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A Concise History of Lampworking

It cannot be accurately determined when the use of an oil lamp or torch was first used as a technique to manipulate glass. Probably, lampworking in one for or another is as old as the working of glass itself. There are several fragments of complicated patterns on early Roman glass in the Corning Museum Collection which suggest that lampworking may have been employed as a technique. In the third and fourth centuries lampworking was used to decorate so-called snake thread vessels in the Rhineland and in the Near East. The technique may also have been used to apply trails to the surface of the glass, then blown to form a blank for later fabrication of cameo glass.

The next major technical development in flameworking of glass came about during the Venetian Renaissance. Perhaps the finest examples of the use of lampworking, at this time, are in the Accademia Cimento in Florence, Italy. These originally designed at the end of the 17th century, were the forerunners of the modern thermometer and were used for measuring the expansion of liquids. These early examples of laboratory apparatus are probably the first use of lampworking as we know it today, using a bench burner to manipulate the glass tubing and rod. By the time these early thermometers were executed, much of the great technical advances, originally from Venice, had spread through Europe.

According to one source, some of the original glassworkers from Venice eventually emigrated and steeled in the Black Forest of Germany. This area was chosen because of the abundant wood supply desperately needed to satisfy the tremendous energy demands of the glass industry. Eventually, even this thickly wooded area began thinning out and restrictions on the use of timber for glass working had to be imposed. This created periods when individual craftsmen were not allowed to work at the furnace. To provide work during these restricted periods, glass tubing and rods were drawn for lampworking to produce small objects such as animals and Christmas ornaments. This not only provided work but also saved energy in the form of conserved timber; lampworking, then as now, uses far less energy than furnace glassworking.

One may question the accuracy of this scenario, however, it does provide a plausible historical link between the transferring of the technology of lampworking from Venice to Germany. One thing that can be said with certainty is that there were a number of areas in Germany where lampworking was practiced during the 19th and 20th centuries.

One center that has been of special significance is the quaint village of Lauscha located about 60 miles north of Nurnburg in the Thuringian Forest, in what is now East Germany. Glassworking in Lauscha dates back as far as 1596, but it was not until the late 18th century that extensive lampworking was practiced. At this time, lampworked scientific instruments, glass eyes for toy dolls and humans, and glass toys were manufactured. Eventually, Christmas ornaments provided the staple industry for the village.

Historically, this area has nurtured such artists as Karl Muller, who was Wilhelm Roentgen's scientific glassblower and who was credited with producing extraordinary reproductions of 17th century dragon stemmed goblets in his Hamburg workshop. So convincing were his reproductions that up until 1978, the Corning Museum believed that the Muller Venetian styled goblet was a genuine example of Renaissance glass.

Another significant artist was Friedrick Zitzmann, who was also born in Lauscha, but worked in Wiesbaden in collaboration with Karl Koepping. These two artists, working together, created some of the finest examples of Art Nouveau Glass of this period.

The most significant contemporary artists to come from this region is Albin Schaedel. In 1958, he developed the glass montage technique in which numerous individual tubes of gla ss are fused together at various angles to form one complete piece.

Today, from its early humble beginnings, Lauscha has cultivated eight artists of international reputation. These artists are Albrecht Greiner-Mai, Otto Schindhelm, Volkard Precht, Hartmut Bechman, Walter Baz-Dolle, Hubert Koch, Walter Schwarg, and Gunter Knye.

Though historically Lauscha has been one of the most fertile areas for lampworking, it is not the only one. In Dresden lived the Blaskas, perhaps the best known family to work in this medium. Leopold and his son Rudolf Blaskas undertook a lifelong involvement with the production of the Ware Collection which is now in the Harvard Botanical Museum. Truly, this monumental accomplishment was a tour de force of any period in the history of lampworking. Using very simple tools and a primitive cross-fired burner fueled by solid paraffin with air provided by a foot powered bellows, glass flowers were created with exquisite realism.

It is beyond the scope of this essay to mention all of the artists that use flameworking as a method of working with glass, but for historical perspective a few contemporary individuals shall be mentioned to represent the whole.

Just as Albin Schaedel, after WWII, developed lampworking to a high level of sophistication in East Germany, Kurt Walstab, a leading figure carrying on the traditions of this technique in West Germany. Recently, he has been exhibiting and demonstrating throughout the USA.

Pavel Molnar is another artist working in West Germany. His use of subtle, delicate pastel colors is incorporated into the imagery of the vessel, as if to suggest distant cloud formations. In addition, Pavel is now using both lampworked glass and furnace glass together as a coherent, unified form.

Rosemarie Lierke has also used the vessel format in a rather curious way, with incompatible glasses, to achieve a highly unusual crackled effect.

Perhaps some of the most significant sculptural lampworking is that of the Czech artist, Vera Liskova. Her use of blown sections of glass fused together, often suspended in mid-air, or precariously poised on points resting on the ground, is a sublime statement revealing the potential of this medium.

The Italian artist, Gianni Toso, has created humorously expressionistic rabbinical figures which are some of the most unique solid lampworked glass made today; one can make a vague comparison between this work and the Nevers Figurines of 17th century France.

One would expect the use of the lamp, as well as other techniques of glassworking to establish itself in the United States. Indeed, many lampworkers did emigrate from Europe to the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. The primary use of flameworking has been for scientific purposes, and as such has excelled. Unfortunately, on the whole, a simultaneous level of excellence in artistic application has not been achieved. Coming from the scientific traditions are two significant artists, however. Hans Frabel's playful, Pop Art forms, represented in crystal borosilicate glass, have established sculptural lampworking as a significant art form. Paul Stankard's scientific background has enabled him to execute extraordinary life-like floral forms, frozen in optical crystal.

Some of the old-world techniques of using soda lime and lead glass tubing in conjunction with cross fired burners still survive, to a limited extent, in this country. Such individuals as Jean and Donavon Boutz continue to use this approach.

Perhaps the finest use of lampworking in the U.S. is in conjunction with furnace glass working. Such artists as Joel Philip Myers and Mark Pieser have used propane torches to apply decorative elements to large vessels.

It will be interesting to see the future development of lampworking in the U.S. Will a tradition be established as in Europe, or will the scientific use of the technique remain supreme? Ultimately, this will be determined by you, the future artists of this country.

This essay would not be complete if I did not comment on my own work in glass. I have a varied background with the material. My first experience with glass can be traced to a scienti fic lampworking course I took in the early 1970's at Eastern Michigan University. This formed the basis for my work today. I have also worked in stained glass with PAtrick Reyntiens and in furnace glass with Herbert Babcock at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit.

After leaving CCS in 1981, to build my own studio in the country, I had the desire to continue working with glass but did not have the studio space. During the construction of a new studio, I had to improvise. Since the equipment is simple, requires so little space, and is relatively inexpensive, I set up a small lampworking studio in my basement, primarily for making Christmas ornaments.

My skill developed with the help of Kurt Walstab, to the point that I could successfully work with the vessel format. I am currently using both soda lime and lead glass in the form of 25mm neon sign tubing. I also use Kugler and Zimmerman rods and powder. To achieve a patina finish, I sometimes use black copper oxide, applied to the glass tubing with a paint brush before it is worked in the flame. With some modification, I can use most of the major techniques of furnace glass in conjunction with those of lampworking.

The basic technique of lampworking is covered extensively in numerous technical books on the subject. Probably the best book, from a purely technical standpoint, for the glass artist is: Creative Glassblowing, by James E. Hammesfahr and Clair L. Strong, publisher W. H. Freeman and Co.