I joined instagram

instagram.com/jbfireworks

I made this huge, hollow glass bead a long time ago. The diameter is about 2.5 inches, and I made it on a hothead torch. I wrapped molten glass around a core of kiln- washed extra fine steel wool, decorated it with more glass, and after cooling I removed the steel threads from the interior with tweezers.

Yesterday I realized that I could get this thick felted cord through 
the hole of the bead, and the color matched perfectly!

I made these glass beads and then earrings at Haystack, 
and the glass necklace was also made recently.

Some new glass beads I made in the class I recently took 

at Haystack with Kristina Logan!

Didymium lenses

When flameworking, eyewear can protect one's vision by shielding from projectiles of thermally shocked glass. More uniquely, didymium lenses filter out the wavelength of light in the sodium flare of torched molten glass, thus altering the wearer's perception of certain colors. When people try my safety glasses on at demos, they usually think this is really cool. 

I popped the plastic lenses out of my contemporary safety glasses and used a jeweler's saw to cut the lenses to fit these vintage frames. They're not totally finished yet, but it makes me really happy to customize my safety gear like this.

Some new work, and new pictures of some other pieces. I flameworked all of this glass.
Photos by Graham Wheeler, hand by Jess Richards

Geometry!

A variation on the bubblecloud collar posted 

last month, this plays with those proportions

The tiniest seed beads in this are 24°, which 

are the smallest seed beads ever made, and

a very rare example of using beads that I did

not make myself.

I always love playing with gradients of color and size.

A new necklace of lampworked glass and 15° seed beads