Melissa Schmidt
"No matter what the current trends in jewelry, glass has the ability to transform itself to follow those trends. Glass is pure and predictable and yet has endless possibilities. "
Inspired by antique blown glass buttons, Melissa Schmidt's blown glass jewelry is whimsical and unexpected. By using bubble shapes, Schmidt takes full advantage of light's ability to make each piece glow, shine, and sparkle. Her work is at once tactile, visual, and auditory, as movement creates delight for the wearer and observer.
Schmidt uses borosilicate glass, a material known for its great strength. The first step of lampworking each bubble is to rotate a clear glass tube in the flame of the glass torch. After molten glass is accumulated at the end of the tube of glass, the bubble is carefully blown from the other end. The steps of re-melting and blowing continue until the desired size is reached.
Raised on Oahu, Hawaii, and in San Francisco, Melissa Schmidt now works out of her 120-year-old studio in St. Louis. Her glass mastery is mostly self taught with years spent refining her techniques.
Inspired by antique blown glass buttons, Melissa Schmidt's blown glass jewelry is whimsical and unexpected. By using bubble shapes, Schmidt takes full advantage of light's ability to make each piece glow, shine, and sparkle. Her work is at once tactile, visual, and auditory, as movement creates delight for the wearer and observer.
Schmidt uses borosilicate glass, a material known for its great strength. The first step of lampworking each bubble is to rotate a clear glass tube in the flame of the glass torch. After molten glass is accumulated at the end of the tube of glass, the bubble is carefully blown from the other end. The steps of re-melting and blowing continue until the desired size is reached.
Raised on Oahu, Hawaii, and in San Francisco, Melissa Schmidt now works out of her 120-year-old studio in St. Louis. Her glass mastery is mostly self taught with years spent refining her techniques.
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