KannaGlassStudios
Location
Greer, SC, United States
Quick Blurb
inspiration, artisan glass beads, jewelry
Interests
glass, silver, mixed metal, sewing, crocheting, knitting, painting (my house!), Jane Austen, James Bond, Star Trek, Dr. Who, country music, American Southwest, reading, Louis L'Amour, hiking, Maltese, walking my Maltese
Skills and Techniques
lampworking, stringing, wire-wrapping, chain maille, art clay (new as of 9/2009)
Chain maille is a technique of weaving small metal rings into patterns. Chain maille was originally used for armor in the middle ages and now a growing group of artists have developed a number of very interesting weaves to be made into beautiful, intriguing jewelry. A number of creative materials can be used such as rubber, aluminum, and colored wire. My work usually uses argentium silver and copper. It is a time-intensive, intricate art.
Lampworking is an industrial art that is the foundation of my work. It involves using a high-pressure propane and oxygen torch to melt glass around a thin metal rod to form the glass beads you see in my jewelry. Artisan glass beads are an investment in much practice as it takes time to learn to work with molten glass as well as investment in the glass, the tools, and equipment to make sure you make the most durable and lasting product. Once the bead is formed, it goes into a kiln to "anneal"...a process that allows the glass to cool slowly to prevent thermal shocking and cracking. Sometimes, in spite of all efforts, our glass still cracks and those beads are never sold. Responsible glass artists only sell their best beads and also guarantee their beads. Once the beads are annealed, then they need to be cleaned. After they are cleaned, they are designed into the finished pieces of art you see today.
Find me online @:
http://www.kannaglassstudios.com http://www.kannaglassstudios.blo… http://www.flickr.com/photos/153…Get to Know
Texas is where my creative muse was incubated, hatched, and fledged. Now it's unstoppable-- taking wing and flitting a little bit of everywhere... painting, crocheting, sewing, home interior design, and jewelry. The challenge has always been reining in the idea storm and focusing it on one medium. I love to play and you'll see a wide variety of techniques in my work: lampwork (my main squeeze), complemented by wire-wrapping, chain maille, and stringing. I have managed to wrangle my idea sprite to the ground and we had a good talk...we are going to focus on glass and silver. Mostly. You'll probably see various techniques creeping in from time to time as I try out different ideas.
Texas has provided a broad base of inspiration in the southwest style with wildflowers, big sky, constant sunshine, longhorns, cowboy lore, ranching, and oil. Now I reside in Hong Kong. It's a very modern city, but I seek out the quaint and rustic. The sea, islands, city, villages, mountains, weather, and modern fashion are saturating my brain and soaking my journal with pages and pages of color and style that are bursting to be realized in jewelry.
Thank you so much for stopping by. ZaiJian, Y'all!
Texas has provided a broad base of inspiration in the southwest style with wildflowers, big sky, constant sunshine, longhorns, cowboy lore, ranching, and oil. Now I reside in Hong Kong. It's a very modern city, but I seek out the quaint and rustic. The sea, islands, city, villages, mountains, weather, and modern fashion are saturating my brain and soaking my journal with pages and pages of color and style that are bursting to be realized in jewelry.
Thank you so much for stopping by. ZaiJian, Y'all!
