My name is Gill Harrison (nee Hollingdale). I was born in S.E. England and have lived in various places including Germany, France, Florida and California but am now living near Stirling in a very beautiful area of Scotland.
I've always been interested in crafts and making things but in the summer 2006, whilst looking for something new, I started reading online about lampwork beadmaking. I decided it sounded like great fun as well as being a challenge so, after reading a few books on lampworking, I went ahead and ordered the beginners kit.
I've always been interested in crafts and making things but in the summer 2006, whilst looking for something new, I started reading online about lampwork beadmaking. I decided it sounded like great fun as well as being a challenge so, after reading a few books on lampworking, I went ahead and ordered the beginners kit.
Well I was very nervous at first working with the hot flame (quite funny when I think back to it) but it didn't take long for me to get hooked on playing with glass! Soon after that I was ordering my first kiln so that my attempts at beadmaking could be properly annealed. Then, not long after that, I upgraded from a hothead torch to a Carlisle mini CC which runs on propane and oxygen.
Having the small bead kiln I also decided to have a go at fusing glass. Then in May, 2007 I took a 4-day fusing course with Erna Pierchna at Retro Glass in Alloa. It was a fantastic course and afterwards I was even more hooked so... decided it was time for a bigger kiln! I still have the small one for annealing my beads but can now also fuse larger projects.
So far I have only worked with soft glass; effetre and other c.o.e. 104 glass for beadmaking and bullseye glass for fusing. I have done some beadmaking with bullseye rods and also enjoy making components with them, in the torch, that I can then use in my fusing work.
There's still a lot to learn but I'm having great fun in the process.
There's still a lot to learn but I'm having great fun in the process.