Artist: Mark Hamilton
Business name: Solstice Glass
Location: Eugene, OR

Website & Blog:
Solstice Glass
Solstice Glass blog
Mark has graciously offered a special discount to Jewelry&Beading readers: if you type BEADING into the box for the coupon code, Mark will give you 10% off your entire order before shipping.  This offer is valid through the last day of November 2009!  Thanks, Mark!
Mark, how do you describe your work?
My work is inspired by natural organic forms and colors, and I work with borosilicate glass because the color palette has more of an organic feel than soft glass does.  Most of my designs are scenes such …read more

Jannine Scott has ten years experience working with glass, using mostly Italian soft glass.  She loves working with the hot molten color, and particularly is fond of encasing designs in clear glass to obtain a magnifying and floating effect.

Jannine has shown her work at both the Bead & Button show and also the Tuscon Gem and Mineral show.  She has been featured in Lapidary Journal and the glass magazine The Flow.

You can reach Jannine through her myspace page at J9Glass, and soon her website will be operating as well, which I’ll post here just as soon as it’s up and …read more

Artist: Liliana Glenn
Business name: LilianaBead
Location: Natick, MA

Websites & Blog:
LilianaBead
LilianaBead.etsy
LilianaBead.blogspot
How do you describe your work, Liliana?
My business name LilianaBead reflects my dedication to expressing my aesthetic ideals in glass. Each bead is a result of my journey alongside glass and fire. My commitment to the process, the medium and the design underlies everything I make.

My Heart
Color and form dominate my collections. The finished pieces continually remind me how much I love color. Color in glass is particularly rich because of its interaction with light; the possibilities of layering are limitless. The eternity of glass is partially …read more

Glass artist: Linda Steider
http://steiderstudios.wordpress.com
http://www.steiderstudios.com
http://www.1000markets.com/shops/steiderstudios
Visit Linda’s blog and you’ll be enchanted by the lovely photos of flowers, glass, and the outdoors.  It’s pretty easy to see some of the things that inspire Linda, that’s for sure!   A visit to her website shows you immediately how many different ideas she likes to play with.  Glass is a never-ending source of delight for Linda.

Linda writes:
I love glass! I love wearing it, how it feels against my skin. It can feel light & airy like my earrings or more substantial like my chunky glass bracelets. The pendants I make are everything …read more

Glass artist Liz Rowe from Milwaukee sent me this fabulous image of a winestopper she made.  I hope that someday Liz will have a website so that we can see more of her gorgeous work!

Liz writes:
The Lampwork glass vessel wine stopper is made with Italian glass 104 coe. After annealing the vessel, Lily pads, and top I applied my PMC3 design and re fired it according to the PMC3 schedule. The vessel is sitting on 3 Lily pads, one of PMC3 and two of glass. The Top that looks like a the sorting hat in Harry Potter is …read more

Nancy Tobey is a busy busy glass artist!  Her teaching and show schedule are enough to make anyone tired, but that is after she has spent countless hours making all of these gorgeous little gems of glass.
Nancy writes:
Fourteen years ago, my passion for glass led to me wonder if it was possible to make glass beads by hand. I soon found out, not only that is was possible, but that it was grand fun as well.
Over the years my glass love continued to grow and evolve. I went from collecting jelly jar glasses to telephone pole insulators to …read more

The International Society of Glass Beadmakers promotes the growth and recognition of glass beadmaking as as an art form.   This year the ISGB held its annual Gathering (yes, that is a glass pun) in Miami Florida at the end of July.  Classes, presentations, and opportunities to network and shop are the highlights of the show.
A special video was put together from members’ photos that they sent in prior to the event.  If you’ve got any interest in glass beadmaking, this may be the organization for you.  Don’t they look like a fun group?

Help me out here…did I miss any good ones?

Lampwork Etc Forum

Warm Glass Forum

Glass Line’s Hot Glass Forum

International Society of Glass Beadmakers Forum

National Bead Society Forum

Wetcanvas Glass Art Forum

The Glass Haven

What’s Up Wednesday

The Complete Book of Glass Beadmaking
by Kimberley Adams
I still love Cindy Jenkins’s book called Making Glass Beads, because it was the first lampworking book that I bought. But I have to say that if you are just beginning the artform now, I’d have to recommend Kimberley Adams book. There have been some changes in availability of different tools, torches, kilns, and glass since Cindy’s wonderful book was published, and Kimberley writes of her gratitude to her early teachers.
I found this book to be a wonderful refresher on the basics, plus it had intermediate and advanced sections with …read more