Melissa Schmidt

Clever is a word that is used for people and animals who can think of alternative ways to solve a problem. What attracts me to this expression is what I see in myself in many situations throughout my life. My jewelry is an expression of that way of thinking both in its essence, forming and performance. At first glance it may appear too fragile and simplistic. Upon inspection, it is anything but. Every piece of glass is blown from a single tube of borosilicate glass (Pyrex). I use a torch to melt the tubes. Color is applied with frit, powdered glass or stringers (little strings of glass pulled from a rod). Every bubble is annealed (fired) in a kiln. It allows the glass to cool down in a controlled way thus eliminating stress and making the glass