Life on a String: 35 Centuries of the Glass Bead: Videos

Al Janelle uses glass to paint vegetation detail on a bead. He also demonstrates how to wrap and decorate two coils of glass around the bead to form two lizard bodies, plus attaching appendages.

Covers: Shaping, Artwork and Designs. Filigrana. Latticino, Ribbons, Furrowing, Soft and Boro Glass, Mandrel Bead, Inside Out Tubing Beads, Bead Sets, Pinching, and Poking.

Covering a variety of techniques for working with borosilicate glass, including: Shaping, Artwork and Designs, Fillagrees, Ribbons, Inside Out, Frit, Tubing Beads, Pendants, Bead Sets, Dot Boxes, Frogs, Lizards, Dragonflies, and Fish.

Kate has filmed her methods of working with Spectrum stained glass remnants to make lamp work glass beads. She has experimented and found ways to stretch the glass into sringers, make latticcino and enable those who follow her instructions to enjoy making beads for fun and to become professional.

While in Firozabad which is considered to be the bangle capital of the world, Faulkner visits many glass factories and shops, as the viewer watches the many steps involved in making the glass bangles. The bangles themselves are made in the glass factories by winding hot glass onto a turned cylinder or mandrel. This technique creates coils of glass which are then scored, counted, bundled and taken to other finishing shops. There the split rings are fused, most are cut and polished, some decorated with gold or silver lustre. The technique of creating colored bangles is also shown. Again, glassblowers are seen throwing glass rods to one another, and a short narration regarding child labor and worker health issues is also discussed. A bonus segment at the end of this video shows how strings of beads are made by gathering a small gather of glass, blowing into the pipe and stretching the glass into a small mold which turns out a hollow rod of glass. These rods are then strung, and as the necks of the beads are broken, a string of beads is created.

A five-episode documentary. The series was shot on location on five continents and presents a truly stunning ptcture of how a tiny object transformed human thinking and influenced social behaviour over the eons.

"Doug Remschneier demonstrates how to blow beads with step by step instructions. He will show you how to use borosilicate colored frits and powders, how to pull points, or how to construct a blown bead using the much easier "Tube & Rod" method. He makes five lightweight beads, including how to make a native had, which is one of Doug’s signature pieces. As an added feature to this video, he shows how to turn a blown bead into a miniature perfume bottle with a flared bottom"

In the Master Class video, Logan demonstrates her process of beadmaking at the torch, finishing the glass by cold working, and incorporating her glass and silverwork into completed pieces of jewelry. Logan also discusses the history of glass beads and shares the philosophy of her work. Says Logan, "Beads are part of my lifelong fascination with art and ornamentation. Glass beads form a historical thread, connecting people and cultures throughout our history."

Watch Suellen Fowler demonstrate for her class, Flamework Glass Sculpting: Solid and Blown Forms, which will cover a variety of techniques for creating sculptures in colored borosilicate glass. Through the class, Fowler will demonstrate cane decoration and patterns, the use of commercial and hand mixed color, and techniques for realizing a successful interpretation of natural and fantasy subjects.

Watch Heather Trimlett demonstrate for her Beadmaking with an Introduction to Glass Buttons class at The Studio. Students of this class will learn to work smarter and more efficiently in order to gain the maximum return on torch time. The class will take the mystery out of clear casing, stringer work, large-hole beads, disc shaping. The instructor will demonstrate her "no-fail" way to create a successful hollow bead. The magic of making perfect twists and then applying the twists also will be covered in the class.