About Us
I (Janine) have been melting glass since 2004 and working in silver
since 2005. I love the combination of glass and silver, and am
always looking for new ways to put them together. I have been a
pyromaniac for all my life, and working with a torch with both glass
and silver fascinates me. I sometimes forget myself, mesmerized by
hot glass and the beauty of it. Hot silver flows and then reticulates,
creating lovely textures. And I like hammering!
I use handmade glass beads (made by myself or by John),
gemstones, Swarovski crystal, natural stone, pearls, lucite, copper,
and sterling silver and fine silver to create a variety of unique pieces.
I am inspired by shiny things, tattoo art, textures, fire and the
interplay of shadow and light.
In 2006, John fell in love with glass and brings his whimsical take on
the world and excellent heat control to his intricate dot beads and
glass creatures. In addition to beads and sculptural work, he is
exploring the world of marbles and off mandrel pieces. John is
inspired by weird things, as anyone can see from his creatures, and
our dogs, who often fit into the seriously strange category.
John particularly likes to make Border Collies, like the one in our
banner, which were initially prompted by Cassie, our Border Collie.
She died in June/08 but will live on in glass.
We love what we do, and have a dedicated silver and glass studio in
our house.
All beads and glass objects are made with a Nortel Minor torch, and
placed in a Skutt GM 10-F kiln immediately and annealed to remove
any stresses in the glass. Metal clay is fired in the kiln as well, for 2
hours.
Glass beads used in jewelry are all handmade. Metal beads and
findings are sterling, fine, Bali or Thai silver, unless otherwise noted.
We have taken classes with the following instructors:
Glass
Metalwork and other cool things
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