Beads have been around since prehistoric times.

The earliest ones were made with seeds, nuts and materials like bone. Clay, metals, precious stones, shells and glass have all been fashioned into wearable art — in fact it is believed that beads were the earliest type of art.

What did people do with beads? Today we find them in collections and in jewelry of all kinds but beads weren’t always just items of glamour, they have been worn by hunters for good luck, indicate what social group a person belongs to, used to ward off evil of many kinds, boasted the wealth of many, and also used as cold hard cash. It’s believed that the Dutch bought Manhattan Island (present-day New York City) for $24 worth of beads and mirrors!

Glass beads have been found dating back to the 20th century BC. It seems that this art was developed as cultures prospered, and often disappeared when their societies fell.

Ancient Beads

Today, most people tend to think of Italy and Venice when it comes to decorative glass, since that’s where glasswork reached its very peak of technical and physical perfection. The glass artists of the island Murano were sworn to secrecy to protect the methods they used, and were actually threatened with the death penalty if they took their work elsewhere or exposed their secrets. The concentration of glass workers in this area led to a rapid advancement of technique, and today Venice and Murano are still known for their beautiful glass.

View of Venice, engraving by Bolognino Zaltieri, 1565, with hand colouring

Lampworking Today

This ancient craft is enjoying a resurgence and artists with a love of glass create not only beads but sculptures and vessels using various torches and kinds of glass.

The glass I use for my beads comes in rods, and there are a miriad of colours — placing an order can feel like being set free in a candy store!

In making my beads I use full rods like those pictured above as well as stringers (rods that are heated and pulled into a thinner diameter, sometimes as fine a whisker), and twisties (two or more colours of glass heated and twisted together as they are pulled creating a barber pole type effect).

Twisties and wigwag twisties

The glass is melted and wrapped around a stainless steel mandrel (rod) that has been coated with release so that the bead will slide off once it is finished and cooled. During the process of making the beads, stress builds up inside the glass which could cause the beads to crack at some point. In order to release this stress all the beads are annealed in a kiln, this means they are kept at a high temperature for a length of time to allow the glass to relax. They are then cooled very slowly ensuring quality and strength.

Melting glass with a Mega Minor torch