ArtFire

Petroleum Green Lime Apricot Black And Ivory Organic Handmade Lampwork Glass Focal Bead

Petroleum green, lime green, apricot, ivory and black make up this unique organic handmade lampwork glass focal bead. This beautiful handmade bead began as an ivory bead with an intricate crazing pattern created by the ivory glass. I added some layers of petroleum green and lime green trailing around it with a final layer of apricot for a splash of color. The petroleum has a wonderful webbing pattern next to it due to a reaction between the glass. This organic bead has a lot of character and would look great made into a pendant strung on a leather necklace. It would also look fabulous as a fan pull dangling beneath your favorite ceiling fan. This is a bead with a lot of potential to become anything you want.

Measures 27mm x 24mm x 6.5mm
Hole Size 1/16th

This petroleum, lime, apricot an ivory lampwork glass bead is handmade by me, Covergirlbeads glass artisan, Charlotte Hayes. My handmade beads are made one at a time in my studio along the Texas gulf coast.

Take pride and buy handmade. Support your worldwide and local artisans. Buy handmade! You'll be getting unique beads, jewelry and handcrafted items that only a few will ever own. Some items are even one of a kind!

I use domestic shipping with delivery confirmation and ship internationally at reasonable rates. International buyers are responsible for any and all customs duties, taxes, vat or any other expense that may be added to your package entering your country.

Lampwork is the process of melting glass with a torch. I melt glass using my Carlisle mini cc torch winding it onto a metal rod called mandrel. The mandrel is dipped in a silica based clay we call bead release to prevent the glass from sticking to the mandrel. I use a variety of Moretti/Effetre Italian glass, Vetrofond, Lausha, CIM, Double Helix, Reichenbach, Bullseye, and TAG glass. I also use CZ cubic zirconias, dichroic glass, .999 fine silver, copper, silver leaf, gold leaf and palladium to add interesting designs and create elegant to organic styles of beads. After forming the bead, it is placed in the kiln to go through the annealing process.

Annealing is a MUST. It is the process where I place my beads in my preheated digitally controlled Glass Hive kiln and allow them to rest for several hours in a glowing heat bath until the glass is the same temperature all over. This relieves stress in the bead. Then the temperature is slowly ramped down overnight until the beads are completely cooled to room temperature. This process takes hours and adds strength and durability to each bead. BEADS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ANNEALED HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF CRACKING DUE TO STRESS AND THERMAL SHOCK.

Cleaning the bead release out of the hole is very important. I use an electric dremel with a diamond bit to clean each bead individually. Clean bead holes make for a nicer construction for artisans to assemble their jewelry. If you will inspect the cheap imports, you will notice they are filled with bead release and you should question whether or not they were kiln annealed. Always buy handmade!

After cleaning and inspecting each bead, numerous pictures are taken in an effort to get just the perfect photo for you to view. This is can be very time consuming but worth every minute to ensure you see quality photos. Sometimes beads can be very stubborn and nearly impossible to show their true beauty.

I am a member of self representing artists SRA #H98

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