Lis Simpson, hot glass artist and
jewellery designer, has been making one-of-a-kind
jewelry pieces for about seven years.
Her glass beads are made on a torch from rods
hand-pulled in the glass factory in Murano, Italy, and
accented with shimmery dichroic glass, uniquely created
in only a few places in the states. She puts these fine
art beads on handmade sterling silver head pins and adds
bead accents and chain to display the bead.
Torchworked glass beads are
relatively new and unequaled in the jewelry industry.
Although glass bead making was an ancient,
secretly guarded art, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the
techniques began to be shared in North America.
It can take from one half to two hours to create
the bead on the torch, without any stopping!
If her cat calls to come into the studio, he is
ignored or the bead thermal shocks into tiny pieces!
It’s a tricky business working with molten glass.
Her passion for working with hot glass and her
repertoire of skills continue to expand as other artists
working in hot glass and in other mediums inspire her!
Glass beadmaking
has only been offered at art schools within the past few
years, so Lis began with a few lessons from another
Toronto beadmaker, then honed her skills on her own
torch. She
has also learned from other artists at the International
Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB) annual conference.
She has branched out into fused glass, using the
incredible dichroic glass. As well, she took the
wirework course from George Brown College’s jewelry
program, and four years ago became a certified
instructor for the innovative jewelry medium of Art Clay
Silver. She
now teaches these jewelry techniques both in her own
studio and at various venues in the Greater Toronto
Area.
Regional
Director for Canada, International Society of Glass
Beadmakers, 5 years
Secretary,
Scugog Council for the Arts
Chair, Lake
Scugog Spring Studio Tour, 2008
Chair, Purple
Turtle Art Festival
Uxbridge Art
Association
Artslink York Region
Scugog Arts
Council Showcase of the Arts (juried) 2005-2006
Lake Scugog
Studio Tour (Guest Artist), (juried), 2002 - 2007
Uxbridge Studio
Tour (Guest Artist), 2001 – 2006
Purple Turtle
Art Festival, Georgina, (juried), 2002 - 2006
Uxbridge Art in
the Park, 2000 – 2004
East Gwillimbury
Studio Tour and Christmas Show, 2000 - 2005
The Renaissance
Faire, Port Perry, (juried), 2001 – 2004
Green Goose
Gallery, Uxbridge, 2006-2007
Uxbridge
Celebration of the Arts UxShow (juried) 2005
Members’
Exhibition, Glass Art Association of Canada,
Harbourfront, Toronto, 2003
Ontario Craft
Council Show, The Kent Farndale Gallery, Port Perry,
(juried) 2003
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