Making Wine Stoppers - Working Big

Many people use lampwork beads to create functional pieces such as wine stoppers. I have to admit that for the most part, wine stoppers have not appealed to me. Too often the decorated stoppers look like a bunch of beads stuck someplace they don’t really belong or the size and scale of the beads seems wrong in relationship to the stopper. For these reasons I was never interested in attempting to make wine stoppers, that is, until my friend Kathy Sancken of Artwhim Glass Studio posted a picture of some amazing pieces a year ago or so. Her designs were beautiful and the scale of the glass piece to the wine stopper base was perfect. After seeing her designs I had a new appreciation for lampworked wine stoppers, so I found a vendor, ordered some blank stoppers and the next thing you know I had wine stoppers to give as Christmas gifts.

One of the recipients of said gift came to me a couple weeks ago seeking a donation for a silent auction fundraiser that her employer, the Utah Rivers Council, was having. She thought one of my wine stoppers would be a hit, and being a sucker for any sort of environmental group I was happy to oblige.

I have not made one in nearly a year, and had really forgotten how much glass and time it would take to create something in the size I wanted. I don’t normally make small beads, but I don’t make really large ones either, so working on the scale I need to create a wine stopper is pretty challenging.

Technically, it’s difficult to get all the glass wound on and balanced and shaped the way I want it to be. It takes about three 13 inch rods of glass to get the size I desire. I work on a minor burner, so my flame is not particularly large, so I have to work hard to keep the entire bead hot enough that I don’t have thermal issues. It is so easy to concentrate melting in glass on one end, only to allow the the other end to cool and crack, something that is really frustrating when you’ve spent an entire hour melting in the glass! If the glass does crack it is hard to reheat it enough to be confident that the crack is adequately healed.

Design wise, working so big is hard for me also. The designs I use in smaller beads don’t seem to scale up well. I’m afraid to use designs that require a high degree of precision and concentration. It’s way too easy for me to get overly involved in detailed glass application, forget to keep the the rest of the bead warm, and then “crack”!

So for now I’ve been sticking with carefree, abstract designs. Because this particular stopper was for the Utah Rivers Council benefit I choose flowing, eddying streams of blues. My friend liked it and, more importantly, somebody else liked it well enough to bid on it!

Linda beads and blogs from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah!