About Me

Simply put, I melt glass. It's a mesmerizing thing to do and something that I dearly love. It is very exciting to me to take beautifully colored rods of fragile glass and use a flame to melt and form them into wearable and functional objects.  
 

I draw much of my inspiration from nature, such as leaves, acorns, pumpkins, and wildlife. I also love the challenge of symmetry, control, and tiny details requiring dexterity and even breath control when creating intricate dots, scrollwork, and lines. A good day on the torch is also capped off by at least a little whimsy, such as dimensional teddy bears and imaginary flowers.

No matter how many notes and doodles I take with me to the torch, I invariably end up just playing with the glass to see what new things it can teach me. Sometimes a unique color combination takes me down a different design path. Other times, a chemical reaction creates something unexpected and I feel that I must chase down the possibilities. And thank heaven for mistakes and accidents as those have led me to very successful discoveries!
 

One common thread in all my work is a desire to create technically sound beads that are well-balanced, neatly made, structurally sound, and comfortable to wear. All of my beads are kiln-annealed to ensure they are as strong as possible and my metalwork is soldered well and wire wrapped securely.