In the early 80s I was involved in the early hot glass movement in Western Australia. My fascination with how the material looks and behaves in the molten state has never diminished and a chance meeting between my son and a lampworker selling her work through a glassblowing studio/gallery initiated an interest in glass bead making. At the time I was crafting objects out of sheet glass. The day I got some glass glowing on a mandrel marked the finish of one discipline and the start of my adventure in lampworking. That was in 2004 and again the fascination is undiminished. What happens to glass in that glowing molten state is a captivating process. As glass rods can be pulled down into smaller lengths it is possible to create patterns both abstract, graphic and complex as in murrini. I am particularly drawn to colours that are often difficult to coax in the flame. Recently manufactured glass varieties that produce lustre have me hooked but can be difficult to master and repeat. Some colours benefit from high heat, again difficult, but rewarding in colours produced.
Tools also evolve and with the supply of flower presses from European makers I have explored the potential of the miniature glass posy. My flower posies are often a study in sympathetic colours or an unlikely splash. Luckily for me my son Namaya is my studio neighbour and can supply me with his beautiful borosilicate small vases for a special finish.
Sometimes of course, the answer is simplicity. Jewellery has a job to do in that it must be useful as a wearable art form.
As a designer/creater my mission is to make jewellery ready for now and sought after by the next generations.