AOTM January 2007 - Steph Jones

Started by handmadeheaven.biz, January 04, 2007, 12:21:55 PM

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handmadeheaven.biz

I'm determined to get this seen for at least a month! I put a lot of work into this! I hope no-one minds.....

January's Featured Artist: Steph Jones


I?ve always been interested in crafty things, be it making my own work or admiring someone else?s.
I think the first time I actually thought ?I?d like to give that a go? was in the early ?noughties?, browsing
around yet another craft gallery. I came across some simple fused glass hangings of clear glass and,
what I later found out to be copper, trapped within. The shine and richness of colour was so appealing.
To be honest I didn?t know what fused glass was for years! It was just ?glass? to me, as it seems to be
to many people who assume all glasswork is ?blown? glass.





I?ve had many a blank look when I?ve said I?m a fused glass artist. I find the simplest explanation of fused
glass is to say it?s like baking a cake ? you layer together the ingredients and ?bake? them in a specialised
oven. I think that helps the penny to drop! I don?t recommend eating the finished product though,
even if it does ?look like sweeties? as I?m quite often told of my work.





I do love the fact that fused glass is both pretty AND practical. You can use it just as a decorative
element but also it has plenty of practical applications too. Personally, I can?t stop myself making
coasters. You can never have enough coasters! They?re such a simple item but can really add
something to even the simplest surface.





I?m always learning and get a real buzz out of discovering what the glass will do.





I?m inspired by all sorts of things, not just particular people or their work. I tend to keep my eyes
open and perhaps see things other people might pass by ? a pattern in a fabric, a shape on a building,
the way two colours might lay next to each other in the pages of a magazine.





I always have my sketchbook to hand to scribble down ideas and notes which I?ll reinterpret in
my work, even if it just sparks off an idea. I try to keep my work as original as I can so I strive to
create something I?ve never seen before.





Glass likes to break in straight lines so I tend to let it! I suppose my style could be described with
words like: bold, bright, colourful and contemporary, with heavy accents of stripes and squares.
I?ll also always have a link to my branding of rainbows ? everyone loves a rainbow!





While the kiln is merrily ?cooking? away I like to work on my take on wire wrapped necklaces. Again,
I aim to be original with my jewellery as with my glasswork, striving to create that something a little
bit different. I find my nosing around galleries, fairs and craft shops reassures me that I?m making
something new. I find jewellery-making to be therapeutic and it keeps me busy when I?m not
cutting and assembling new glass pieces.





So far I?ve started small but bigger things are ahead for Handmade Heaven in 2007. I plan on
expanding my designs to include bowls, plates, platters, more art, lights and lamps, wearable fused
glass ? you name it, I?ll probably try it! I want to continue to develop and grow and aim to realise
the many ideas I have for my glasswork. If people continue to like what I do then I?m more than
happy to keep doing it! I find great pleasure from the reactions my glass gets and it?s so
encouraging to hear how something I?ve made has had an effect on someone.





The ultimate dream is to be doing this full-time, teaching others and having my own craft gallery
that might, one day, influence someone else enough to give it a go!





Steph?s work is available from her website: http://www.handmadeheaven.biz

And also on Etsy : http://www.handmadeheavendotbiz.etsy.com




Photography and Text ? Stephanie Jones 2007