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I am delighted to have been featured in October, April & January 2009 edition of Cornwall Today Magazine
My work is also available from The Cornish Crafts Council Gallery at
TRELISSICK NATIONAL TRUST GARDEN
Trelissick Garden
Feock Truro Cornwall TR3 6QL
TRELOWARREN ESTATE GALLERY
Trelowarren Estate
Mawgen in Menege Nr Helston Cornwall TR12 6AF
www.cornwallcrafts.co.uk
Commissions accepted
Please remember these beads are hand made so no two beads are exactly the same and they may vary slightly in size

I create glass beads in the traditional way one by one in my studio located steps from the sea in the Downlong artistic quarter of St Ives in Cornwall



These minature works of glassy art are designed by me, this process is called Lampworking, this originates from early days in Venice where artists melted glass over the flame of an oil lamp to make a bead

Today Lampworkers like myself use a modern torch fuelled by a mix of oxygen and propane, this provides a clean flame to melt the glass in excess of 900 degrees, hence why I wear protective eyewear to shield my eyes from the glare of the flame!

I have been fortunate enough to take workshops in Italy from the masters in Florence and Murano Island, Venice

Using Moretti-Effetre glass rods (these are of a high quality) produced on the Island of Morano near Venice, Italy, I heat the tip of a rod of glass to flowing, next holding a steel rod (mandrel) I quickly wrap the glass around the mandrel, similar to winding thread onto a spool, then the glass is shaped around the heat of the flame by means of gravity. To complete the bead it is then decorated in a variety of ways with other colours of glass, silver leaf or enamels, every bead is unique with stunning colours

Special tools can also be used to help create various shapes
During the process the glass is a brilliant glowing red, no two beads are ever exactly the same

The beads are kiln annealed for durability and strength to remove any stress from the glass - once the tension is removed glass beads are quite resistant to breaking

The beads are then cleaned and ready for wearing and admiring.....