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Welcome! to Gratitude Beads.This is the home and gallery for my original lampwork glass art beads.It is my belief that every good artist creates with heart and soul and the ultimate reward for that creation is the creation itself. For me that certainly is the case. I never cease to be amazed at the beauty and depth of handmade lampwork beads. Lampwork beads are created with molten glass and the artist is often surprised at what occurs when the glass finally cools into it's final bead state. It is my belief that every collector of any art form fills his/her collection with pieces that call out to him or her. When this occurs the creation and collector come together in harmony and the result of what comes next is everlasting beauty and joy. I feel this is especially true with the collector of handmade lampwork beads. I have found both making and collecting these wonderful pieces of glass art certainly can be addicting. I have been asked why the name Gratitude Beads? Quite simple actually. These wonderful creations remind me daily to stop and look around for the good thing out there. We certainly are faced on a daily basis with difficulties, but on the other hand often forget to look past the difficult stuff and see the good mixed in. Working with hot glass is an exhilarating process. The beautiful lampwork beads resulting is a thrill. What can I say other than I simply love each handmade bead and can hardly wait to do it again. It is like Christmas waiting for the kiln to cool to see what little jewels or sometimes total flops are inside. A while back my bowls of lampwork creations started to invade every nook and cranny of the house. For a while I seriously thought there was a breeding program going on that I was not privy to. One day a client (not a bead client) was looking at a large bowl of these beads and I said "pick one out" ... "something that calls to you". She poked through the bowl for a few moments and finally chose a bead that actually had earmarks for the good will. There were indeed many in the bowl that were far more beautiful. She said she just loved THAT ONE. She was happy and so was I. The agreement was she would pay attention to that bead periodically to remind her of the good in her life and the world. Our deal was sealed and Gratitude Beads was born :) Enjoy your stay! |
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