o n e   o f   a   k i n d   l a m p w o r k   b e a d s

I started making beads in 1995 after seeing Patricia Frantz do a demonstration at the Roadway Inn during the gem and mineral show in Tucson, AZ. For about a year I used a hot head with Mapp gas, and during that time my sister and I made beads whenever we had free time. We met other bead makers in our area, got a better torch (minor burner), and had to start selling our beads to pay for the habit. Our local bead making group brought Loren Stump in to teach - what a first teacher! Our first "big break" came when Lapidary Journal called and asked for slides of our beads. One of those slides ended up on the October 1996 cover! At the present time I use a Starfire torch with mostly Italian glass, and some Bullseye.

My creative endeavors began eighteen years ago when I learned to do calligraphy ( I still teach calligraphy classes at the local community college), and I transferred those skills toward bead making. The influence of the numerous design and color workshops I have taken over the years shows up in my bead designs. I enjoy the creative process of working with molten glass to form miniature paintings and sculptures. I am inspired by nature. I love the colors and images found in tropical locations and use my travel experiences to influence my choices when working with the glass.

I have shown my work at many bead shows and juried art fairs across the country, including "Reflections," a juried glass bead show at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Scottsdale, Arizona; Urban Glass in Brooklyn, New York, and exhibits in Japan and England. My work has been published in the Lapidary Journal, the cover of the 1997 Colored Stone Magazine Tucson Show Guide, Glass Patterns Quarterly magazine, Crafts Report and in Cindy Jenkins' book, "Making Glass Beads."