who wants to stop now?? Lady Ethelfleda demonstrated applying white dots. While the already formed bead is kept warm the white glass is melted. Then the hot white dots are applied. When satisfied, the whole bead is blasted and then put to bed.

A stringer is a very thin piece of glass which has been drawn out. You can use it like a glass rod, except it being so much thinner melts more quickly. It can be heated and laid onto a hot bead to apply a thin strip of color. One way to make a stringer is to heat a glass rod in the middle and when it is molten pull the ends away. The molten middle section draws out into a very long thin piece. This is broken in the middle and you have two stringers with handles.

Laticino anyone? No, I'm not sending out for coffee. Our very loose translation in English bead language is "twisty thing." Lady Ethelfleda demonstrated the preparation of red and white laticino. First a bit of red is heated and applied to the end of a punty (we used a stainless steel chop stick).

Then a blob of heated white glass is applied to the same punty.

A second punty is joined and the whole operation is heated together. Then this is removed from the flame and slowly pulled apart while each punty is twisted in opposite directions for all you're worth. Reeeeeaaalllly cool!

Remember those beads we put to bed? Well, they're cooled off now and ready to come out and play. The mandrels we used in making these beads were coated with bead release. It's like a ceramic powder. When you're ready to remove the bead, scrape or pull off the bead release from the end of the mandrel and gently twist the bead back and forth until it gives and you can pull it off. You might have to hold the end of the mandrel with some pliers.

The inside of the bead will have a coating of bead release. This can be removed by reaming the inside of the bead with a tiny file.

Here's some of our bounty.

After everyone left, I decided to experiment with some of my scrap glass. Here's the beads that resulted

Here's some new Shire treasure which Lady Ethelfleda made for us. Archers and weapon throwers – notice the bulls eye beads? Check out the laticino too.

Thank you Lady Ethelfleda for traveling so far to share your knowledge with us; it was fantastic! I am definitely addicted to this great new aspect of glass!

For a historical discussion on this art form please see the January 2002 issue of our Shire's newsletter, The Purgatory Press.