About
Goanna Glass Beads.
Hi, and welcome to
the Goanna Glass Beads website. Over the last 8 years my love affair with
glass has transformed several times. I started out fusing and slumping
glass, making anything from table ware to wall hangings. I have dabbled
with glass casting - I attended a casting workshop with Sally Portnoy and I have experimented with glass and enamels.
More recently - in
2003 I did a flameworking class at the ANU with Peter Minson. This is
where my journey into bead making and Jewellery began. In 2004 I
participated in a workshop with Roccio Bearer in Florida, USA. Here I learned the
technique of building a landscape inside a glass bead. In 2006 I
attended a workshop with Corina Tettinger whilst she was in Brisbane ,Australia,
and picked up some more great techniques from her.
In January 2008 I
participated in a flame work class at the Ausglass conference in Canberra with
Roger Parramore.
Glass bead making
is now my obsession, I spend every spare minute of the day in my studio.
Studio
|
THE STUDIO
This is the display area of my
studio. It is set up so that I can exhibit my work on this side, and
if you scroll down you can see the other side where I work.
|
Glass Kiln |
THE KILNS This is my glass kiln that I would use
to fire my fused and slumped work. It is a ‘Top Hat’ style kiln that is
designed so as not to let too much hot air escape if the door is opened during
firing. This kiln was designed and manufactured by Riley Glass Kilns.
|
Little Kiln |
This little kiln is strictly for
annealing the glass beads. Although it does reach temps of up to 1300 degrees,
it is very small and ideal for bead annealing. |
Glass Work Bench
Other Work Bench
|
THE WORKBENCH
This is where I do my flameworking.
My bench top is made of tin which keeps it fire proof, and believe me some days
the hot glass can really fly.
This is the other side of my work
bench, where I do every thing from compiling and creating new jewellery to
cutting and placing glass for my kiln formed work. |
Larry |
‘LARRY’
Lastly I would like to introduce you
to ‘Larry’. Larry is an Australian Goanna. He was created for me by
another talented craftsman - Geoff Murphy out of polymer clay. Larry is
the mascot for Goanna Glass
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