Create Your Own Glass Beads for Your Jewelry.

Beadmaking is a very fulfilling process. A single bead can be as simple or as intricate as the artist desires. To begin, a small amount of glass is wrapped around the tip of a mandrel. The piece is maintained at an elevated temperature by a torch burning around 1500F - 1800F. Depending on the distance away from the torch head, the flame has a number of "regions" of heat. When adding glass to the piece, the glass is held close to the tip of the torch. To keep the piece hot, the tip of the flame is generally used.

Once a small amount of glass has been added to the mandrel, the artist can begin adding layers to develop the pattern of the bead. As new layers are added to the piece, it begins to take on a new character. There are a number of decorative techniques that can be used and are actually implemented in glassblowing as well. Among these are pulled strings and mini-millefiori. Strings are simply hair-thin strands of glass that can be wrapped around the piece or used to make small dots. Millefiori is much more difficult to make but can yield a much more breath-taking effect.

Millefiori begins as a number of different colors of glass. The goal is to create a small pattern that can be used repetitively throughout a piece. First, a single layer is used as a foundation, generally, this tends to be the core of the cane as circular millefiori are easiest to make. Next, alternating layers and colors are added to the cane to create a specific or repeating effect. Once the entire can has been pieced together, it is fused and pulled to thin it out. After bringing it down to room temperature, it can be cut into 1/4" pieces to be used on a larger piece. Generally, millefiori are used for letters or small pictures.

Once the artist is done shaping and decorating the bead, it is annealed to room temperature to ensure that it does not shatter. If the bead has imperfections, there are also a number of tools that can be used to file down rough surfaces or shape the core.