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It's not by accident that
I've taken the magpie as a symbol for my creations. Is anyone
immune to the charm of shiny things? When we see them we long
to run them through our fingers, have them to look at, wear them.
Badger is me, it's a nickname.
I started making glass beads in
2003, after years of buying them and loving them and not having
a clue how they were made. My business, Magpie and Badger, was
started in 2004.
I create glass and jewellery pieces
that draw attention. The centre of each is my own handmade lampworked
beads, made in Italian Moretti and German Lauscha glass, as well
as British Plowden glass, an ages old technique of melting and
winding, combined with modern technology in kiln annealing, which
removes stresses in the glass and prevents it from cracking.
My unique focal beads are combined
with my own spacer beads along with sterling silver beads. The
wires are sterling silver, the wirework and clasps are my own.
The look of the beads stems from
a number of sources, inspired by nature, as in my seashell beads,
colour systems like Aura-Soma, the Art Nouveau and Crafts movements,
and simply by the quality of the glass itself, a material that
can be both molten and frozen. In addition to the striking bangle
bracelets, I make link bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Loose
beads are also available.
My artistic background could be called, in a word, varied: I
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, studied dance, theatre
and ceramics at university, worked as a radio presenter, moved
to Germany, established the first German art rubber stamp company,
learned to draw from Betty Edwards (author of "Drawing on
the Right Side of the Brain"), taught creative courses,
moved to the UK to study art therapy, learned glass bead making
and aspects of silversmithing. I believe that we all have a creative
core that doesn't rely on degrees or having permission from anyone
else to bring our creations to life.
There are fewer than 100 bead makers
in the UK. Magpie and Badger's base is in Herefordshire, a most
undiscovered part of the UK, with beautiful hills and countryside
and no motorways! My life is also shared with Alun and Christopher
and our cat Cyd in Leamington Spa. My teaching studio is at Exemplar
Glass in Leominster, where Jane Ballard and I provide tuition
in lamworking, fusing, mosaic, enamelling and stained glass.
Visit www.exemplar-glass.co.uk
for more information.
All of my pieces are unique one-offs,
like anything in nature no two are ever exactly the same. Commissions
can be undertaken, or existing pieces adapted to specific tastes
and needs.
I love demonstrating glass beadmaking
at galleries, meetings and shows. I feel that this really underlines
the handmade, artisan quality of the beads. People are simply
amazed not only by the magic of melted glass, but by the fact
that someone in the UK is actually making the beads themselves.
Contact me if you're interested in booking a demonstration.
Education:
Foils and Enamels, Dora Schubert
(Germany), Stourbridge, West Midlands
Sculptural Glass, Loren Stump (USA), Stourbridge, West Midlands
Glass Bead Making, Kate Drew-Wilkinson (USA), Stourbridge, West
Midlands
Glass Bead Making, Diana East, Leicester, Leicestershire
Glass Bead Making, Pauline Holt, Stourbridge, West Midlands
Silversmithing, Ian Buckley, Bromyard, Herefordshire
Creative Expressive Therapies, University of Derby
Painting and Drawing, West Dean College, Sussex
Botanical Painting, Anne-Marie Evans, Market Overton, Rutland
Drawing, Betty Edwards, New York City, USA
Private drawing and painting instruction, Germany and UK
Memberships:
Women in Rural Enterprise
Glass Beadmakers UK
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