My first glass beadmaking teacher, Peggy Prielozny, offered to let me take her glass beadmaking workshop if only I would write up invoices, keep track of class material fees paid, and the like. Duh. This was not a hard decision, except that I knew once I got sucked in, I would be spending another 2K setting up a studio, and pretty much, that's what I ended up doing. However, I knew if I were going to get into shows (see elsewhere for rants about the artistic credibility of stringing) I'd either have to resume metalworking or take up glass beadmaking. And glass has colors. So I'm awfully glad Peggy made her generous offer.

Peggy is well known for her pixie dusted snailshells (though unfortunately I don't have a good picture); these delightful starfish join her other aquatic designs. Ranging them chromatically was my own idea, a tendancy to which I'm sadly prone. As ever, I remain amazed at Peggy's skill in applying highlight pixie dusts, without burning the color out and especially upon a shape that has to be worked so relatively cold.

Materials: Effetre/morretti soda-lime glass, automotive pearl powders. Technique: mandrel wound flameworking. Beads & image copyright 2000 Peggy Prielozny; photography by (you guessed it) sylvus tarn.

Beads copyright 2000 Peggy Prielozny

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.