Carolyn Crystal

Medium: Glass Beads, Jewelry

CREATIVE BEGINNINGS. Carolyn has been an artist for as long as she can remember. In art school at the University of New Mexico she discovered the joy of three dimensions and sculptural media. She found that touch, as much as vision, could guide her artistic development. 

ARTISTIC PATH. Carolyn began sculpting, creating large clay and steel works which sold in galleries and design showrooms for 20+ years. Her work could be found in private and corporate collections throughout the country and in several museums. Carolyn reflects, “Although it was truly gratifying to find success on a national scale, the physical nature of that work was daunting. I realized I would not be able to age gracefully as a ceramic sculptor.” 

That’s when her husband gave her the surprise gift of a class in glass beadmaking. Carolyn took to it immediately. That was 20-some years ago, and she is still in love with lampworking, the historic term for glass work where a torch is used to melt and shape glass. 

INSPIRATION AND PROCESS. To this day Carolyn loves making beautiful things, and loves challenging herself to learn new techniques - continually mastering her craft. Her glass beads begin as rods of glass, primarily Italian, which she melts and manipulates in a flame at ~1750 degrees, often adding silver to create complex organic patterns. 

Her metal beads begin as flat sheets of Sterling silver, brass, copper — even copper water pipe — which she cuts, imprints, etches, drills, and pounds like crazy with a big brass hammer. 

“I love working with both glass and metal, and they are quite different,” Carolyn notes. “I enjoy the heat and spontaneity of molten glass, and the way it demands my undivided attention as it flows. I equally enjoy the more methodical process, patience and technical skills involved in transforming a sheet of metal from hard and flat to round and beautiful.”

“I think of my beads as mini-sculptures, and they have many similarities to the large clay and steel sculptures I created years ago. As Bill Daley, my all-time-favorite teacher once told me, you only need to start with one good idea. Exploring it fully can carry you through a lifetime of creative growth. I believe he was right — there is no end to the thorough exploration of these humble materials!”

LIFE AS A GORGE ARTIST. Carolyn has lived in Hood River since 2009, drawn from the Bay Area by the breathtaking beauty of the Columbia Gorge. “Even more alluring than the spectacular surroundings, however, was the energy of the vibrant art community that thrives here,” Carolyn recalls. As a founding member of 301 Gallery, she continues to take inspiration from all that 301 Gallery, her artist friends, and the Columbia Gorge itself have to offer. 

HOW TO LEARN MORE:

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