| Did You Know?
A little over a year ago, I didn't know much about glass other than you can see through it and it breaks. In recent years I've come to appreciate the beauty of colored glass and I've learned a lot about it. Glass has characteristics like no other substance. It is described as a "solid liquid".
Glass was discovered by accident on a beach by Phoenician sailors in what is now Syria in (get ready for this) 5000 BC. It seems the sailors used stones to raise their cooking pots above the fire. This particular beach had no stones, so they unloaded the cargo of their ship to use instead. As it happened, the cargo was blocks of soda lime. So the fire, soda lime, and sand combined to make molten glass.
As glass was traded around the world, the Italians took center stage in glass development in the Mediterranean and eastern European areas. An Italian invented clear soda lime glass around 1450 AD. Soda lime glass is the type of glass used today in Lampwork. Later it was discovered that the addition of chemicals would create colors in the soda lime glass. That was probably an accident too. I envision a container of some chemical being knocked over from a shelf and falling into the mix, creating a beautiful blue or green.
Italy produces the majority of soda lime glass, commonly called Murano glass. The name Murano comes from the Island Murano where it is produced. You probably have heard of Italian Murano Glass vases and decorative items. The glass factories of Italy were moved to the Island of Murano when it became clear that the process was creating a fire hazard to the area. Because of the remote location, it was easy to keep the formulas and secrets of the industry closely guarded. The glass formulas remain family secrets today, however, the Lampwork industry opened up near the end of the 20th Century. The techniques are now more openly shared. Many of the world's finest glass artists are still located in Italy. Today, American artists travel to Italy to learn first-hand the Lampwork techniques of Italian glass artisans.
Lampwork has been around for thousands of years. The term "Lampwork" comes from the use of oil lamps or candles to melt glass. The first known ornamental Lampwork beads were found in Egypt (probably in pyramids) and were dated to 2500 BC. Early Lampwork beads were also found in North Africa, Japan, and other parts of the world. |
