Lampworking. Flameworking, Glassblowing? What are they? Why are they different?
Which one should I try?
“Lampworking” and “flameworking” are the same thing, referring to the primary use of a torch to produce the source heat for the blower to use on borosilicate glass. “Glassblowing” is done using long metal pipes and metal rods to gather globs of molten soda-lime glass in a furnace. Then use a sitting bench for tooling and shaping, and an active flaming hole to reheat the glass at the ends of your metal rod or pipe. I’m gonna tell you a broad run-down of each experience of these mediums and what I recommend trying first. Our homepage will guide you through some common questions:
“Lampworking” is the traditional term for working with glass while using a torch, however back during old Venetian times the phrase was coined because the primary heat source tools used lamp oil to produce the flame. The modern version of Lampworking has adopted the word Flameworking and refers to the use of a torch that uses propane and pressurized oxygen to produce a flame. These terms are used interchangeably in glass studios along with “Torchworking” but they are all referring to the same activity.
Flameworking is done standing up or sitting down in front of a pressurized torch that can reach temperatures upwards of 4,000+ degrees. Borosilicate glass is the primary material used with Flameworking to be manipulated into anything your imagination can think of. Borosilicate glass is not a heat conductor so you can actually balance the glass ends in your hands while melting inside the fire. Although this method of glassblowing is used to create precise, detailed objects, the possibilities can vary across a wide array of shapes and sizes. It’s all up to your prep of each step and working within the bounds of your personal physical limitations.
When starting off in lampworking, or any new creative endeavor, you can create beautiful accidents pretty frequently until you can intentionally create clean and consistent glass. When you mess up, you can always melt down your glass to try your technique again or melt down your mistake for it to evolve into a new idea of creation. In that way, borosilicate is forgiving when you make a mistake while melting or if your work doesn’t come out the way you wanted.
“Glassblowing” is primarily referring to the use of a “hot shop” and is often done with an assistant called a “gaffer”. Although there are a lot of things that you can do solo, a common problem with glassblowers is not having an experienced enough gaffer that is easy to communicate with. If there’s a glassblowing studio close to you, I would recommend learning how to be a valuable gaffer. In this Hotshop you’re sitting, standing, and moving around a lot more than Flameworking. You’re using long metal tubes and rods to gather glass at the end of to manipulate and is flashed inside a hot hole to maintain the heat while you work it. You may have seen this online or in popular shows like Blown Away. ‘
There’s a double-edged sword to glassblowing. There’s a do-or-die nature, in that if your glass falls off the end of your metal pole or rod, then that’s pretty much going to shatter on the floor and you’ll have to restart. But that could be exactly what you’re looking for in a hobby, making each move you do that much more thrilling as you wield that in-the-moment power.
While there are a plethora of differences between these two forms of hot glass blowing, I’m going to go over what I think are key differences to consider before taking a deep dive into either medium. The differences in both of these forms of hot glass blowing can vary on basic setup, tools, glass material, and work flow.
The main difference of the basic setup between the two forms is that in lampworking, you will be squared up in front of a fire proof table that your torch is sitting on with your arms outstretched in front of your body in a sort of L-shape. In Glassblowing you’re moving from in front of the furnace, to standing in front of your shaping table, to flashing glass in front of the gloyhole, to sitting on your shaping bench, and repeat.
The hand tools in a Hot Shop environment are often bigger in size and weight, which will result in a heftier price tag versus lampworking tools. But I would say one of the primary differences is the feel of your glass while working with it. Due to the Coefficiency Of Expansion of borosilicate in flameworking, the blower is often working the glass while it’s glowing hot inside of the flame and briefly outside of the flame because the glass is rapidly cooling down outside of the flame. In a hotshop setting using Soda-lime Silicate, the glass is shaped on a special sitting bench that’s used to help keep your work on center with one hand and tooling with the other as it slowly cools down.
There are some very obvious differences between Flameworking and Glassblowing, yet some similarities that can be used as inspiration for either medium. If you consider yourself a tactile learner that retains information better when you can work hands-on and learn in the moment, than both of these mediums would be an excellent way to exercise this learning style. Visual learners may find themselves drawn to these mediums as well. Through the application of almost all of your senses, you can find yourself completely immersed in the flow state while practicing either of these hot mediums.
Although your heat source in Flameworking is more often in a fixed position, you will find yourself in deep horse stance trying to catch the right angle heating up the face of your piece, swaying from side to side keeping rhythm with your rotation at the same time, stepping back from the torch to pull glass down to a smaller diameter in front of your body, or in a power stance as you challenge yourself to focus on the development of a technique you’ve been trying.
If you really want to blow glass but you don’t have that much money, piecing together tools and materials for a flameworking setup is much more realistic for a beginner glass blower than a Hot Shop setup. Ideally, I would recommend finding a glass studio near you, this way you’re immersed in the glass culture and can talk shop with people close by. Although, there are plenty of online communities to converse with and it can’t hurt to just reach out to any glassblower online. The worst that can happen is they don’t answer your questions or ignore you, nothing bad. This culture immersion will help you grow your technical knowledge and build relations with local glassblowers. If a local studio is out of the question or the glass studio is too far to be immersed in the culture on a regular basis, then consider working out of your garage.
I am currently in the process of creating a thorough online Flameworking class. This glass class will start with the Fundamentals class that will have a step-by-step approach to creating high-quality glassworks. Flameworking can be a lot to take in. Initially, the course is going to jump right into On-torch fundamentals. It’s made to offer visual aids from a hands on point of view for different kinds of learning types.
All in all, I want to share the beauty of the process of flameworking. I want there to be more open creative possibilities in flameworking. This course is structured to be a source of education in addition to in-person studio classes. In my opinion, no digital source can ever fully replace having a physical instructor in real time to bounce ideas off of and talk about areas of improvement. This program is made to be a supplemental source of perspective and a step-by-step structured approach. The tone is going to be set towards people that have never touched a torch, know what borosilicate glass is, has just started to get into the medium, or have been a part of a culture around flameworking but never got their hands on a torch. So for current advanced blowers, the info may sound over articulated but I guarantee everyone from all ranges of skill will find some useful tips and tricks.
At the bottom of the page, you can submit your contact information to get on the NeWsLeTtEr list to receive more information on the premiere launch of the course.
