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

Technique Tuesday!
Yesterday I told you that Wendy Talaro has graciously shared her tutorial on fusing glass.  I’m so glad, because even though I’ve tried it a few times, I feel in no way qualified to speak at length on the how tos!  It’s a lovely thing when folks are so willing to share their expertise

Glass Fusing Primer
So What Is Glass Fusing?
Glass fusing is the process of assembling pieces of fusing compatible glass (i.e. glass that has the same rate of expansion/contraction when heated or cooled) and melting those pieces in an electric kiln until they stick together, becoming …read more

There is so much that can be learned from artists who work outside the realm of jewelry.  In the case of Wendy Talaro, she has graciously offered to share her expertise in glass fusing with us!  Have you ever wanted to try fusing, but weren’t sure quite how to begin?  Wendy has demystified the process for us.  Today, I want to introduce you to Wendy’s work, and tomorrow for Technique Tuesday, Wendy has written a tutorial on glass fusing that I know you’re going to want to see!

Glass artist: Wendy Talaro
Website: Fawkes Artglass
Wendy writes:
The 9 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ slumped …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

Artist: Doug Frates
Website: Doug Frates
Usually I profile glass artists who make wearables on this site, but I had to make an exception for Doug, because as you’ll see, his work is exceptional in every way! I think you’ll really enjoy reading what he has to say about his artwork, his process, and his business tips!  He stresses how much hard work goes into building a successful business, and that is true in any creative field.

Doug, how did you decide to simply use your name for your business?
I picked the name of the business because as a High End artist …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

Artist: Lea Avroch
Business name: LA Jewelry Designs
Location: Long Island, NY
Websites & Blogs:
http://www.lajewelrydesigns.com
http://www.lajewelrydesign.blogspot.com
http://www.lajewelrydesigns.etsy.com
http://www.lajewelrydesigns.artfire.com
http://twitter.com/lajewelrydesign

Lea, your beads are beautiful!  How do you describe your work?
I make handmade wearable glass art and unique jewelry. I started out as a jewelry maker (self taught), mostly stringing and simple wire work and most recently to beadweaving. I’ve always been fascinated with glass. I have a collection of some lovely art glass sculptures in my home so when I saw that a local art league was offering lampwork classes, I quickly signed up. It was a beginner class, which gave me the basics. I since have taken …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