Member Interrogations - Julia Hay

Today is my first time publishing the member interrogations blog post for FHFteam so first I'd like to say a big thank you to our Hazel Ward for doing such an amazing job working on the team blog over this past year and another big thank you for compiling this wonderful pop quiz for our members :-D

Today we are saying a warm hello to Julia of Pandanimal Lampwork Glass who gives us a peek into her glassy world


1 - Your name:

Julia Hay

2 - Your shop name and address:

Pandanimal Lampwork Glass www.pandanimal.co.uk The name Pandanimal came from a writing exercise I was once given: "create a fictional character". I invented a wise old creature who was a mixture of all kinds of animals: mammal, reptile, bird and amphibian. He was "pan-animal", but that sounded odd so I stuck a "d" in the middle and Pandanimal has been my online persona ever since.

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words:

organic, eclectic, eccentric

4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started? 

I have always dabbled in beading for as long as I can remember. A good friend taught me some basic seed-beading techniques and I developed them into simple bracelets. Then I started looking for beads to embellish what I was doing and came across lampwork. I took my first lampwork course with Barbara Mason in January 2008. The moment I melted the first rod in the flame I knew I was hooked. Could it be the pyromaniac in me?

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

I love watching the glass melt and flow; I love having the freedom to create, or try to, anything I want.

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

I greatly admire the fine detailed and stringer work of many artists, like Dora Schubert, Mindy Macgregor, Lorna Prime, ...........I honestly don't think I have the patience to learn how to do it as well as they do though. But if I could truly choose any one at all I would step back in time and visit the Saxon glass bead makers. I would love to learn how they managed to make beads using such primitive equipment and presumably making glass themselves from scratch. To follow the process through from raw materials to bead would complete a journey.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?


Most of the time my latest piece of work is my favourite. I am currently working on a project I call "80 heads around the world" drawing on cultural art from across the globe to inspire tribal heads that represent that culture to me. So far it has been a wonderfully inspiring and interesting project and it is all thanks to the Frit Happens monthly challenge that I started it!

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

I love stone in all its varied forms: pebbles on the beach, ancient carved stones, semi-precious stones, standing stones, fossils. I try to recreate in glass the textures, shapes, histories of stone. I am also inspired by the colours and moods of nature and the landscape around me in Wiltshire and, more recently the glass bead and jewellery finds from ancient times and also the unnatural weird and wonderful imagery in the computer games my children and I play.

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

At the moment, bung bicarb on it! I am having wonderful fun working very hard experimenting with sodium bicarbonate on different types of glass to see how they react to it. Sometimes the result is fantastic and sometimes it is a disaster.

10 - Where do you create your work?

I have my torch set up on a table in our entrance hall, that way I can work and still be around everyone else in my family.

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

I am drawn to blues and greens most of the time - when I am not using grey for my pebbles that is.

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

Real artists ship! - Steve Jobs. I do have to try to remember this. I have a tendency to put beads in boxes saying to myself "I will do another, even better one, tomorrow." I am, as a lot of us are, my own worst critic.

13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Hmmm.....This is a tough question. I think it would have to be Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. I think he would be interesting to talk to and might just have some words of wisdom to impart. And of course there are his fireworks! Could it be the pyromaniac in me?

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

I want to explore the ancient side of glass making a lot further to see what inspiration there is there for modern beads. I will continue with my 80 heads around the world project and finish it. I am also planning to work a lot more with mixed media, drawing in other interests: felting, paper making, ceramics and textiles, to name a few.

Thank you so much Julia for such an interesting read.

Member Interrogations - Pricilla McGirr

 Say hello today to Priscilla of Dancing with Glass, who gives us a peek into her glassy world..



1 - Your name: Priscilla McGirr (aka Princess Peggy)

2 - Your shop name and address: Dancing with Glass http://www.etsy.com/shop/PrincessPeggy

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: Big, bold and colourful.

4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started?

I had a one-day lesson with Beverley Hicklin in October 2009, and bought my kit the following January.

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

The fact that I never know what I will create when I sit down to the torch.

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

Anouk Jasperse, because I love her spontaneity and her use of colour.


7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

Yes, it’s this pendant which I made at the time of the protests in Tahrir Square and named ‘Egypt’

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

Looking at other people’s lovely work on the internet gives me so many ideas ….sometimes I daydream in the shower and visualise the beads I am going to make, but then they turn into something completely different when I try to make them. I’m constantly surprised at what comes out of my kiln!

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

Definitely working with silver glass. I use it in nearly every single bead I make.

10 - Where do you create your work?

In my nice warm workshop/office/music room at home….no cold shedio for me!



11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

At the moment everything I make seems to be pinky-red or bluey-green.

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

Gosh…what about.. ’Tomorrow is another day’? I’m an optimist, can’t you tell?


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Absolutely no-one comes to mind! I think I prefer real people. I would have liked to have met Bernard Leach.

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

To go on developing my own style, and to have people love my beads as much as I love making them.


----

A big thanks to Priscilla for taking part!

Member Interrogations - Rachel Bishop

 Today's interview is with Rachel Bishop from Puffafish Lampwork. Keep reading to find out what inspires her, how she discovered glass, and why she'd like to spend some time in an old-fashioned police box....



1 - Your name: Rachel Bishop

2 - Your shop name and address: Puffafish Lampwork,  www.etsy.com/shop/puffafish

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: bright, dotty, fun

4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started?

I started working with glass in 2005, dabbling with fusing and making dichroic pendants in my little sc2 kiln.  During the Easter holidays 2007 I took a lesson with the fabulous Manda Muddimer and have been torching ever since, though not as much as I would like.


5 - What do you love most about your craft?

I love the mystery of the glass, the hope that you are filled with when the bead is placed in the kiln and the total joy you have when something you think is going to turn out pants is an absolute treasurewhen it comes out of the kiln. I also love the community that has formed around the shared love of glass and the willingness to share tips, glass recipes and the friends made.


 6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

I was lucky enough to take a class with Carla di Francesca last year at Manda`s that gave me new found confidence in my own skills.  I would love to take a class with Lorna Prime, Laura Sparling and Mindy MacGregor to learn how to master their stringer precision.


7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

These Souk beads are my favourite beads I have made simply because I had such a strong idea of what I wanted to make and they turned out perfectly matching my idea.





8 - Where do you find your inspiration?


My inspiration comes from all around me, I have the moody Bodmin Moor and Rough Tor to one side of me and the stunning but dramatic North Cornish coast on the other.  The weather, fabrics and even my mood on the day influences what I make.


9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

My favourite technique is nothing really special but I really do working with glass that reacts with other glass and seeing the defined lines and marking formed through using them.


10 - Where do you create your work?

I have slowly been improving my working area in my studio (a-hem, garage) and now have a nice big space to work in giving my daughter an excuse to come out and melt glass too.


11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

I do tend to unintentionally lean towards using blues and greens when torching - it`s the pull of the sea!


12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

I find that if I think too hard about what I`m doing it usually goes wrong, so just go with the flow.


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

I would love to meet Dr Who and be his companion for a short while and go time travelling!


14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

I just want to keep on making beads and take some more classes with some great teachers.  My goal for next year is to make it to the Flame Off too as I haven`t been yet.


---

Thanks Rachel for a fab interview! 

Member Interrogations - Jane Crosby

Today we have a 'dangerous' interviewee...Jane of Dangerous Beads! Grab a cuppa and have a 
 read of Jane's glass philosophy (and sense of humour!)




1 - Your name: Jane Crosby aka Dangerous Beads

2 - Your shop name and address:  www.dangerousbeads.etsy.com

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words:  Messy. Random. Sporadic.

4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started? 

I can't remember when I first started but it's been a few years. I should be a bit better at it by now really, but I'm quite happy to plod away at my own pace. I was inspired to make beads when a dear friend gave me a beaded charm bracelet, it was so sweet and simple, each bead was different. A few of the beads fell off and I replaced them with any random bead I could find. I loved that bracelet so much that I decided to make some myself and started buying stuff at car boot sales and charity shops if I found something with just one bead on that I wanted. Then I found and bought commercial beads on the web, until one day I couldn't find this one really simple style bead in particular, it had been discontinued. I thought, hmm, how difficult can it be to make? Googled it and Hey Presto! Bought the basic kit and discovered the joy of lampwork.

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

It gives me what I think most of us crave, "Me time". I just love, and feel soothed by, watching glass melt, even if it doesn't end up as anything beautiful or useable, the satisfaction I get from doing it is usually enough.

 6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

There are so many to choose from but after some consideration I think I'd like a class with Rachel Frudd. Her work with silver glass is fantastic. She was producing the most stunning, dreamlike beads after only a few months of lampworking. She's a very talented artist.

Or a banjo lesson with Jens Kruger, though I'd probably wet myself if that ever happened.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us? 

These beads aren't particularly clever but I just squirm with pleasure at the colours everytime I see the photos.

8 - Where do you find your inspiration? 

 I pick three colours and hope.

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium? 

Gravity beads. I wish I was better at encasing though.

10 - Where do you create your work? 

 In the cellar or basement, luckily it's heated and dry.

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces? 

 Organic colours float my boat. Particularly Stone Ground, Dirty Martini, Chalcedony and Iris Savanne. Oh and purple.

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft? 

Can if I like. Will if I want.

13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Buzz Lightyear. He's  confident, optimistic, a strong Alpha male who sees no obstacle as too great, and he has a cute butt.

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

To infinity and beyond.

----

Thanks Jane, for such a fun interview!

Member Interrogations - Jennie Lamb

Today's interview is provided by Jennie Lamb of Raspberry Rings, who provides us with a great read, including a list full of inspirational artists. Read on...


1 - Your name: Jennie Lamb

2 - Your shop name and address: Raspberry Rings – http://www.raspberryrings.etsy.com, http://www.lovleylilybeads.etsy.com, http://www.facebook.com/raspberryrings
       

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: I have heard my artistic style as being described as Bold, Unusual and  Individual which I like and would hope that is how my pieces are seen


4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started?

My Glassy journey began in April 2009.  We had a contemporary giftware shop and at the time Sophie Muddimer who is Amanda from MangoBeads daughter was working for us in her gap year.  Sophie kept appearing to work wearing these beautiful glass beads, I was doing wire wrapped jewellery at the time and was intrigued by the process.  It didn’t take long before I was sat in front of  Manda’s torch having my first lesson and the rest is history.

I have since had classes with Astrid Reidel, Carla Di Francesco, Diana East, Anouk Jaspere, Julie Haveland Beer and George Harper East


5 - What do you love most about your craft?

Glass is like a never ending story, it is ever changing, ever evolving, ever challenging and all encompassing and that is why I love it




 6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

Gosh there are a huge range of glass artists I admire hugely  I cheated I couldn’t nail just one!  Here is my list and why :

Bashi Ale from Glass works Boutique, I love his off mandrel implosion pendants and his reticello work.

Bronwen Heilman, really excites me her approach to glass and her use of enamels are so inspiring, a woman who really thinks outside the box and I have just heard she is coming to the UK later in the year so this wish might come true!

David Patchen, his vases are the most beautiful I have ever seen and a lesson with him would be fantastic

I would love a lesson with Andrew Brown, he makes the most beautiful marbles and paperweights but it is his coldworking and electroforming that I so admire so he is on the list as well.

And for Marbles no-one compares to Richard Hollingshead from Route 66 Glasswork I would love a lesson from him to!

My last choice is actually about to come true which is really exciting and that is Anita Schewgler from Unikal Glass Design who I am going to be going on a course with at the end of the year.  Her huge intricate mandela beads are my absolute inspiration so I just can’t wait till October!


7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

I have a few but this one was the first large mandela bead that had me skipping when it came out of the kiln!

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

I am lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK, in Appledore, North Devon.  The village is on an Estuary mouth with the Sea a footstep away and when I am not melting glass I spend a lot of time out and about with my two dogs so I get most of my inspiration from the environment I live in.  I also love textiles and architectural design so I also take my inspiration where I find it, I think it is about keeping your eyes open to colour and design and you can find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.


9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

I don’t really have a favourite technique but I think I am recognised for my mandela beads and my big swirl beads….


10 - Where do you create your work?

I have a great little studio which is opposite my house. It is situated up a small alley and is open to passing visitors in the summer.  It was originally a woodwork workshop and the last owner was a keen carpenter and worked at the shipyard and I still feel his creative energy around the place as the building itself dates back to the early 1900s


11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

I love bright vibrant colours and love to experiment with colour combinations so no I don’t have a favourite colour scheme currently


12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

I try and live life to the full, keep an open mind and most importantly to live in the moment which I also try to apply to my glass work so this quote Edna Saint Vincent strikes a chord for me!

"My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But, ah, my foes, and, oh, my friends - it gives a lovely light."




13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

So it deserves the most serious answer : Rupert the Bear because I like his trousers!




14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

I am not sure what the future holds and I don’t think you can plan it to rigidly as by doing that you inevitably miss opportunities that are not part of ‘the plan’. 

My aim is to keep enjoying and creating my glasswork and to keep expanding my knowledge of glass and techniques and hopefully keep producing glass art that brings myself and others pleasure.  I also enjoy teaching so maybe I will expand more into this area and I would love to combine that with some traveling.

---- 

Thanks Jennie, for a real fun read!

Member Interrogations - Gay Massender

Welcome this week to Gay Massender from GaysieMay! In this interview she tells us how she got started, gives us a beautiful quotation to read, and lets her love of glass shine through. Read on....



1 - Your name: Gay Massender

2 - Your shop name and address: GaysieMay, GaysieMay.etsy.com

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: evolving, wearable and fun.

4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started?  

I first got into lampworking in 2008 after buying a starter kit and 'The Complete Book of Lampworking' by Kimberley Adams.  Prior to that I had taken a one day fusing course and bought a cheap kiln of ebay, making small fused pieces led me into jewellery making and from there of course I had my first real introduction to lampwork beads.  I knew I had to try and make them, what can I say, from then I was hooked.

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

I love many things about lampworking, one of which is the fact that when I'm at the torch I become totally involved in what I am doing, its a form of escapism!  Another reason for loving it is that there is always a challenge to be overcome, whether it is in how to make a particular bead or how it may work within a piece of jewellery.  I've never sat at my torch and felt bored - frustrated occasionally, but never bored.

 6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

I would really love to take a class with Bronwen Heilman as I think that some of the techniques she uses would be both challenging and yet adaptable.  I have the 'Bronwen Heilman' Jim Kervin book and I keep thinking one day I'm going to try this, especially the painterly techniques.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

I'm particularly enjoying making these brooches at the moment using techniques learnt on the Sara Sally Le Grand course held by Tuffnells

I'm not sure when this is going out, but I am really quite pleased with the piece of work I've made for this years GBUK jewellery competition.  I had several days when I woke up and just lay there thinking about how to construct it and which colour palette to use, I'm pleased with the final piece but can't show pictures of it until the competition is closed.


8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

A variety of places really, it often starts with colours, maybe a piece of fabric I've seen or colours from the changing year.  Recently this has been combined with new techniques learnt on the Sara Sally Le Grand course run by Tuffnells last year.

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

I can't say I have a favourite technique as such, but I have noticed that I tend to use a restricted colour range within a piece of work.  I try and be wild and pick colours up randomly, but they never seem to work, so before I start at the torch I usually pick a mit full of rods that I think will tone well.  If new ideas are not working I always finish a session at the torch with a scrolled transparent hollow, because then I know there will be at least one bead in the kiln that is reasonably pretty.

10 - Where do you create your work?

I'm lucky enough to have my torch in the house looking out of the window into our front garden, the set up looks a little messy, but at least I can torch through the winter, which I couldn't do for the first couple of years when I was based in the garage.

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

I guess I tend toward the cooler colours blues and neutrals.  I rarely work with reds and oranges or yellow it's not that I don't like them, but I rarely wear these colours so can visualise them made up into jewellery.

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

 “In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”  Albert Camus


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Dr Who - I think time travel would be awesome, but also I've grown up with him.

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

I hope to keep learning new techniques and experimenting, I want to continue to feel excited and occasionally frustrated by glass.  I want to always feel the way I do now about melting glass.


----

Thanks Gay for a lovely read!

Member Interrogations - Gemma Woodrow

This time around, our interview is with Gemma Woodrow of SilverGems Designs, who talks enthusiastically about her love of molten glass, big torches, and Slipknot...intrigued? Then read on...


1 - Your name: Gemma Woodrow

2 - Your shop name and address: SilverGems Designs http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilverGems89

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: still finding it

4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started?

I first melted glass in January 2010 at Sabine Little's studio open day and was hooked! I ordered my hot head kit a few days later. I first "discovered" Lampwork beads through ebay while looking for unique beads for my jewellery designs, once I found out I could make them myself in my home, I knew I had to have a go!

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

I just love the way glass moves, and how it can be manipulated, when molten! I also really like the fact there is always something new to try, it stops me getting bored!

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

Hmmmm, this is a really tough decision, and one I have been trying to make for a long time now! But I think it would either have to be Anouk Jasperse, to learn the secrets of silver glass, or Sarah Hornik, because I love her use of colour and fun designs.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

I found it really hard to choose a specific bead, so these beads represent my favourite "style" of bead, mosaics! I just love the way the glass reacts and the patterns it makes, if I had to choose one style of bead to make every single day these would be the ones, I never tire of them!

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

From all sorts of places, anything I come into contact with during day to day life can become an inspiration, a colour combination, shapes, pictures, literally anything! I also find great inspiration in the work of other lampwork artists, sometimes I just get inspired by the glass

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

My favourite technique, which is something I'm working on at the moment (now I have a new big girls torch ) is striking silver glass, seeing the different colours you can achieve and watching them develop while making the bead is really fascinating to me.

10 - Where do you create your work?

The spare bedroom in our house has been officially converted into my studio, I have a 2 metre long bench, about 2/3rds of which is dedicated to my lampworking set up, the other end is free space for the other crafts I like to dabble in

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

I find myself drawn to very "girly" colours, pinks, purples, pastels of any kind! I also like using strong, bold primary colours with black, for maximum impact!

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

My favourite lyric is one from Slipknot's song Sulfur, "The longest hours you'll have in your life, are the ones you sit through to know you're right." Ever since the first time I heard this lyric it has stuck with me, every time I think life is getting hard this lets me know that everything will be alright in the end

13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Ron Weasley from Harry Potter, he's so funny, I'd just love to hang out with him for a day! (I am a HUGE potter fan!)

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

I am very much looking forward to getting to grips with my new torch, and trying all the techniques and designs I previously never had the fire power for! Overall I hope my work continues to improve and I can begin selling more pieces!


-------

Thanks Gemma - your love of glass really shines through!

Hazel

Member Interrogations - Becky Fairclough

A welcome this week to Becky Fairclough of Chameleons Designs, who talks about her inspirations, perfectionism, and lampworked lungs! You'll have to read on to find out more...



1 - Your name: Becky Fairclough

2 - Your shop name and address:  I have two Etsy shops, Chameleons Designs where I sell transfers for use in lampwork and Becky Fairclough which has some of my fused glass pieces in it. I also have my website http://www.chameleondesigns.co.uk/

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: Contemporary, delicate, pretty

4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started?

I have always loved glass but my first proper experience of working with it was during my art foundation course and I went from there to a glass degree course and was completely smitten.

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

Most of all I love working with glass in a molten state, there is something magical about being able to manipulate it and then it freezing in a position.

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?
There are a number of Lampworkers I would love to take a class with, well actually more of a very long list, mainly in that ever increasing thirst for new techniques, but if I had to choose just one then it would be Annie Cattrell as she was my first (albeit at the time unknown) introduction to lampwork when she gave a lecture called Art, Science and Transparency when I was doing my foundation course. Im still in awe of her piece "Capacity" (Lampworked lungs - can be seen here - http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1637_outoftheordinary/artists_detail.php?artistTag=cattrell) to this day.


7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

At the moment it is my blue flower necklace, which I love and wear most days.

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

Usually from things I see around me, my work will quite often change when I have been on holiday and seen different things and I come home and play with incorporating them into my work.

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

Im not sure I can pick only one ! I love to make sculptural work although I am still very much a beginner at it, and then to combine it with surface decoration such as transfers, lustres or sandblast

10 - Where do you create your work?

I work in my studio at home. I have slowly taken over more and more space until the point where we had the garage converted into a studio for me.

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

I love transparent glass and have about 10 colours that I use a lot of the time with only occasional forays into other colours, I think if I had to choose just a couple of favourites it would be sky blue (052) and Reichenbach Antique Crystal as both of them go beautifully with Silver.

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

I would love to say something really fun here or light hearted but the mantra that I tend to repeat most often is "If you are going to do something do it properly" and that does sum up my work as I tend to get wholeheartedly involved in what im doing and do it to the best of my ability..it has been know for me to be a touch of a perfectionist about things ..


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

I think it would have to be Claire from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, I was given the first book as a teenager and loved it, I have kept up with the series as new books have come out and frequently re read the whole series and get totally absorbed in it. I think Claire is partly responsible for my interest in medical plants and poisons and I think with all her experiences she would be a totally fascinating person to talk to.

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

Im currently working with fused glass and patterns as the opportunity has come up and Im really enjoying it.
My future plans revolve around concentrating more on sculptural lampwork, and I hope to work on bigger projects. I have several different threads of work in progress at the moment and I'm hoping that I can bring them all together but I need to improve my skills to match my ideas first !

---

Thank you Becky for sharing your enthusiasm and philosophies with our readers!

Member Interrogations - Josephine Wadman

The first member interrogation of 2012 is an interesting insight into Josephine Wadman's thoughts on her work, on Mr Rochester, and on changes in direction. Read on...

----

1 -  Your name: Jospehine Wadman

2 - Your shop name and address: Josephine Wadman Designs, www.josephinewadman.etsy.com & www.josephinewadmandesigns.com

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: ‘varied and eclectic’, others tell me it is ‘easily recognisable’.

4 - When did you first start glassworking and how did you get started?

About 5 years ago. I was making jewellery but wanted to do more than buying and stringing beads. I toyed with silver clay. Then I stumbled on Laura Sparling’s website. I ordered a hothead starter kit and that was it, I was hooked.

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

The magic of transforming the solid glass, the variety of effects you can achieve and the good days where you sit at the torch, listening to radio 4, glancing out at the garden…..and end up with a kiln full of little treasures.

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

I love organics so maybe Amber von Meter (Naos) or Aja (Wandering Spirit) and I think you would have to go a long way to learn more about glass from someone than you do in one of Julie Denton’s classes. 
 
 7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

I’ve made quite a few of these now and I still love them.

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?


Anywhere and everywhere. Often its just the glass, I sit down without any particular idea. Other times it’s a season, a scene or a picture.

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

Nothing very complicated but I don’t think I could function without silvered ivory stringer.

10 - Where do you create your work?

 I have a workshop in the garage. 

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?
 
Either blues and greens or earthy colours.

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?
 
I think I might have to go with one of the many wise words of Albus Dumbledore, either "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." or "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Well I do want to go to Hogwarts, but failing that I wouldn’t mind spending an hour or two doing crosswords with Inspector Morse or being swept of my feet by Mr Rochester.

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?
 

Well it’s all change for me with a divorce looming. I need to support myself fully within a few years but I have decided that it won’t entirely be with bead making. That constant pressure to come up with something new and then sell it doesn’t assist with creativity in my experience. And as I don’t have a pension waiting for me I need to earn reasonable money rather than scrape a living. So I have decided to train in book indexing with the intention of working freelance. I will still make beads too. But with the two running alongside each other then there won’t be quite so much pressure and I will be able to enjoy the beads.

I will probably ease off the jewellery side of things, no more big silver bills, commission to galleries and paying to stand in drafty halls watching people sell mass produced tat! Just me, the glass and my etsy shop. It will be a gradual change over the next few years. Just hoping I can get to grips with the indexing, it’s a lot more complicated than you might think. But if any of you decide to write a book on bead or jewellery making then you know where to come for the index!

----

Thank you Josephine, for an interesting read - we all wish you good luck with your new 2012 plans, in both beads and books! 

Hazel

Member Interrogations - Jean Munro

Today we have an interesting read from Jean Munro of Ceardannan Jewellery, including words about her inspiration, her start in jewellery-making, and a great double-quotation that sums up her approach to life!


1 - Your name: Jean Munro

2 - Your shop name and address: Ceardannan  www.ceardannan.co.uk  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ceardannanjewellery

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: organic ….eclectic…colourful


4 - When did you first start jewellery making/lampworking, and how did you get started?I first started making jewellery about 5 years ago when  I was living in Greece.  I was shopping with my mum and saw a pair of earrings made with lapis stones that I liked but the wires were made with a metal I couldn’t wear. My mum said, “I’m sure if you have a look on the internet you will be able to find the materials to make something yourself.” 
She set me off on my first bead related google seach. This led to me buying my first set of lampwork beads on ebay, made by Mike Poole. Ever since holding them in my hands I wanted to learn to make lampwork beads.  As soon as we came back to Scotland to live I had a taster session followed by a workshop with Rachel Elliot. I grinned all the way through it and about 2 years ago I bought my lampwork start up kit second hand on FH forum.!

5 - What do you love most about your craft?
I especially like choosing semi precious gemstones and lampwork beads in my jewellery making and playing around with different combinations.   I  love that there are so many different colours and kinds of glass and the fact that I could never get bored with lampworking as there is always something else to try and something new to learn. And I really like melting glass!

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?
So difficult a question but I would especially like to take a George and Julie Cab to Fab, or  by George. it’s Lush class.  I  have admired George’s work since I started making jewellery and  Lush Julies beads were some of the first I bought while Julies cabs are wonderful.   I would really like to dress  a few beads George style.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

I am proud of this fibula as my husband did the wirework in this and made my bead look beautiful!



And I really enjoy making my beady boxes in different colourways..




8 - Where do you find your inspiration?
The colours all around me, I love the colours in nature, especially the coast the sea and wildflowers, Also there are so many beautiful colours of glass which are an inspiartion in themselves.

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?At the moment I am enjoying working with cane, murrini and twisties, and making organic style beads particularly seascapes.

10 - Where do you create your work?
In my utility room that wanted to be a conservatory but never quite made it.  

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?
I guess I always go back to blues and greens  though I’m also particularly drawn to  reds and oranges. But I just really choose whatever colour I fancy at the time, 

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?Do what you can with what you have where you are….Theodore Roosevelt.
And
It’s hard to be positive when your bottles gone! …big sis


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?
Mary DiNunzio the lawyer from Lisa Scottoline books, she’s a great character warm, funny and smart and I really like her.


14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?Keep on keeping on!


------

A big thanks to Jean for her answers!

Member Interrogations - Yvette Goodridge

Yvette Goodridge from Blue Kiln Beads is our interview subject this time, and she shares a bit about her inspiration, future hopes, and a lovely story of how she got started. Here we go...

1 - Your name: Yvette Goodridge

2 - Your shop name and address: Blue Kiln Beads,  www.bluekilnbeads.blogspot.com www.bluekilnbeads.etsy.com

3 - Describe your artistic style in two words: Bright, eclectic.

4 - When did you first start glassworking and how did you get started?

My parents asked me what I wanted for my 30^th birthday. I had discovered bead making classes but couldn’t afford to book one myself so it seemed like it would be a perfect gift. That was in 2006 with Beverley Hicklin, and the rest as they say is history. My mum is very creative and would admit to being a craft collector so ofcourse she wanted to come and now we both have our torches and share a kiln. Its great because I always have a friend to take to events like Flame Off.

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

I can have an idea and then create the beads to fit rather than having to search for the beads I need.
There is also the fact that there is always something new to learn whether its a technique, a design, the use of a different type of glass, its so exciting.

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

That's a tricky one because there are a few people I would like to have a class with. I think I would pick Dora Schubert, I love her designs and marvel at her stringer control.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

I’m rather proud of the necklace I made to go with a top:

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

I tend to start with a colour combination which might come from a piece of fabric or scrap book paper . I have two girls and some of their bits and bobs spark a colour combination. Some beads I made a while ago were inspired by one of their hairclips:

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

Tricky question for me because I like to dip in and out, if I see something in the Frithappens gallery or on a blog I decide to give it a go, so I don’t necessarily have a favourite technique. I am stuck on applying dots at the moment and trying to get them to go around the end of the bead evenly. I saw some Justin Tabor beads in a book recently and would love to be able to apply dots like he does.

10 - Where do you create your work?

In my utility space, its small but warm. Previously I was in my old garage which was a great space but chilly in winter.

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

At the moment I am stuck on shades of green and purple, brown and blue are a favourite but I always come back to pinks and purples eventually.

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

‘There are people who have money and people who are rich’ Coco Chanel. I think this sums up my personal situation at the moment and my craft. The breadwinner in our family has been looking for work for 8 months now and like many people my business is noticing the tightening of peoples’ purse strings but we feel we have family and friends and so feel rich. Hope that’s not too cheesy......

13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

The way I’m feeling at the moment it would Mary Poppins. I could do with her advice on being organised and keeping all balls in the air at once with ease and elegance.

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

I would like to enter a few articles to magazines, build a thriving online presence and eventually get a craft unit where I can share my craft with others. My ultimate dream would be to own a craft centre where crafts people can share workshop space and the where the public can visit and buy and take lessons.


---

Thanks Yvette for the lovely pictures and answers!

Member Interrogations - Sue Harris

 Welcome to another member interrogation, this time with Sue Harris -and it's filled with an obvious love of glass, and a special tip for how to get inspiration (hint: it involves chocolate). Read on...


1 - Your name: Sue Harris

2 - Your shop name and address: Blue Box Studio –
www.blueboxstudio.co.uk and  http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueBoxStudio

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: Vibrant, colourful, quirky

4 - When did you first start glass work, and how did you get started?

I have worked with sea glass for a while but it’s getting harder to find. Some friends wanted to have a Taster Day with Georgina at Fireworks and needed someone to make up the numbers. Game for anything I joined in. I’m the only one of the 5 of us to have continued. Making my own glass beads seemed a natural progression for my jewellery.

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

The surprise element? I love the way my own beads mix beautifully with pieces of sea glass which I have drilled to use as beads, the way a murky brown rod of glass may just occasionally spring into life as a myriad of pinks and purples Of course it’s also lovely when something you have made is also ooh-ed and aah-ed over.

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

I’d love to incorporate my own buttons in my velvet scarves so would love to spend a day with Julie at Lush! I would love to be able to improve on my basic skills with George. I want to move onto the next ‘level’ and have Manda on my shortlist for this.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

I discovered several large tab beads in ‘Dog Teeth Amethyst’. I’ve always loved amethyst – and purple so had to have these. I then gave myself the task of making a selection of purple beads to work with the stunning amethyst to make a necklace. I’m really pleased with the result and look forward to someone else loving it enough to give it a new home.

Purple beads and amethyst by Blue Box Studio

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

Sometimes a combination of colours in my garden catches my eye, sometimes a picture or photograph inspires and from these images I’ll select the colours to work with. On days when inspiration deserts I’ll just take a selection of rods and work with those to see what effects I get – sometimes that is enough to kick start inspiration. If that doesn’t work, I sort through my bead box and eat chocolate!!

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

I’m ‘into’ frit at the moment. I have rather a lot of it.

10 - Where do you create your work?

I’m lucky to have 2 garden studios. One, the original Blue Box Studio (not too hard to work out why) was always my jewellery studio. It’s now my lampwork and drilling sea glass studio. I also have a larger studio for textile work, making jewellery, photography and anything else I can’t sneak into the house on a take-over bid.

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

With lampwork glass it would have to be purple, or Nyx or Triton if using Double Helix (although Pandora is coming up the outside as a favourite). With sea glass, I love working with End of Day sea glass (the multi-coloured pieces that result from work made at the end of the day in the glass workers own time).

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

Always do the thing you don’t want to do first. I also like ‘A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water’. [Eleanor Roosevelt] – I tested this one in 2002, and it’s true for me.

13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

I’d like to meet an estate agent (there must be one) from Midsomer [Murders] county, to find out how he dismisses the incredibly high murder rate to potential incomers. You could hardly advertise the area as having a low crime rate, although 100% of the crimes do seem to be solved.

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

Working with glass is only one of my crafts, I also work with silks and velvets to make scarves and accessories. I’m a realist and know I will never make my fortune at this, but hopeful enough that I will be able to return to full time self-employment in the next few years and be able to leave The Daily Grind. In the short term, I am hoping to spend the first couple of months in the New Year to concentrate on my lampwork and put the hours in to PPP (practice, practice, practice). Then I feel I can justify taking more courses and furthering my skills.

Member Interrogations - Helen Wyatt

This time, lampworker Helen Wyatt shares her thoughts on glass, life, and The Flumps. Read on...


1 - Your name: Helen Wyatt

2 - Your shop name and address: Alchemy Lampwork - www.etsy.com/shop/alchemylampworkUK

3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: A right mismash!

4 - When did you first start glass work, and how did you get started?

I took a one day introductory course with Beverley Hicklin in September 2008 and was immediately entranced and knew I just had to start learning to make beads myself. Since then, there's been no looking back!

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

The fact that it's difficult. I get bored easily, and tend to lose interest in anything once I feel I've "mastered" it. As it's unlikely I'll "master" lampwork anytime soon, it's the perfect craft for me!

6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

I would love to take a class with Melanie Moertel as I love her incredible combination of bright colours and stringer work.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

My work is ever changing and so is my favourite, but at the present time I'm quite fond of these beads

http://www.flickr.com/photos/helbels/6049847309/

8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

I often don't! I am one of those people who can quite regularly just sit looking at my glass stash thinking "what the hell am I going to make with that then?"! But if I sit there long enough, something normally comes to mind. If I'm really stuck, I'll just pick a few colours at random and set myself the challenge of making something with them!

9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

Stringer work - I find it really therapeutic to work with super fine pieces of glass and attempt to make them behave in the flame. Of course, that's until it all goes horribly wrong, when I'm usually to be found swearing loudly and if asked, I'd deny it was therapeutic at all!

10 - Where do you create your work?

On a 3ft x 2ft converted computer table at the end of my bed, in my bedroom! I live in a small flat, so there's no other choice. I'd like to think I can show beginners that it really is possible to create anywhere, if you have the will to do it!

11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

I love purple and pinks, so tend to be drawn to them. However, I try to push myself out of my comfort zone by working with greens occasionally, as they really aren't my thing!

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

Probably the lyric "This is the closest thing to crazy I have ever been" by Katie Melua! My relationship with glass normally teeters somewhere in the region of a love/hate affair, depending on how its going on the day in question - and it frequently makes me want to go "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHGHHHHH!"


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Pootle Flump from The Flumps. Any person that could make an arran knitted beanie hat look that cool has got to be worth meeting.

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

I just want to keep improving! Recently I've been feeling a bit stuck in a rut, and I'm hoping I'll break through it soon!


-----

Thank to Helen for such a fun read - and don't forget to watch out for the next member interrogation!

Hazel

Member Interrogations - Dawn Turner

Dawn Turner, an artist specializing in kiln-fused glass, gives us a look into what informs her work (as well as what informs her TV-viewing habits...) Read on...



1 - Your name: Dawn Turner


2 - Your shop name and address: Dawn Turner Designs:http://www.dawnturnerdesigns.co.uk/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/dawnturnerdesigns


3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: Patterns, textures, random!


4 - When did you first start glass work, and how did you get started?

When I was doing my A-Level art, 5 or 6 years ago. During the experimental phase of a particular project, where I had been exploring patterns that I had seen repeated in tree forms, a riverbed, the body, maps, I was doing some printing with lino cuts - this developed into casting into plaster forms, which I then slumped glass over - I'd done a stained glass course a few years before, and *liked* it but never felt the reaction that I did to this "WOW!" I'd finally found a way to express the imagery I wanted to, but without painting it, which I am not very good at.

5 - What do you love most about your craft?

Opening the kiln is STILL a surprise, I love not quite knowing what it is going to look like until it comes out - and I just love that you can do so many things with, and to, glass to produce endless different effects.


6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

 I really, really, really cannot pin this down - there's lots of glass techniques I'd like to learn more about and master, so that's a huge choice of artists - however, he's not glass related, and actually I don't think one of my favourite artists teaches - land artist, Chris Drury, but I love his work, and that he sees the same links between the microcosm and macrocosm as I do and that science is a constant them in much of his work.

7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?


It has to be "Epiphany" -

These pieces truly marked a turning point in my life - within 18 months of making these, I'd gone from endlessly changing jobs every few years trying to find "something" to going to full time mature student doing my degree in Crafts.


8 - Where do you find your inspiration?

I probably would have to say mostly scientific imagery; whether it be at molecular level or space satellites fascinate me endlessly - I love how images, patterns, textures from inside the body can be indiscernible from something in outer space. I also love how science, such as repeating patterns, manifest themselves in nature time and time again - I am equally fascinated by the endless variation in colour and pattern of a twilight sky, or the texture left on sand by the tide.


9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

I think it has to be bas-relief, or kiln carving - particularly using lino cutting tools to carve plaster blocks - I feel this probably expresses my own creativity the most and I find carving the patterns incredibly absorbing.


10 - Where do you create your work?

At my studio, part of an open workspace with five other artists, Shed 2 Studios


11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

I would happily make everything in red if I could! And I am currently in love with iridescent glass.


12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

"Try it and see/give it a go" and "what's the worse that can happen?" - both regularly said to me by two of my art tutors during my foundation year, and the two really do go hand in hand I think.


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Am I allowed to say? Currently, it would have to be Steve McGarret from the new Hawaii Five-O, cos he's hot!! Or does that make me shallow? Hmm, otherwise, Thomas O Malley, the alleycat, I think he'd be cool to be around!

14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

My ultimate goal would be to see some of my work displayed in public art in somewhere like a hospital, inspired by and designed for that specific location.



----

Don't forget to check back for the next insight into our members - and thanks to Dawn for this week's interesting read!

Hazel

Member Interrogations - Mary Kent

Mary Kent, a jewellery designer also known as Nemea Designs, shares her thoughts on a heap of questions this week...


1 -Your name: Mary Kent


2 -Your shop name and address: http://www.nemeadesigns.co.uk/ and http://www.etsy.com/shop/nemeadesigns


3 -Describe your artistic style in three words: Bold, colourful, sparkly.


4 -When did you first start jewellery making, and how did you get started?

I first started making jewellery about six years ago. I have always been interested in jewellery and I have a good collection of costume jewellery, earrings being a weakness of mine. A long time ago I was inspired by Janet Coles and her wonderful bead catalogues to look into jewellery making as a possible hobby. I went as far as sketching a few pieces using her beads but I never followed it up. Fast forward a few years and I started thinking about it again. This time the Internet opened up a whole new world of suppliers and forums full of like minded people. I took the plunge!


5 -What do you love most about your craft?

The fact that I make people happy. Customers have often said to me that people stop them to ask them about their jewellery. What I like is not so much that others admire my work but that the people who wear them feel special because of the attention.


I also get to play with wonderful Artisan glass beads!


6 -If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

One day I would like to take lessons in lampworking. As much as I love glass, I suspect I may not be a natural talent. I just hope to get a deeper understanding of the process.


7 -Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us? 

There are two pieces that I love. The first is called Lilacs and it was a commission piece. The glass beads by Isabelle Anderson are dreamy but I also love the clear colour of the amethyst. This piece is owned by a friend of mine so I get a chance to see it worn .

The second piece is a recent creation. I made it the day before my son’s A level results came out. I was getting rather stressed so I opened my bead box and these beads which had been lurking there for years decided that they wanted to play. I don’t often mix sets by different artists but these rondelles by Isabelle Anderson were a match made in heaven with Laura Sparling’s beads (at least I think they are Laura’s!) So there you have it: Imperial

8 -Where do you find your inspiration?

This is such a hard question. I am inspired by many things from Music to Literature to Fashion. I also let the beads do the talking. They know exactly how they want to be made up!


9 -What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

I don’t use elaborate techniques in my work as the beads are strung (the challenge comes in the design of the piece). I must admit I love wired loops as I’m incapable of making plain loops; they never turn out right. I also enjoy working with Chinese knots when I am using leather or suede.


10- Where do you create your work?

Anywhere there is space! At the moment it is on a desk in the study but I have also worked with a tray on my lap.


11 -Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

At the moment I’m interested in the use of colour as a solid block. I like to see glass beads “disappear” into similar coloured gemstones with only a few crystals scattered around to catch the eye and make the viewer aware that there are different materials at work.


12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?

“Nothing better than Love and Service” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers


13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

I’d be terrified but it would have to be Oscar Wilde. I would just hide in a corner and just listen to the man!


14 -Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

All I can wish for at the moment is to have some free time to bead. I hope that I can continue to improve my skills and to keep making my customers happy.




Thanks Mary - another great read for all us nosy people!

Don't forget to check back Wednesday the 19th for the next interrogation...

Hazel Ward

Member Interrogations - Jo Reed

When you buy handmade art and craft, a part of you will probably be interested in knowing the story of the person behind the creations; how they started, their philosophy and style. That's why every fortnight we'll be gently interrogating our lovely Frit-Happens team members, and posting their answers for you to enjoy!

The brave Jo Reed of RedsBeads volunteered to be our first victim: here's what she had to say:


----------

1 -Your name:  Jo Reed

2 -Your shop name and address:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/RedsBeads and http://www.beadtopia.co.uk/

3 -Describe your artistic style in three words:  colourful, funky, quirky (I hope)

4 -When did you first start lampworking and how did you get started?

In 2008, I was so bored of the standard beads available and started looking for lampwork beads. I came across Mike Poole's website which grabbed my attention because he is based a few miles from where I grew up and his beads are stunning. I booked a lesson as a 40th birthday present to myself.

5 -What do you love most about your craft?

I've always has a fascination for glass and the way it interacts with light. To be responsible for miniature glass creations is a real joy for me.

6 -If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?

I love Sarah Hornik's work so I think that would be my number one choice but I would just love to have the time to take any class really ! I'm squeezing in silversmithing classes once a week at the moment and that is proving great fun.

7 -Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?

My favourite beads never seem to photo very well but I am very pleased with the heart pendant that I made for my sisters birthday. She was born on Valentines day so I love it because of the sentiment really.

Above: Sara's Valentine Heart

8 -Where do you find your inspiration? 

Everywhere, I love colour and try to use or combine colours that are a bit out of the ordinary.

9 -What’s your favourite technique within your medium?

At the moment I am obsessed with gravity beads, this technique is so much easier with my new dual fuel set up and I am getting quite carried away with it.

10- Where do you create your work?

I am very luck to have a studio in my garden which is so much more than a shed, it's a home office really (but it's still cold in the winter !)

11 -Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?

Orange and yellow, I have to stop myself creating almost everything in these colours. 

12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft? 

Don't worry bead happy ! Everything seems so much better when you've turned the torch on.

13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?

Maximus Decimus Meridius - I think it's the short skirt.

14 -Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?

I'm hoping to work more with silver and glass, starting with silver core beads.
Of course it would be wonderful to lampwork full time but this is some way off I fear.


-------

Thanks to Jo for starting off our new member interviews, and for providing a great read! Don't forget to check back on October 5th for the next feature.








Hazel Ward