AOTM January 2008 - Sarah Bedwell

Started by Isabelle, December 31, 2007, 05:16:22 PM

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Isabelle

The Artist of the Month for January is:


Interview with Sarah Bedwell for Frit Happens.


When did you first become interested in bead making?
Spring 2006 not long after I started to make jewellery I found lampwork beads on ebay. I started buying & then wanted to make my own so my starter kit arrived in sumer 2006 and I haven't looked back since then. Almost every surface in the house has a bowl or pile of beads - I have a very patient husband.


What was it about bead making that particularly fascinated you?
I've loved glass for as long as I can remember and have all sorts of glass around the house - I've been collecting it for almost twenty years. When I discovered that I could fuse glass and make beads at home there was no looking back. With bead making it is the interaction with the hot glass that appeals - I've really enjoyed learning to work with it and coax it into to a shape or form. And I love the fact that whatever technique I learn there is always another out there waiting for me.


Have you taken any classes, and if so, with whom?
I have been lucky to train with Diana East, Kate Drew-Wilkinson and Sarah Hornik..
All the classes have given me an insight into how other bead makers work and helped me to develop techniques I was struggling with or wouldn't have tried on my own.  Classes are great fun and you always learn something from the other students as well as the tutors.


Whose beads have you found to be particularly inspiring, and why?
I first fell in love with Rebecca Wedell and Manda Muddimer's beads. I think it was their work that inspired me to begin making beads. Rebecca's precision is amazing and I love the way Manda works with colours.
Diana East has also been a great influence on me - she seems to meld science and art.
Looking further afield I admire what Jen Geldard and Andrea Guarino do - they seem to push the boat on what they achieve whilst maintaining very clear styles.
And I yearn for Dora Schubert's stringer control.


Have you got a signature bead, or bead style?
My beads tend to use colour blends, metals or reactive glasses. I'm not a geometric person and like
curves and fluidity in most things - I think this comes through in my beads.But I don't think that I have yet developed a clear style - I'm still experimenting with different techniques and don't think that I have settled into one style yet. I do go through "phases" where I try a new glass or technique and become obsessive about it. At the moment its using silver with the vetrofond odd lots.



Do you work with glass in any other way?
I began fusing before making beads. I'm currently limited by the size of my kiln so stick to glass pendants and cufflinks and occasionally coasters and small dishes. I'd love to have a bigger kiln to make dinner plates and platters.


Do you make jewellery?
Yes - jewellery was my introduction to bead making and most of my jewellery now uses my own beads. I get a real kick out of seeing someone wear my jewellery.


Where can we look to see more of your work?
I sell my work through my website www.flameforcefive.com and there is lots of my work in my flickr album www.flickr.com/flameforcefive. My aimfor 2008 is to sell at bead fairs and to get my jewellery into one or two local galleries.


What are your plans for the future?
I'm currently trying to master dots.
But, in the longer term I want to set up my studio properly - I work in a corner of my kitchen at the moment which is very convenient (I can turn the kettle off with one hand with a mandrel in the other) but limiting in space terms. And I want to take more lessons - and continue to enjoy playing with glass.


Thank you, Sarah.