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23 artist profiles of some of the most significant FlameWorkers:

Christian Arnold Beau Barrett Deborah Carlson Julie Conway Kathleen Elliot Ben Elliott Suellen Fowler Brayton Furlong Jacky Geurts Eric Goldschmidt Robert Kincheloe Carmen Lozar	Magnum Mangkang Robert Mickelsen Jupiter Nielsen Chris Pantos Joe Peters & Peter Muller Marcel Rensmaag Ken Schneidereit Jeremy Sinkus Nathan Snyder Jennifer Umphress Filip Vogelpohl

Reverse axis Wig-Wag Marble - by Rob Morrison – The wig-wag marble is one of my favorite designs due to the colors and patterns that are possible. They are still new to me and I am having a lot of fun making them. This is an excellent demo to become more familiar with tube work and its characteristics. It is a great way for the marble-maker to branch out into some patterned tube line work while still making marbles. The glass must reach the correct temperature to twist without folding over onto itself...

Glass at a Crossroads - by Paul Stankard – In the early 1960s, if you worked in glass, it did not take long to learn the names of, or meet, most of the glassblowers within a 100-mile radius. Two standout pioneers nationally of the four or five who influenced my early career were John Burton, “the father of colored borosilicate glass,” and Harvey K. Littleton, “the father of the studio glass movement.” They showed me a new range of possibilities with glass beyond practical use. Burton’s creative attitudes celebrating hand skills, and his inventiveness, led to a wide range of colored borosilicate glasses that expanded the decorative opportunities for flameworking. As a factory worker, Littleton’s approach to glass was difficult for me to comprehend and be comfortable with. He was teaching glass art-making in a university art school setting and his sculptural expectation for glassblowing was strange but captivating. Both men, one functional and the other conceptual, introduced me to higher levels of being creative in glass beyond scientific glassblowing...

World Glass FlameOff - by Josh Powers – When World Glass presented its first-ever FlameOff in Corning, New York, over the last weekend in May, during the city’s second annual GlassFest celebration, with special guest Paul Stankard, thunderstorms threatened to blow us away and make us soaking wet at the original site — a park pavillion. An emptied parking garage turned out to be the perfect venue for this event, and we hope to keep it going as a street event for years to come...

Tim Lindemann - by Tim Lindemann – Creating this chandelier was eye-opening because, in developing it, I realized that there were aspects of torchworked glass that would let me make chandeliers that could not be made with soft glass. I wanted to make a chandelier whose pieces could be supported individually, would not have to rely on the pieces under them for support, and could be positioned while molten. In contrast to Chihuly’s chandeliers, which are sculptural and primarily lit only from the exterior, it was essential, to me, that my designs have interior light sources. Technically speaking, this meant that I had to make them so that they could be wired legally and so the bulbs could be easily changed. This is what I was up against: first, to make something technically sound; second, to find a creative individual voice; and, third, to create something that I had not seen before...

Eco-friendly Spiral-pod Pendants - by Paula McDonough – Awhile back, after I had accumulated a bunch of these “orphan” implosions, I decided to stick them back in the flame and come up with a usable piece. My experimentation led to the discovery of these spiral-pod pendants. They are cute and perfectly respectable “upcycled” items that make a great affordable addition to your show inventory. This tutorial covers the basics of turning an implosion pendant into a spiral pod....

Making Deep-well Marbles - by Scott Thompson – Marble-making is a fascinating and addicting process of creation. In some respects, you are making a miniature planet or world with each endeavor. I call this piece a “Deep-well Marble,” so named to reflect the deep-well effect that it gives of looking into a deep well of water, air, or the cosmic space time continuum...

A Simple Aquatic Sculpture - by Danny Sullivan – My point is mainly to emphasize that it is easy to learn skills on your own; I always prided myself in being smart enough to figure things out. There is nothing wrong with that, but if you get the chance to take a class from someone, do so! The expense is well worth it and it will improve your skill sets exponentially.
Now let’s work on an aquatic sculpture...

Mastering the Art of Reticello - by Lee Silveri – This article portrays the technique referred to as Reticello, a type of filigree glass developed on the island of Murano sometime in the 16th century. The cane or rods of separate blown vessels are spun in opposite directions, then fused together by inserting one into the other. The result is a intricate net-like pattern. Traditionally, this is preformed at the furnace. The flameworker can create a similar effect at the torch.
There are a few ways to achieve this pattern. The steps shown here are a combination of techniques I have picked up and developed along the way. This method allows for making anywhere from seven to 12 sections...

Romance with Color: Making Your Own Custom Colors - by Robin Foster – One reason to mix your own colors is to get those expensive colors at a more reasonable cost. Another is to make your own custom colors. I have found a third reason: the joy of discovering and understanding the chemical reactions that create color in glass. This additional understanding can improve your work and help you create your own special effects...

Realistic Fantasy Eyes - by Jeannie Cox – I love fantasy art—faeries, dragons, etc.—but also love realism in my pieces. For this reason, I spent months experimenting solely on the eyes for my Dragon Eye and other eye pendants and beads. I wanted a unique, realistic-looking eye, which I could not achieve with murrini. I have developed this multi-step, layered eye—each made individually—to achieve the realism and depth I was searching for...

Good Things Come in Small Packages—Creating a Miniature Perfume Bottle - by Amy Trescott – Although I’ve had a love affair with glass art since I was a youngster, it wasn’t until my husband helped me set up my own studio in 1998 that I began lampworking— and I’m still completely hooked. Over the past 13 years, I have developed a fascination for how the two worlds of science and art come together to give us the wonderful world of lampworking. I’ve been blessed with a loyal clientele over the years and have been fortunate to have my glasswork featured in various books, magazines, calendars, and television.
I look forward to expanding my designs and acquiring new skills as I move forward with my lampworking...

Getting More From Your Murrini - by Ken Schneidereit – For more than 2,000 years, glass artists have been creating murrini. I am so enamored with the process and resulting art form that I am committed to the continued development of this specialized glass art. (You can learn about my general murrini building process in my demonstration, “’Autumn Leaves in Glass’—Murrine Art Captures Nature’s Design,” in Glass Line, Vol. 22, Number 2.)
The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the ways I have been exploring using murrini beyond marble and paperweight inclusions and the roll-up hot glass process I have used in the past...

Boro Nebula Galaxy Pendant - by Mike Hurst – The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a nebula as “any of numerous clouds of gas or dust in interstellar space.” If you have seen the deep-space pictures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, you know how incredible this area of the natural world can be. (If you haven’t seen the pictures, you really should.)
I have always been drawn to making pendants. There is something about a small piece of wearable art that brings a certain satisfaction to me. Of all the styles of pendants and marbles I make, one of my favorites — and most popular sellers are nebulas, or galaxy style. They look like a scene from deep space, and no two are alike...

Hummingbird Feeders - by James Mills – About a year ago, I was browsing through some glassblowing videos on YouTube when I ran across a video on making a hummingbird feeder, by Brian Zingmark (bzglass). I watched the video a couple of times and decided to give it a go. While I was making the first one, I started to think about why you always saw red in these feeders — the feeder was red, the sugar water was red. After a bit of research on the subject, I found that one of the first feeders was designed by Laurence J. Webster of Boston sometime between 1929 and 1935; first produced by an MIT glassblower; and not commercially available until around 1950. I also found that colored sugar water isn’t really necessary, but that the color red is an attractant to the little birds...

Students and artists benefit from International Flameworking Conference - by Nathaniel Dark – At the 11th annual International Flameworking Conference, glass artists from around the globe encouraged students to challenge the boundaries of using glass as a creative medium.
Held at the Salem Community College (SCC) Paul J. Stankard Studio and Lab at the Samuel H. Jones Glass Education Center in Alloway, NJ, from March 18–20, 2011, the event featured well-known glass masters. More than 300 people attended the three-day conference, sponsored by the SCC Foundation and supported by several businesses.
Through demonstrations, slideshows, and networking, SCC glass students and others learned...

Milestones in Flameworking - Blessing, Lifestyle, and Responsibility - by Kenan Tiemeyer – We all have our own stories about and reasons for how and why we got into working with glass, just as we all have our own reasons for why we stick with it and make it a long-term commitment. I don’t know how my experiences and reasons compare with others, but I do know that the opportunity to work with glass has constantly challenged my perspective on what it means to be independent, responsible, and creative. It has forced me to look at many aspects of my life as a whole and ask questions that, when properly explored, facilitated learning and growth, and eventually led to a sense of freedom in multiple forms. There have been a myriad of challenges — emotional, intellectual, and technical — over the years. After 10 years of working in this medium, I wanted to share a little of my experience in and perspective on this challenging career path...

A Day in the Studio - by Paul J. Stankard – Early each morning before sunrise, when I enter the studio, I begin the day with a prayer or meditation by touching the mezuzah that hangs in the door frame. I thank God for the day and ask Him to bless my workplace. This moment is important because I embrace the idea that labor is a prayer. I’m honoring God by realizing my full potential as a human being. I believe that the spiritual, however you define it, should be an essential component in one’s art-making. The studio is more than a place to work; it’s a holy space where the spiritual dimension of art-making nurtures a respect for discipline while working toward one’s personal best.
The tranquility that comes from touching the mezuzah follows me into the studio as I begin the day’s activities, which start with walking to the control panel to check the status of the annealing ovens. I’m proud of my computerized controller. When I think back to the late 1960s and early 1970s, it’s bittersweet because I remember...

Laurie Salopek: Figuratively Speaking - by Karen J. Leonardo – Laurie Salopek is a real-life example of a person juggling work, aging parents, and the love of her artistic life—flameworking. She creates her beads and flameworked figures in her home studio while she manages a fulltime “other” career and cares for her parents, who are now in their 80s. “As they get older, they both need more and more attention from me,” she says. On any given day, Laurie will have put in a full schedule, but still takes time to pursue her interest in the human figure and her glasswork—she usually spends about one day a week on her art, with some class time when possible ...
Also included is her tutorial: Making a Cameo Mermaid Bead

"whatiswhatis" Is that the question or is that the answer? - by Nathaniel Dark – At whatiswhatis art studio in Boone, NC, whatiswhatis is both the question and the answer. Whatiswhatis is a think tank that creates an environment for individuals and groups to brainstorm in infinite ways. The studio has ample space for flameworkers, a hot shop, and a metal fabrication area. On a daily basis, artists are creating new age art on many levels at the studio. ...

Advanced Torch Paradigms: Using compressed air and inline regulators to drastically improve your torch’s range, the quality of your work, and your understanding of the whole process. - by Nathaniel Dark – As Glass Line celebrates 25 years of service to the glassworking community, I would like to share what I think is the most important aspect of fully understanding the process of flameworked, colored, borosilicate glass: the ultimate control over your heat base and flame chemistry. When you truly understand how and why things are working, it is much easier to create what is in your head and push your work to the next level. This true understanding can only come from a little education, some exploration, and the right set-up.
While there is often more than one way to do many things in glass, there is usually only one perfect way to do something. By having inline regulators within easy reach, and by manifolding a little compressed air into your fuel line, you will have a flameworking station that will help you find the perfect heat, not limit your options by running your torch at the lowest common denominator. When it is easier to control your torch, you are more apt to experiment to find just the right flame for the job. When you have just the right flame, your heat base improves and you will be amazed at how much easier it is to do just about everything...

 

Making a Hollow Boro Shell Pendant by Mike Hurst – I have always liked seashells. The shapes, colors and patterns of seashells found in nature are fascinating. For the past several years, I have been trying to figure out how to make a realistic-looking seashell pendant in glass, but I was never happy with how they turned out.
Recently, I was doing demos at a show with a good friend, Roger Child. Roger makes great sea-life sculptures. He made a few shells over the course of our demo, and was gracious enough to show me how he makes them. Since then, I have been hooked on making my own. I came up with this style ...

Female torso in soft glass (effetre) by Monique Swinkels – I enjoy working in my home-based glass studio every day. I work on my own collection and on commission. My studio has multiple workplaces and is suitable for providing workshops on topics such as flameworking or working with silver clay. My present collection primarily contains sculptures in soft glass. My starting point is the human figure, especially the female body. In this tutorial, I show how to create a female torso in soft glass...

An Appreciation of Clinton Roman by Paul Stankard – In many ways, Clinton Roman is archetypal of the new-wave borosilicate flameworker whose innovative skill astonishes me. Clinton, an American original, is reclusive, spending most of his waking hours alone in his studio. He finds inspiration and solace on a 23-acre compound in Oregon’s coastal wilderness, about two hours outside Eugene, 35 minutes from the nearest convenience store and an hour from doctors, banking, and other necessities of modern life. Clinton and his supportive wife, Laura Roman, who administers to the day-to-day details of an artist’s active career, are New Age spiritual people. Their lifestyle affords Clinton the freedom to work like a monk in his studio ...

Making a Round Satellite Bead by Melanie_Moertel – The "Satellite" design is one of my oldest stringer paintings and can be used as either a single design element (as with this round focal) or part of more complex stringer paintings. I like it most on rounds, because of how well the shape of the bead and the shape of the "satellite" go together. The hairline stringer shown in these photos might be hard to see—I use very thin black stringers to make these beads. For practice, use bigger stringers first and thinner stringers when you feel comfortable enough with the technique ...

100 Years of Glass Marble History by Mark_Christensen – Ever since I started working with hot glass, I have paid closer attention to the history of glass. Glass serves us by its functionality, by its complexity, or simply by its beauty. I imagine that we have all been amazed at some point by the vision and artisanship behind some piece of glass manipulated to serve its purpose.
The amazement for me started when I was introduced to collecting vintage machine-made marbles a few years ago. Toy marbles, more specifically, made for children to play simple games during a simple time. I began to focus on marbles made during the early to mid-20th century. The colors were bright, and the color separations were crisp ...

Momiji (Maple) Murrine by Masae Nakahara – I assembled murrina components in front of other people for the first time for this article, and learned that my methods like not using a ponti to pull a cane or deliberately pulling canes in uneven thickness are not very common. I was told that other people pull canes in different sizes separately or pull the cane to a larger size and pull parts of it smaller later to get murrine in different sizes. That was a revelation. My methods are just ...

A Non-drip Hummingbird Feeder by Scot Bennett – The glass hummingbird feeder is an example of a project inspired by a customer. My family and I live in the town of Cherry, Minnesota. During the summer, I always get requests for hummingbird feeders. The idea of a non-drip hummingbird feeder came about because a customer at a greenhouse said she would not buy the type with a 9 mm tube feeder part sticking out, because it had a slow drip. I thought about how to fix it and started to make one a different way. Now there are no issues with dripping, and I can add more leaves and petals to the hummingbird feeder to make the whole piece come alive ...

Goldenrod Reticello Pendant by Bashi Ale – A well-executed Reticello pendant is truly a thing of beauty! It is a piece of jewelry that you can be proud of, especially in the fact that the wearer will treasure your work for years to come. I started making these little beauties in 2005 and have never looked back. Here is my method for creating a Goldenrod Reticello pendant ...

Copper Electroformed Plant using Color Blowout (Flameworking step-by-step tutorial) by Dave Park – This demonstration will show how to build a copper electroformed glass plant with a steel base. The featured glass technique is known as a “blow out,” represented by the color portion of the plant. I would like to thank Christopher McElroy for introducing me to this technique. Kate Fowle Meleney is a good resource for maintaining an electroforming setup. Thanks to Troy Bennett for letting me hop into his electroforming schedule for this piece ...