Category: beads

Beads From the Beginning.

By: Brian Kerkvliet c1995 Making the bead release, ” The Secret Formula”. My previous article on studio set up and safety laid the ground work for this column about some basics of bead making that are essential to create good pieces De-Art, (with a hole through them). Like the beginning of any good structure, beads […]

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Murrine Madness

By Brian Kerkvliet, copyright 4/1/97 Mosaic cane has a long and rich history that is important to understand if you want to get closer to the mind set of making cane. This comes to you if you spend time researching reading, thinking, and a lot of time in the studio! Many of my biggest insights […]

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Society of Glass Beadmakers, Under the Magnifying Glass

By Brian Kerkvliet, Copyright 1996 The Society of Glass Beadmakers Is going through yet another growth spurt! This is the third year of their existence as an organized group, and already it has grown more than expected. In August SGB will be holding a special conference in Seattle, the annual “Gathering”. I want to take […]

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Marbvelous Marbles

By Brian Kerkvliet, Copyright 1996 Glass marbles have been around for a long time. Your great grandfather probably played with them when he was a kid. Most of the older marbles have ended up in someone’s collection. Most likely these collectors are children at heart, or perhaps they played with marbles as a kid, but […]

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THE BEAD GETS BIGGER

by Brian Kerkvliet copyright 1995 In the last few articles I focused mainly on the development of style and various goings-on in the lampworking world. Now I think it’s time to get back to some of the nuts and bolts of flameworking! In my experience as a teacher and someone who is plugged into the […]

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THE FLAME GREW BRIGHTER

By Brian Kerkvliet, Copyright 1995 At the 25th anniversary of the Glass Art Society conference held in Asheville North Carolina, this past May (13-14 1995), there was a great enthusiasm for flameworking and beads. It is this refreshing energetic enthusiasm that I want to talk about! It seemed to envelop nearly every conversation to some […]

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Magic Kiln Tactics

By Brian Kerkvliet, Copyright 1995 In my last issue I mentioned that I was going to evaluate the types of kilns that are out there for bead workers to use. In addition to the basic issues that I covered in my first column, on kilns, annealing and reducing the health risks that vermiculite pose to […]

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Flameworking Health & Safety Guidelines

Like any craft or hobby, glassworking has some inherent risk of injury to the artist. As interest in lampworking has increased, it has become clear that some general information on potential health and safety risks would be useful to many people. The following information is intended to increase your enjoyment of lampworking, while adding to […]

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Dichroic Glass

  The Mysteries of Dichroic Glass By Brian Kerkvliet © 9/20/96 In the last several years there has been a growing interest in the use of dichroic glass. There are many reasons for the attraction to the spanky glitter effect that it produces. The most common being: “It sells my work”, “I love the way […]

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Finding Your Style

By Brian Kerkvliet, Copyright 1995 My last article, Magic Kiln Tactics, used up too many of my left brain cells, so this issue I want to explore the more abstract and elusive topic of style and creativity. Hopefully it will feed the right side of my brain, giving time for my left side to regenerate. […]

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