Wendy Adams
I'm living my dream of being on the Island and drawing creative energy from my surroundings.
Wendy moved from Calgary to the Comox Valley in 2007 and semi-retired so she could spend more time playing with glass. For over twenty years Wendy has been designing jewelry, but 2001 she came across a "Lampwork Bead" in a store and was enamored by its beauty. She immediately found a place to take a beginner's class and a week later she had a torch, kiln and glass set up in the garage!
That didn't sit too well with my hubby – so he began building my studio and there began my glass obsession!
Wendy starts by melting Italian glass rods over a 220ºF propane/oxygen flame. The molten glass is then wound onto a stainless steel rod called a mandrel. By using heat, gravity and a variety of tools, a bead is born! Then the bead is put into a kiln to remove all the stresses from the glass thus strengthening them; making them more durable.
What still surprises me most about this is, working with something that is solid one minute and molten the next. It has been technically challenging, but exciting. That's why glass has kept me spellbound for all these years! I draw a lot of my inspiration from the nature and beauty around me.
