Monday, January 29, 2007

Out Of My Kiln, Mosaics





Mosaics are coming out of my kiln at the moment and I have to say these are just so yummy. Will be one of the styles that I will be offering lined in silver of course and eventually gold. Will do these in some other color combinations as well. The golds,browns and greens and the pinks, purples and blues. This bead is one of the most difficult and time consuming that I do. There are over fifty layers of glass VERY carefully placed to create each mosaic layer that you see.
Im going to post a video from You Tube in the next few days of a lampworker making a bead at the torch. I know that many of you aren't really sure how these beads are made or what lampworking exactly is. It won't be me but there are a few videos which are really good and will give you a good idea of what this amazing art form is all about. So stay tuned. Lots more fun beads and lampworking coming your way. k

6 comments:

Maryam in Marrakesh said...

So very VERY pretty, K!

Linda O'Neill said...

Gorgeous Karen...keep 'em coming!

wishful thinking said...

Just beautiful! How long does it take to make one bead?

kstyle said...

Thank you all for the kind words. It takes about 20 minutes to pull all the stringers in preparation and then about 15-20 minutes per bead at the torch which is long for me. It's very intense as in you can't move the wrong way or get burned which I have on numerous occasions. You also can't stop once you have started. The bead cracks when you take it out of the flame for any length of time. It has to go finished directly from flame to kiln. So there's no stopping to answer the phone or deal with a crisis. My boys have finally learned that they are on their own when I'm torching. k

kstyle said...

Thank you all for the kind words. It takes about 20 minutes to pull all the stringers in preparation and then about 15-20 minutes per bead at the torch which is long for me. It's very intense as in you can't move the wrong way or get burned which I have on numerous occasions. You also can't stop once you have started. The bead cracks when you take it out of the flame for any length of time. It has to go finished directly from flame to kiln. So there's no stopping to answer the phone or deal with a crisis. My boys have finally learned that they are on their own when I'm torching. k

Monogram Momma said...

Beautiful work, K!