Oh my goodness I just met the best woman her name is Leslie, and she’s a flamework artist / instructor! For those of you who follow me you know I create fused glass artwork. However, I’ve always found flameworking fascinating. I was lucky enough to watch John Veit create a marble once on one of my many trips to Florida to take a class from Tanya. It was mesmerizing, however, I was so overwhelmed by the process and I decided could never do it myself! To be honest I’m a tad bit freaked out by fire.
I’m digressing, anyway I was writing a blog about the video regarding “The Glass Age” and thought you know I should take a flameworking class just to experience it. So I Googled flameworking classes in Colorado. Lucky for me Leslie’s business popped up “Crazy Woman’s Glass”. She also makes a bit of fused glass albeit, her flameworking is amazing. So I emailed her and told her I was going to be in Denver and asked if I could stop by? She wrote me back within minutes and said she had a class in the AM, but the afternoon would be ok. So after spending way too long at D&L, I headed over to Leslie’s house.
Leslie was so gracious, I explained that I’m a fuser and just wanted to try flameworking then I admitted my fear of fire. She’s like no problem, safety is key and you could tell she wasn’t just talking the talk. Her studio was separate from her house and she had professional ventilation, eye protection, fire extinguisher, her propane was out of the main room, and the burners were secured to the stainless steel covered table. She also had 3 separate stations and more glass that you can imagine.
Within a very short amount of time I knew she was the flamework teacher for me. She was so knowledgeable and personable. She showed me around the studio, explained the class schedule and I told her I’d like to make a flower pendant and she told me how many classes she thought it would take. We talked about the different types of glass used in flameworking. She showed me some of her amazing creations and all I can say is WOW they were all stunning. It’s a good thing I want to make my own or I would have spent so much money (I’ll probably buy one anyway because she is just that talented) and her little fish are so adorable. Anyway I’m digressing again.
So as we were looking at her beads and pendants I saw one that I asked how she made it so she explained that she blue a bubble and incorporated the shards on the bead. I could not picture it so she turned on the burner and proceeded to make a bubble and then the bead incorporating the confetti. As a visual person that simple demonstration helped me so much more and solidified me taking a flamemaking class in July!!!
I’m so excited and I can’t wait to take this class! I was just crazy my 15 minute “quick” visit turned into a two hour visit. It was so great we were wearing shirts that were so similar and by the time I left we were practically finishing each others sentences. I love her passion for glass. How could I want another person to teach me flameworking.
I’ll blog again about my class in July. Wish me luck!!
Remember, follow your dreams and even if you don’t think you can try it anyway!
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Keeping my Kiln warm,
Karen
