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Beth's Baubles: bnjohnson@roadrunner.com MORE ABOUT ME!!! YOU MUST HAVE CLICKED ON THIS LINK BECAUSE YOU ARE VERY CURIOUS!! I'm Beth Johnson, a retired Biology professor and college administrator. Working with students to help them understand the relationships in the natural world and the amazing complexity and beauty of the human body was most rewarding. It was particularly thrilling to see a passion for Biology take over a student's imagination! Retirement in 2000 allowed me more time to devote to my artistic side. I used to paint in oils and acrylics, and once I retired, I began to explore other areas: I designed and sold freeform baskets, using everything from twigs, rattan and yarn, to slender iris leaves from my garden. And, I created "art quilts" and found the colors and textures of fabrics to be compelling. I felt like I was painting once more...but I was painting the faces of family and the beautiful scenery of the Adirondacks with tiny bits of fabric! My love of interpreting nature through various media finally brought me to the art of lampworking. Each bead is lovingly formed in a flame fueled by propane and oxygen, then annealed in a kiln to insure stability. Coming to understand this new medium and the many surprises and rewards it offers keeps me up late many a night! In early 2007, I began making silver pieces from precious metal clay...pure silver particles suspended in an organic "binder." Beads, and pendants with unique designs and exact replicas of leaves, twigs and seeds have become earrings, pins and neckpieces. In 2008 I added bronze and copper items to my repertoire. Soon, I plan to attend workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico to learn more about metal working. A photo of one of my jewelry pieces was included in the "I Love New York" brochure for 2007. A birch leaf pin in pure silver is featured in Adirondack Life's September '09 collector's edition. My jewelry can be found in galleries and shops throughout the Adirondack region, including at the Wild Center (Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks) in Tupper Lake, NY. My studio is in my home, nestled alongside the bank of the Racquette River, in the center of the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York. This is a region of evergreen forests, and deep blue lakes strung together by the random flows of the Racquette River. It is a beautiful place to live, work and play! Here in my studio, one sees clusters of glass rods in rainbow colors, capturing the sunshine and forming little rainbows on my countertops as I work. Afternoon rays of sun light reflect from half-formed metal pieces glitter onto the walls of my studio. I've become obsessed with fire and glass and the glimmer of polished metal...
About Beth's Baubles Gallery of Bracelets and Watches Earrings!!! Necklaces! Adirondack Collection Metals PMC and Beaded Pens
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