Hi - My name is Patty Miller and I have always loved beads! I designed jewelry for years with care to size,shape and texture of the beads to make the piece perfect. Well, now I love melting glass and making the beads I use! I have enjoyed multiple art mediums as life has led me down various paths of artistic endeavors ( ceramics, metal working, clay sculpture, clothing design) and eventually into jewelry design 14 years ago. Eight years ago a friend introduced me to lampworking and it has been true love ever since.
Working with glass is about light and color. The constant challenge of the glass in the flame and then the kiln - getting it to do what you want and loving what it does on it's own. My beads and fused glass pieces become the focals in my own jewelry as well as being for sale.
My beads are handcrafted one-by-one in my home studio in Knoxville, Tennesee, are always carefully cleaned, and kiln annealed to ensure you enjoy your purchase for years to come. Unless otherwise noted in my item description, my beads are all created on 3/32" mandrels. My beads are made from Effetre (Moretti), Vetrofond, CIM, Reichenbach, Double Helix, and/or Lauscha glass, then annealed in a digitally controlled kiln for lasting durability. I use a Nortel Mid Range Burner torch fueled with propane and my oxygen source is an Airsep 5LPM oxygen concentrator.
Fused glass designs made in the kiln can be very tiny or very large - very simple or very intricate and complex. After I design a piece it is put in the kiln and fired through a 4 phase cycle and the glass is annealed in the process. The firing temperatures and holding times can vary causing different results in appearance and shape which are used as part of the design process.
My jewelry incorporates only the finest components: no plated metal, my own handmade glass beads, sterling silver, copper,brass,gold-filled, ornate Bali and Thai silver, genuine gemstones and Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls,etc. I will spend hours choosing various textures, shapes, colors and materials to create individual pieces that are truly distinctive and unique. I check every pearl, stone and metal component insuring color, quality, size and consistency and then design and construct each piece with painstaking care and attention to detail.
I love glass and metals together so I work to incorporate my glasswork with silver smithing and precious metal clay. There is no limit to what you can do with silver clay and now there is bronze and copper clay as well! I love the earthiness of the bronze and copper and will be playing with them for sure!
In 2005 I took a great kiln fusing class with glass master Brad Walker at Arrowmnont School of Arts and Crafts.
I have been lucky enough to take classes from several people whom I consider to be wonderful bead artists: Plum Loco who showed us sculptural tecniques which challenged me and helped me develop a fearlessness of breaking glass so I can focus on creativity, I got to be studio wench for a class with Haley Tang (the silver glass queen) and picked up a few tips there! ;o) and Teresa Brittain who showed us how to work with enamels, gold leaf and Bullseye glass!
I am hoping to add more to the list as there is always something new and exciting to learn.
