Artist Statement  Lampworking allows me to express my artistic and creative side. What attracted me to lampworking was the fluidity of the glass in the flame as it wraps around a metal rod. I love to smear and dab different colors of glass into the basic bead to make it come alive to my eyes. There are three parts to making a glass bead. The flame, that is produced by a torch, the glass rod, and a metal rod called a mandrel. I melt the glass rod onto the mandrel while slowly revolving the mandrel between forefinger and thumb. The basic round bead is then produced. From there I can add colors, or pull, push, prod the molten glass onto any shape I want. There is generally no set agenda when I start the process of creating. What comes to shape might be a complex dot bead or maybe a whimsical basic bead for the bracelet or necklace I start to envision. Tab Berkey

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