Art Glass Beads
Glass art beads are tiny sculptures born from fire
Each bead shaped by hand as molten glass softens and swirls in the flame. Using Italian Moretti glass, known for its rich colour and beautiful clarity, Kathleen melts and winds the glass around a mandrel, layering hues, adding details, and sometimes incorporating sterling silver, gold foil and cubic zirconia's to create soft shimmer and organic reactions within the bead.
This technique, often called lampworking, has roots stretching back thousands of years to ancient Egypt and Venice, where artisans first discovered how heat, colour, and chemistry could transform simple glass into wearable art. Today, every bead still carries that lineage of craft and alchemy.
A blend of tradition, technique, and the artist’s own imagination.