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I have been drawn to arts and crafts in one form or another for as long as I can remember. If it wasn’t calligraphy, (which was a small “business” for me for a while in my pre-teen years), it was painting t-shirts, or making hair ribbons, or cross-stitch, or just about anything I could get my hands on, including jewelry and beads. For a while during my teen years, and again in my early twenties (before marriage and children…) I made and sold jewelry with my Hobby Lobby and Michaels finds. After my stint in the corporate world and after I had children, I discovered scrapbooking. I became an instructor for a direct sales company and immersed myself in that craft for several years. I enjoyed scrapbooking immensely (and still do) but jewelry making made its way back into my life when a good friend and neighbor, Margo, began selling her handmade jewelry. I had a home show for her, during which I made a watch with sterling silver and Swarovski crystals. My interest in jewelry was renewed, and I began making jewelry, this time with more expensive materials. I learned wire wrapping techniques, and taught myself how to weave and braid as well as chain maille techniques. I started selling my jewelry at craft shows to help pay for my hobby. While I was searching for new and exciting beads for my projects, I discovered some auctions on eBay for some beautiful handmade glass beads. Wow! I started learning about lampworking, which is the term for making glass beads by melting glass in a torch flame. I was really interested, but the initial investment in this hobby was pretty hefty. So, after many, many months of reading about lampworking, reading the message boards about how to set up a studio, pouring over the great glass books, and studying other artists’ work, my husband suggested that I take a class to get some hands on experience. That way I could be sure I really wanted to do this before I invested a lot of money.

I discovered through a fellow wire artist that there was a glass artist nearby who had a studio and gave instruction. I signed up for a 2-day workshop with her and I haven’t looked back since! That workshop was in November, 2005 and to my great advantage it was with a fantastic lampwork artist named Mary Karg. You can see her work on her web site and in several publications. She is a great teacher and a talented lampwork artist.

So, after deciding that I definitely wanted to take up lampworking, I started collecting tools and supplies. My husband helped me set up my studio with the proper ventilation and I decided to buy an oxygen concentrator rather than use tanked oxygen. After agonizing over how to run the ventilation in my craft room in the basement, we finally decided that it just wasn’t safe, so we put my studio in the front room of our house--the parlor! It actually turned out great, and now I have my whole Gallery in the front room.

So, that’s my story. I finally found the art form that truly inspires me-I found what I wanted to be when I grow up!