Artist Statement
My Casual Contemporary jewelry is handcrafted using the timeless forms of lampworked glass and porcelain beads. My designs incorporate my original beads complimented by Sterling and Bali silver, Czech and Japanese glass beads, and semi-precious stones. My artistic expression took the form of jewelry about three years ago when I began to experiment with lampworking. I came to lampworking after 20+ years of working in stained glass. I was immediately entranced with the manipulation of the molten glass, and my flat glass work gave way to the excitement of the torch.
My experimentation with porcelain beads was precipitated by a detached retina in my left eye in December of 2001. The subsequent numerous surgeries that followed left my depth perception very compromised, making me insecure about working at the torch and with the sharp edges of cut glass. Still having a need to express myself creatively, I turned to clay, because as I like to tell people, “it can’t burn or cut me”. I hadn’t worked with clay since I was in college in the late 70's. The resulting exploration and experimentation has been exciting for me creatively as well as therapeutic for my recovery process
I began my clay journey by making porcelain beads and medallions that I was using as mini canvases on which I painted with Cover Coat glazes. I have used fabric and lace, as well as hand-carved wood seals, to create interesting surface textures that are accentuated with glazes. In doing technique refresher research I discovered the traditional Japanese technique of Nerikomi. This technique involves using porcelain clay that has stains and oxides added to create a colored clay body. Nerikomi combines the colored clay bodies resulting in a marbleized effect. The degree of marbling is “controlled” by how much the clay is kneaded after the colors are combined. I roll out the clay with a rolling pin using 1/4" hardwood rails to achieve a uniform thickness. I cut my geometric shaped beads out of these slabs and use a needle tool to created the bead holes while the clay is still soft. When dry, I scrape and sand the surface of the beads to reveal the color patterns before firing. The same clay body yields different color values depending on how hot the beads are fired. The patterns don’t fully “bloom” until after the final glaze firing, so I am always excited to open the kiln and examine my new porcelain “gems”.
