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Presents November Lampwork Babe LYNN BAUTER |
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"...flowers are the main element in my beads..." Lynn Bauter began making beads in November 2005. “I’ve been interested in watching people melt glass since I was very little,” she says, adding, “I saw someone making lampwork beads on TV in the summer of 2005, and decided that I wanted to know more.” Reading everything there was to read on the subject, Lynn asked her husband for a starter kit for her birthday. That, according to Lynn, was all it took; she was now hooked.
Having dabbled in many arts and crafts in the past, as with many fellow lampwork artists, Lynn says, “I was making a lot of clay flowers, but something was missing.” Lynn jumped right in and took her first and only beginner class in lampworking. Lynn has her first beads and keeps them as “memories” of her first days on the Hot Head. Now using a Carlisle Mini Torch, she compares here current “little flower beads” to the “big, uneven blob of glass with sharp edges” stating, “They are awful, but great to look back on to see how far I’ve come in a year.” Lynn works with Effetre and Lauscha glass. She prefers to make sets, but has started making focal hearts covered with flowers.
Harriet Harrison, according to Lynn, is without a doubt the person who most inspires Lynn. She says, “Like Harriet, flowers are the main element in my beads, and when I saw her beads for the first time, I just about died! They were SO BEAUTIFUL!”
Although Lynn does not feel she has a signature bead at this time, she says, “If I had to choose one, I suppose it would be one of my Bouquet Series beads. A squeeze bead covered in flowers.” When asked how this bead came about, Lynn states, “I guess you can say that it was made by accident. I was at my torch playing with my new press and new frits… that shape gave me a lot of room to add more flowers.” She admits, “I really didn’t give the bead much thought until it came out of the kiln and my husband told me what a pretty bead [it] was and how I should make a set.”
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Most of Lynn’s family has not seen her make beads yet since they live in California and Lynn lives in Oregon. In fact, Lynn says, “I really don’t think the rest of my family understands exactly what I do and how I do it! I’m hoping they will visit soon so I can show them how it’s done.” Her husband, Brian, and son, Jake, on the other hand, are her biggest and most supportive fans.
With a year of glass making behind her, Lynn has certainly come a long way. She would still like to learn to make encased beads and incorporate CZ’s into her work. She also expressed a desire to learn to work with Boro glass.
Lynn says, “I was lucky to buy a studio stocker glass rod assortment (25lbs of glass). The enabled me to do all the practicing I needed without running out of glass and also allowed me to experiment with colors, mixing, playing, etc. that helped me to really learn about the glass.” She would recommend this to anyone starting out. Her favorite tool is a “Merickal.” Lynn states, “This glass holding tool keeps me from burning my fingers and allows me to use up a complete glass rod. I rarely have nubs left lying around! I love it.”
Lynn tells us she sells her beads on auction sites, including The Annealer Magazine Auction Boutique to make her “own little stash of cash to buy more glass, frit, presses, etc.” adding, “… it’s an addiction as everyone knows. It used to be purses and shoes, now it’s glass rods and the new press on the market!” A website is in Lynn’s plans for future marketing of her work. She also hopes to sell her beads in local boutiques and small shops, and plans on taking a jewelry designer course or two so she can sell finished pieces as well. Until then, you can find Lynn’s beads on the auction sites under the name: “brilynn59.” A
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