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Featured
Artist
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Open almost any closet in my house and you can tell I have always had some kind of creative project going on in my life. It wasn’t until 1998 that I finally figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up. My son was in college and my daughter was soon to be in high school and I knew I needed something in my life to avoid that “empty nest” syndrome. I began to dabble in jewelry design and wire working, but I was continually frustrated at not finding the right beads in the right colors or the right shapes. Then one day, as I was diligently perusing the local bead store I saw IT!! A beautiful hand made glass bead!! In my head a light went on and I thought- “I CAN DO THAT!!” I can make my own beads in the right shapes and the right colors!!! “I CAN DO THAT!!” I bought the bead and began taking classes in lampwork beadmaking.
Today, because of the support of my loving husband (I couldn’t do this without him) and the encouragement of my family and especially my BOMH friends, I am able to spend time in my studio doing what I love. Combining colors and shaping with tools the flowing molten glass that eventually becomes the jewels in my designs. Stranded Glass
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Glue guns, glitter, silk flowers, beads and paint sit side by side with supplies for cake decorating, sewing, candle making and fabric painting. Beginning with designing clothing for my troll dolls the need to create has been my companion for as long as I can remember. Why then didn’t I choose visual art as my career path in high school and college? To this day I still find it a mystery. In junior high we were forced to choose between art and music. For some odd reason I chose music, and throughout high school and my brief college experience I was involved in music and the performing arts.
Early on in my training I was lucky enough to take classes from several of the founding members of the glass bead movement in the United States. For centuries the techniques of lampworking were a closely guarded secret among the glass communities of Europe, but little by little their secrets began to leak out. In the U. S. the interest in glass beadmaking began in the early 80’s with a pocket of lampworkers on each coast and quickly spread across the country. With Jim Smirich I learned heat control. Tom and Sage Holland taught me the history of beads and ancient techniques. In class with Patty Walton I learned encasing and how to make her beautiful aquarium beads. Kate Fowle and Cindy Jenkins have taught me to take chances with my beads. My stringer control was greatly improved by Dustin Tabor and Holly Cooper and Stephanie Sersich helped me develop my love of bright color combinations.
