Janet Jenkin taught English as a second language to adults for many years, but always found that she needed a creative activity to balance the more theoretically based work. Moving to part-time educational writing a few years ago has given her more time to concentrate on developing her practical skills in lampwork and jewellery making, to the extent that she has been able to start a small business that she hopes will grow in the future.
She says she always loved jewellery making and glass objects in any form, so her attendance at a workshop run by Peter Minson as an introduction to lampwork seemed like the perfect blending of the 2 passions, and it's been a continuing love affair ever since. Janet has made jewellery with glass beads for more years than she would like to admit to, but has only been lamp-working and making her own beads since 2007. Serious exlploration of beading and bead-weaving using Japanese glass seed beads is another continuing journey that started only recently.
Janet is inspired by combinations. She loves combining different colours, techniques and materials in her lampwork. Her colours of choice are black and/or ivory, and/or silver as a foundation then builds on that with other colours. Her colour palettes vary and to avoid the trap of limiting her work to the colours she prefers, she will often challenge herslf to try working with particular combinations that she may not initially be comfortable with.
Lamp work with soft glass is her preferred technique at the moment, although she is starting to experiment with boroscilicate (hard) glass and her seed beading favourite is working with different sorts of ropes such as spiral, netted and Russian.
At the moment Janet is mainly selling her jewellery through word of mouth and her beads at the Bead Society of Victoria meetings, where she is teaching some basic classes for the Society members. She is excited about being part of the Festival of Glass, and being able to show her finished work to a whole new audience. She jopes that in the future she attains many more skills in a variety of lampwork and beading, and to be selling her creations online as well as face to face.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Artist interview with Glenda MacNaughton
Glenda Mac Naughton, who in her own words is a self taught artist and designer who handcrafts all of her own designs. In 1996 her mother gave her some glass beads, and a book about beading, however it was a couple of years later that she came across some fantastic woven glass beadwork in a shop in Austin, Texas (USA). She liked what she saw, bought another book, some needles and beads and on the long haul back to Australia, she set about getting seriously involved in beading.
She lives near the seaside in Drysdale, which is on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria's south east where she is enjoying the quiet life of beading. In her day job, she was an academic who "created" with ideas and words, now she enjoys the mysteries of creating with meaning, and with colour, shape and form. She tries to bead with social responsibilty in mind and she publishes about beadwork and beyond, in beading magazines and on her daxdesigns blog. She has a growing list of awards for her art beadwork and sells her work at local markets and on her online shop.
Her business name 'Dax Designs' came from Dax, who was a much loved dog rescued from a local dogs home, but who sadly became the victim of a snake bite. Dax the dog was named after a character on Star Trek; Jadzia Dax.
Glenda is inspired by women in diverse cultures that have long used shape, pattern and colour in beadwork as a language, to talk about things of significance to them and to their culture. She draws on this practice to design and handcraft wearable beadart that can talk about things such as social justice, respect for diversity and also to create a more eco-friendly world. Her messages of hope, possibilities and desire are all crafted by her in her use of shape, pattern and colour to create designs that escape the ordinary and embrace difference.
She hopes to create beadwork that is so pleasing and striking that those who wear it and those that see it, will talk about it, and so the messages of diversity, the environment and social justice will also get talked about.
Glenda says she tends to gravitate towards lime, purple and orange colours, which are fresh, edgy and vibrant. She loves weaving with tiny glass beads using the traditional Peyote stitch.
She is an active member of the Victorian Bead Society, where she teaches, however she is planning to teach locally at the Springdale Neighgourhood Centre in Drysdale, where classes can be customised to individuals and group needs.
For further information on Glenda's beading life go to: http://www.daxdesigns.com.au/
She lives near the seaside in Drysdale, which is on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria's south east where she is enjoying the quiet life of beading. In her day job, she was an academic who "created" with ideas and words, now she enjoys the mysteries of creating with meaning, and with colour, shape and form. She tries to bead with social responsibilty in mind and she publishes about beadwork and beyond, in beading magazines and on her daxdesigns blog. She has a growing list of awards for her art beadwork and sells her work at local markets and on her online shop.
Her business name 'Dax Designs' came from Dax, who was a much loved dog rescued from a local dogs home, but who sadly became the victim of a snake bite. Dax the dog was named after a character on Star Trek; Jadzia Dax.
Glenda is inspired by women in diverse cultures that have long used shape, pattern and colour in beadwork as a language, to talk about things of significance to them and to their culture. She draws on this practice to design and handcraft wearable beadart that can talk about things such as social justice, respect for diversity and also to create a more eco-friendly world. Her messages of hope, possibilities and desire are all crafted by her in her use of shape, pattern and colour to create designs that escape the ordinary and embrace difference.
She hopes to create beadwork that is so pleasing and striking that those who wear it and those that see it, will talk about it, and so the messages of diversity, the environment and social justice will also get talked about.
Glenda says she tends to gravitate towards lime, purple and orange colours, which are fresh, edgy and vibrant. She loves weaving with tiny glass beads using the traditional Peyote stitch.
She is an active member of the Victorian Bead Society, where she teaches, however she is planning to teach locally at the Springdale Neighgourhood Centre in Drysdale, where classes can be customised to individuals and group needs.
For further information on Glenda's beading life go to: http://www.daxdesigns.com.au/
Monday, October 18, 2010
Glass Studio holds 'open weekend'
Festival participants Totally Shattered Glass Studio in Point Lonsdale will hold an 'open weekend' on November 27 and 28.
The event will feature:
- Hand-made plates, platters and bowls
- Jewellery
- Paintings and handicrafts
- Christmas decorations
- Demonstrations.
When? Saturday 27 November and Sunday 28 November, 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Where? 1480 Portarlington-Queenscliff Road, Point Lonsdale (Melways: 485 K8)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Festival logo launched
The Festival of Glass has a logo! Designed by Festival committee member Lyn Ingles, the logo is a tasty combination of text and colour (see photo).Expect to see a lot of this logo. It will feature on all the Festival's advertising, publicity and marketing material, as well as on roadside signage for the Festival.
The logo's launch is a significant step towards creating the Festival's identity. Thanks Lyn!
Festival's entertainment lining up
Entertainment at the Festival of Glass is starting to take shape. The Festival committee is lining-up local entertainers to complement the local glass people who will present its exhibitions, demonstrations and workshops.The first act to be signed-up is Steer - a new local accoustic band consisting of Sharn Redman, Jamie Pye and Stacey Thomsett (see photo). Steer is planning to release its first CD - also called Steer - in 2011. The CD will aim to steer youth - and adults - in positive directions. 'It will be full of songs about people and life that encourage everyone to follow their dreams', said Sharn Redman. 'We don't think that negativity or peer pressure should stop anyone having a go!'
Steer was a highlight of the Annual General Meeting of the Drysdale & Clifton Springs Community Association and their next appearance locally will be on 24th October at the Family Fun Day at Drysdale's 'Potato Shed'. Catch them if you can!
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