Crystal paperweight enthusiasts are enamored by each exquisitely minute detail of these glass paperweight works of art. Paperweights are often collected as examples of fine art workmanship, and appreciated for their aesthetic beauty. Every facet of these fine art glass paperweights is handcrafted in glass, meticulously flameworked from colored glass rods. Every leaf. Every stem. Every petal. Every aspect of the brightly colored creations is crafted from glass. That is why unique paperweights, such as the ones created by American Master Ken Rosenfeld, are exhibited in art museums as examples of fine glass art.
Click on thumbnails to see magnified details of Ken Rosenfeld's renowned glasswork:
Flameworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with a variety of tools and hand movements. It is also known as Lampworking. Creating paperweights using this technique presents many challenges. As glass is heated and cooled, it expands and contracts. This is known as the "coefficient of expansion". Different chemicals and oxides used to create colors add to and change these coefficients and therefore make certain kinds of glass incompatible. These glasses cannot be put directly adjacent to each other because their "COE" would cause the piece to crack. Other technical consideration must be taken into account as well. Often times, several different kinds of glass must be combined and overlaid to achieve the desired effect. What appears to be a simple pink flower with yellow stamens, for example, is not composed of just two colors but can have as many as six or seven colors in it. A typical paperweight may contain as many as twenty different colors of glass!
Unique Paperweight Creations
Ken Rosenfeld's glass creations are featured in galleries around the world, as well as being displayed in museums. If you have been fortunate enough to see them firsthand, then you know of the intrinsic beauty of Ken's exceptional paperweight creations. As pleasing as these photos of Ken's unique paperweights are, they simply do not do his fine art crystal paperweights the justice they deserve. We hope that you have the opportunity to experience his glasswork personally.
