1 - Your name: Jennie Lamb
2 - Your shop name and address: Raspberry Rings – http://www.raspberryrings.etsy.com, http://www.lovleylilybeads.etsy.com, http://www.facebook.com/raspberryrings
3 - Describe your artistic style in three words: I have heard my artistic style as being described as Bold, Unusual and Individual which I like and would hope that is how my pieces are seen
4 - When did you first start working with glass and how did you get started?
My Glassy journey began in April 2009. We had a contemporary giftware shop and at the time Sophie Muddimer who is Amanda from MangoBeads daughter was working for us in her gap year. Sophie kept appearing to work wearing these beautiful glass beads, I was doing wire wrapped jewellery at the time and was intrigued by the process. It didn’t take long before I was sat in front of Manda’s torch having my first lesson and the rest is history.
I have since had classes with Astrid Reidel, Carla Di Francesco, Diana East, Anouk Jaspere, Julie Haveland Beer and George Harper East
5 - What do you love most about your craft?
Glass is like a never ending story, it is ever changing, ever evolving, ever challenging and all encompassing and that is why I love it
6 - If you could take a class with any artist (in your field or otherwise) who would you choose and why?
Gosh there are a huge range of glass artists I admire hugely I cheated I couldn’t nail just one! Here is my list and why :
Bashi Ale from Glass works Boutique, I love his off mandrel implosion pendants and his reticello work.
Bronwen Heilman, really excites me her approach to glass and her use of enamels are so inspiring, a woman who really thinks outside the box and I have just heard she is coming to the UK later in the year so this wish might come true!
David Patchen, his vases are the most beautiful I have ever seen and a lesson with him would be fantastic
I would love a lesson with Andrew Brown, he makes the most beautiful marbles and paperweights but it is his coldworking and electroforming that I so admire so he is on the list as well.
And for Marbles no-one compares to Richard Hollingshead from Route 66 Glasswork I would love a lesson from him to!
My last choice is actually about to come true which is really exciting and that is Anita Schewgler from Unikal Glass Design who I am going to be going on a course with at the end of the year. Her huge intricate mandela beads are my absolute inspiration so I just can’t wait till October!
7 - Do you have a favourite piece of your work that you can share with us?
I have a few but this one was the first large mandela bead that had me skipping when it came out of the kiln!
8 - Where do you find your inspiration?
I am lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK, in Appledore, North Devon. The village is on an Estuary mouth with the Sea a footstep away and when I am not melting glass I spend a lot of time out and about with my two dogs so I get most of my inspiration from the environment I live in. I also love textiles and architectural design so I also take my inspiration where I find it, I think it is about keeping your eyes open to colour and design and you can find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.
9 - What’s your favourite technique within your medium?
I don’t really have a favourite technique but I think I am recognised for my mandela beads and my big swirl beads….
10 - Where do you create your work?
I have a great little studio which is opposite my house. It is situated up a small alley and is open to passing visitors in the summer. It was originally a woodwork workshop and the last owner was a keen carpenter and worked at the shipyard and I still feel his creative energy around the place as the building itself dates back to the early 1900s
11 - Do you have a favourite colour scheme or range when you’re creating pieces?
I love bright vibrant colours and love to experiment with colour combinations so no I don’t have a favourite colour scheme currently
12 - Can you give us a quotation/lyric/piece of advice that sums up your approach to life and your craft?
I try and live life to the full, keep an open mind and most importantly to live in the moment which I also try to apply to my glass work so this quote Edna Saint Vincent strikes a chord for me!
"My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But, ah, my foes, and, oh, my friends - it gives a lovely light."
13 - The most serious question of all: if you could meet any fictional character, from TV film or literature, who would it be and why?
So it deserves the most serious answer : Rupert the Bear because I like his trousers!
14 - Finally, what are your plans or hopes for your work in the future?
I am not sure what the future holds and I don’t think you can plan it to rigidly as by doing that you inevitably miss opportunities that are not part of ‘the plan’.
My aim is to keep enjoying and creating my glasswork and to keep expanding my knowledge of glass and techniques and hopefully keep producing glass art that brings myself and others pleasure. I also enjoy teaching so maybe I will expand more into this area and I would love to combine that with some traveling.
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Thanks Jennie, for a real fun read!
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