I first "met" Fiona Prentice on Facebook. She's got bright red hair and a fabulous smile! Then I started to see her beads on a thread on Lampworketc. forums called the Gaffer Chalcedony 109 thread. (I'm not sure, but you might have to join lampworketc to view the thread, but if you do, you won't be disappointed.)
This is one of those beads that you look at an gasp! It is beautiful!
Fiona has been lampworking for 6 years with one year off. In the beginning she used the traditional Hot Head, which is what most of use used when we first started out. It's a torch that uses propane as it's fuel. Fiona has since upgraded to a Nortel Minor which is a dual fuel torch (oxygen and propane). Look at the results she's getting using Gaffer Chalcedony glass.
(The first bead is chalcedony glass, too.)
If you visit Fiona's website, you can see more of her amazing beads. Those beads in the gallery were made on her Hot Head torch.
Fiona works as a psychiatric nurse in the forensic unit of her hospital in her non glass life. She felt that she had lost her muse at one point in time, and that's why she took a year off. Now, thanks to Gaffer Chalcedony glass and Deb Batten, another Kiwi glass artist, she feels that she is able to develop her style and skills in glass.
See what I mean, she only gets better!
