After the Buyers Market of American Craft, I’ve had a renewed eye for glass.  The section devoted to glass is huge. When I started working for the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, my first day on the job was attending the Buyers Market. What a crazy first day. And what an amazing introduction to the craft community. I both thought I was in over my head and in art heaven.

Glass has a way of grabbing your attention. Maybe its the shine or the colors or the patterns and texture. It demands your eye. Here are a few choice works from Pennsylvania glassblowers.

Photo credit: Nathan J. Shaulis

Pictures of Pittsburgh’s first all glass public art installation created by Jill Reynolds and Dan Spitzer. On view at 11 Stanwix, Downtown Pittsburgh.  Discovered through Pittsburgh Glass Center.

Captivating. I can imagine these “re-lights” by Jerry Kott in a sophisticated, airy modern space or in a cozy, eclectic space. They are uplifting and soothing. Jerry Kott is a diverse and talented “designer, artist and maker.” All his forms, whether they are his concrete garden sculptures or glass chimes have a calming quality. This particular series he calls, RE, “Rebuild, redefine, relive, reinvent, recycle.”

Jerry says, “I take empty wine bottles, cut them apart, polish the edges, frost the glass (inside and out} and reassemble them into hybrid bottles of various shapes, sizes, colors and uses.”

And with fabulous results, I might add.

Kate, in partnership with her husband, designs and fabricates unique sculptural and functional metal works using old farm machinery –Gatski Metal. Kate is also the mother of two busy little children.

I stumbled across this little number on Etsy’s front page yesterday. After I poked around the shop for a few minutes, I noticed – to my delight – that the artist was from Bucks County!

In the piece above, Kristie – the artisan behind Artisan Clay – fuses recycled industrial glass to stoneware in the second of two kiln firings.

From her profile:

In our spare time we pretend to be urban homesteaders on our tenth of an acre on sidewalked streets; fruit trees, berries, and a chicken coop in the old outhouse. OK OK, Hubby is in charge of the chickens, I just shower them with treats and enjoy their awesome eggs and fumble my way around the garden dreaming of a sustainable society.

It is the height of summer. I am still fixated by calm and cool designs. My recent inquiries into recycled art and craft lead me to Momo Glass (Hellertown, PA). I felt at ease as this gorgeous glass medallion appeared on my screen.

Their work is made with 100% reclaimed window glass. They say that, ‘transforming this material into jewelry is a daily miracle in our work- we strongly believe in re-using materials.”

Now I must confess that they are relocating out of Pennsylvania. At the moment they call Pennsylvania home, but they are heading to New England. Perhaps this can be our reminder to savor the work of our Pennsylvania artists while they are our neighbors.

Don’t miss their “About Us” page on their website. They have a dreamy little story.

Kate, in partnership with her husband, designs and fabricates unique sculptural and functional metal works using old farm machinery – Gatski Metal. Kate is also the mother of two busy little children.

Penny, from Spot On Designs, is a murrini glass artist out of Philadelphia. These pieces are made by creating layered glass rods and then fusing them together. It’s then cut in cross-sections to reveal the pattern. She has many colorful pieces in her shop, but I love these neutral pendants. Ask my mother or my husband, I have a real soft spot for neutrals! [Read more →]

I love that mosaic is both art & puzzle. You take your vision, chop it into many small pieces, and put it back together again. Margaret Almon, of Nutmeg Designs, is a Pennsylvania mosaic artist who uses, “topographic layers of Italian glass tile, gold smalti, stained glass and anything sparkly I can get my hands on” to create her unique pieces.

[Read more →]

The HiP giveaway for this week is sponsored by Berks County resident, Sandy, from One Bead at a Time. Please take a minute to read Sandy’s story and find out about her work. At the bottom of the post, you’ll find out what you can win this week and how to enter!

Sandy began working on lampwork glass beads over 10 years ago. Along with her husband Mark, she owned a bead shop in West Reading (they still own a fantastic drum shop!) and was inspired by a book on glass beads. She says, “When I started lampworking, I knew I had found a craft that I could explore for years and never come to the end of its challenges and possibilities.”

“Lampwork refers to working with glass in a torch. It is one of the more accessible ways to work with glass as the equipment is reasonably affordable and the space needed is not excessive,” explained Sandy.

Although she’s taken classes on new techniques and is inspired by colleagues, Sandy tends to let her creativity run wild when designing new pieces. Like so many brilliant artisans I’ve met, she says, “the creative spark comes from somewhere inside or perhaps from somewhere up above. Right now with my new interest in glass fusing, I do hope to take some fusing classes from Vitrum Studios in Maryland. So I am saving my pennies!!”

Speaking of fused glass, Sandy is newly enamored with fused glass. “Glass fusing is basically cutting pieces of glass from a sheet of glass; arranging and stacking the pieces and melting them together in a kiln.”

Where does Sandy get her inspiration for her beautiful pieces? “I love color. I love to find glass colors that react with each other in unpredictable ways. So often the inspiration comes directly from the glass. I am also inspired by nature. I know – everyone says that but where else can you find such stunning combinations of colors and textures – always changing but always just right? My beads tend to be organic in color and design and I love abstract patterns and textures…I do better if I go into the studio with a very vague idea of where I am headed and just let the process take over.”

I couldn’t resist sharing Sandy’s story of her Ethereal Boro Becoming Bicone Bead (above).

This is a new design for me that came out of noticing how much I liked my beads before they were finished and melted smooth. I like the extreme texture of the bead and the suggestion of angel wings. It has some really nice metallic luster too that is a feature of the borosilicate glass that I use in my beads. Borosilicate glass is a glass that melts very slowly and often has lots of metal in its chemical makeup. The colors of boro often react with each other and the glass can create many tones and shades of color in one bead.

In her Etsy listing, she adds this detail, “Thus – the “Becoming” bead name – a little bead reminder that it is all about the journey, not the destination.” Fabulous!

Sandy also teaches private lessons in her home studio. You can email her at sandree AT comcast DOT net for more information.

So what can you win this week? How about these beautiful fused glass coasters?

To win this set of 4 Sea ‘n Sand Coasters:

• You must be a resident of the United States (please note this change!)
• Leave a comment on this post with your favorite item from Sandy’s Etsy shop.
• To receive an extra entry, share this post on Twitter, Facebook, other social networking site, or your blog. Comment again with the link!

Giveaway ends Friday, February 13, at noon.

This week our giveaway is from Jericas Jewelry – a fabulously simple pair of handmade earrings.

Three Coins in the Fountain Glass Earrings

Jennifer from Jericas Jewelry explains, “These sterling silver and Czech glass earrings are simple, modern and striking.” Jennifer has been designing handmade jewelry since college. She saw fashionable jewelry she couldn’t afford and decided to give it a try for herself.

Jennifer works in two main styles: glass & naturals. In her Etsy shop, she focuses on her glass & sterling silver pieces. In her “3 Coins in the Fountain” series, she enjoys playing with color while coordinating bracelets, earrings, and necklaces.

She also creates jewelry pieces from natural materials such as pearls, shells, stone, gems… Those pieces you can find in jewelry stores & boutiques.

Jennifer loves meeting other crafters and is currently networking with the other members of the Philly Etsy team and the University City Arts League, where she teaches an afternoon class. She has also mentored several friends who have decided to take up crafting jewelry after seeing her passion for it.

Jennifer has many goals for the rest of 2009. She says, “[I want] to try to do some craft writing and submit it to various blogs and sites, to submit some original designs to jewelry-making periodicals in hopes of publication, to finish my AJP (Accredited Jewelry Professional) degree through the Gemological Institute of America (I’m 2/3 of the way there!), to be a vendor at the upcoming 2-day Philadelphia Flag Fest, to be held at the Betsy Ross House in Old City, Philadelphia and to continue to challenge myself as a designer.”

In order to win the light blue earrings you saw pictured at the top of the post, you must:

• be a resident of Pennsylvania
• visit the Jericas Jewelry shop on Etsy and comment here with your favorite piece
• for a second entry, blog about this giveaway
• for a third entry, click on the link below (“Pretty please click here to share.”) and share this giveaway on your favorite bookmarking site or Facebook!

As always, the giveaway will be open from now until Friday (Jan 30) at noon. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

Jennifer was kind enough to extend a discount to the Handmade in PA.net community, as well. Enter the code “HIP0109” in the “Notes to Seller” at checkout and she will refund 20% of your purchase (excluding shipping). She’s got another great deal to pass on to you once you’ve made your first purchase, too!