Free Lampwork Tutorial :: Plant Poke Flowers

If you're a lampworker, you know that those 1/16" mandrels bend so easily when you're trying to get your beads off, and usually don't last very long without becoming wonky.  What do you do with mandrels you can no longer use?  Make plant pokes out of them!

These are some plank poke flowers I have made.  While it's a beginner project, I thought I'd show you how I make mine.  I'm sure you'll have some other ideas of what you can do too!  It's a good way to use up your glass shorts!

Above, I'm starting with a glass short to make the base of the flower.  The tool I am using is the Hold Me Tight tool from Graceful Customs.  This is an essential tool, in my opinon, especially for shorts!

Heat up the end of your mandrel (not too much or it will melt) and the glass short.  Wind the glass onto the tip of the mandrel as you would if you were making a bead.  Do not use bead release on these flowers, or they won't stick on the mandrel! (In my best Wizard of Oz voice - please ignore the dirty messy work bench!!!!).

Here's your glass blob.  Move it around, allowing gravity help you to get it into a nice round, pea sized shape.

 Here's the pretty shape! It's still a little hot so it looks red. Notice the nice shape?

Gently flatten the blob on the top, very evenly, on a tool such as your torch mounted marver, or a graphite marver, or even a lentil press.  Just make sure the shape is nice and the way you want it cuz you're stuck with it at the next step!

 Next, you're going to get either a longer short (oxymoron there!) or a rod, and wind the glass around the pretty base shape as you would a disc bead.

Make as many wraps as you want, paying attention and heating the whole flower occasionally so it doesn't shock and break. Make several wraps, round and round.

Here's how it looks from the side.  Make sure you like the shape, and the number of wraps.  Feel free to use other tools to move the glass or shape it up to the way you like it.  I like to have my large tweezers on hand in case I have to bend the glass a certain way.

Sometimes I like to add a little interest to the flowers by using my small pliers to create texture.  To do this, just heat the glass in a small area, and quickly bite the glass with the pliers.  Then move the heat a little bit to the right, and do the same thing.  Repeat the whole way around the flower.  If you find that some of the bites are too far apart, just go in and heat that blank area and bite with the pliers again!

Here's how it looks from the side.  This is your opportunity to use your large tweezers to even up the shape - lightly heat where you want to move the glass at this point, or it will sag on the end of the mandrel.  Also, make sure you keep flashing your glass in the flame to avoid thermal shock.

Here's the finished plant poke flower!  You need to anneal this as normal, using the proper anneal schedule.  Here's another flower I made, but instead of using the pliers to create bites in the glass, I used the tweezers to "wave" the glass for a different shape.

By now, I'm sure you're saying, OH, I can do...this...that...the other!  So some day when you don't know what to make, make some plant pokes!

Susan Kennedy

Lampwork Tutorial Roundup

How many lampworkers are reading this blog, raise your hands?  Do you like to get info on tutorials to try out? Are you a new lampworker and would like some ideas?  This post is for you! 

One of the most important books, in my humble opinion, for any lampworker would be Corina Tettinger's book, "Passing the Flame." If you want a comprehensive book on glass beadmaking, I haven't found another that is this good. It is somewhat expensive, but worth it! The link above is for Amazon.com.

Another publication of Corina's that I have found very valuable is her Spotlight Publication, "Spotlight on Silver."  There are many excellent mini tutorials in this little publication on how to use silver foil in your beadmaking. The link above is for Frantz Art Glass, where you can find this mini book. Corina also teaches all over the world, if you're interested in taking a class from her.

For inspiration, there is nothing better than 1000 Beads by Lark, Kristina Logan Juror.  There is so much eye candy in this book, you can't help but be inspired by the glass beads that are included.

For fun, I really like Jennifer Geldard's tutorial, The Bird!  She not only is a glass beadmaker but also an artist.  She makes some awesome birds and this is the one I made from her tutorial. Unfortunately, at the time I am writing this post, I can only find one tutorial available, which is the Ornate Series.  Here's a link to her web site, maybe you can ask if she will be publishing The Bird tutorial again.

Another FREE tutorial I really like is from Laura at Chestnut Ridge Designs - she has some awesome tutorials on her blog and offers them for free!  How generous!  Here are some beads I made from one of her tutorials (the link goes to her tutorial page on her blog).

Another tutorial that I really enjoy is from Patsy LeBlanc - her Tide Pool tutorial from etsy.  This tutorial gives you a great basis to make the beads she shows, but also to go forward and make your own discoveries.  She has the silvered enamel powder available in her etsy shop if you use up all the powder your receive with your tutorial!

If you're feeling a huge lack of inspiration, as I am, you could purchase Kim Neely's "Creativity Bootcamp" tutorial. Kim's beads were the first beads I ever coveted on eBay, although I never purchased from her - her beads typically went for astronomical prices!  This is a great way to help you jump start your creativity and get out of the creative slump that we all sometimes experience.

Another resource which is awesome is to subscribe to Soda Lime Times - it's an emag published once per month for $4.95 - what a bargain!  Many many well-known lampwork bead artists provide tutorials in the magazine, and you can purchase back issues as well.

In addition to all of these great tutorials, you can always find free tutorials on glass purveyors web sites, or YouTube.  I like Glass Diversions for some great basic tutorials on using CZs, or working with Copper Leaf/Foil. 

Frantz Art Glass provides tutorials on their blog as well as showing you examples of all the new colors that are constantly being produced, by Effetre and CIM. 

Mary Lockwood offers some free lampwork tutorials on her blog!

Lampwork Etc. also has a section that provides free lampwork tutorials.  

And don't forget we have some great FREE lampwork tutorials right here at the AJE blog!

In fact, if you Google, Free Lampwork Tutorials, you will find so many your head will spin!  I hope this post today was of some value to the lampworkers who read this blog, and I hope you enjoy these great tutorial resources!

Susan Kennedy