imakebeads's Profile

Bio

I am a self representing artist and have been making lampwork beads since 2002. I made polymer clay beads for about 8 years before getting interested in making glass beads. I have always been interested in arts and crafts.

I use Effetre glass also known as Moretti to create my beads. It is an Italian glass that comes in rod form. I melt the glass with a torch. I wrap the glass around a stainless steel rod known as a mandrel dipped in bead release to make the bead. Then I add more glass until I am happy with the size. Then I add more colors to create a design. It can be simple dots, stringer or a twistie made with several colors of glass. I occasionally use frit and silver foil.

After I am finished making the beads I anneal them in a kiln which helps relieve the stress in the glass. Annealing the beads make them more strong and durable and less likely to break.

After they are annealed I clean the holes with a Dremel with a diamond bit to remove the bead release so the hole is clean for stringing.

I no longer have a webiste, but you can checkout my boyfriends website. Go have a look at www.imakebeads4u.com His etsy user ID is agate58.

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