PDX Profile: Laura James

Laura James fuses colorful glass into amazing pendants. I love seeing her at shows, because it's so cool to see her rainbow of pieces all spread out together - there's no other word for it but "tasty."

You can taste the rainbow over at Laura's Etsy shop, and keep up with her on her blog.

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How did you become involved with fusing glass?
I was first introduced to glass fusing (aka kilnformed glass) by a friend of mine in LA. She invited me over to see her studio and let me make a dish, and I was hooked!. A few years later, I'd moved to Portland, and she came up for a visit. Bullseye Glass was on her list of things to do while in town. I had no idea that I lived in such a glass rich environment...nor did I realize that the Bullseye factory and the Bullseye Gallery (which is amazing) were right here. And that was it really - I was so inspired by the work that I saw at the Gallery that I knew I wanted to make glass. I lucked out a year or so later by landing a great job at Bullseye Glass in the sales department where part of my job was learning about kilnformed glass.

Bullseye is an awesome place to learn about glass, and the history of kinformed glass. I was able to totally immerse myself in all things glass. It didn't take long before I bought a kiln and was off and running.

Will you tell us a little about what the glass-fusing process looks like? How do you keep all those colors from running together?

Whoa! I'll do my best to give you a glimpse. For starters, glass fusing is both and art and a science. There are dozens of variables in the process of kilnforming, so here's a little glimpse into a "full fuse firing," which is basically heating up the glass so that the surface is smooth and the edges are rounded.

So the process goes a little something like this: I start with a sheet of tested compatible Bullseye Glass and cut it into the desired sizes. Then I stack them back together and add the decorative elements that I want (these have fun names like "stringer," "frit," etc.) on a primered kiln shelf and then put them in the kiln. A special controller on the glass kiln allows me to set the firing schedule - a regulated sequence of increasing and decreasing the temperature to melt the glass very slowly, avoiding thermal shock.

Firing the glass is just as important in the design process as the initial construction of the piece. A full fuse takes about 10 to 12 hours, and heats up to about 1480 degrees fahrenheit. When the glass has cooled, the shelf primer needs to be removed from the glass and a diamond pad might be needed to take off any sharp edges that remain. Then I take a dremel tool to the surface where I glue on the bail, then do some gluing and voila! That's just one scenario, there are many, many other ways to work with the glass, for more awesome information you can check out the Bullseye Glass website or the Warm Glass website.

As far as the colors running together. The short and simple answer is that the glass sits on the shelf, and the heat and gravity pull the glass around a bit, but basically it's not getting hot enough to run together.

What kinds of things inspire your pendant designs?
I love color and texture, so I try to work with those concepts. I am inspired by light, and the way light is absorbed or reflected by objects in nature. Reactions between the glasses always excite me, I love to push it and see what happens. I also keep a notebook filled with all sorts of images that I collect from everywhere -- this notebook has inspired many a design, whether it's a color combination I like or a pattern that I'd like to try to capture. And my designs are also infused with the experimental nature of the glass process. Most of the time I have a really good idea about what is going to happen after the design is fired, and sometimes I'm surprised by what happened. Sometimes those surprises turn into a whole series.

What is your take on the difference between "Art" and "Craft?"
Good question. I really don't think there is a difference between art and craft, only the perception of it. All creativity is "art" as far as I'm concerned. It's strange that the idea of craft is somehow not as lofty as the concept of art, since they both require skill and a creative vision. It all depends on your definition of "art" I suppose.

What are some of your favorite creative spots in Portland?
My creative motherlode is improv on Sunday nights - it really gets my creative juices flowing. I also really love going to Powell's -- so many awesome books, so little time! The Alberta Arts District and the Last Thursday extravaganza is always a treasure trove of creativity. And the view from the Freemont bridge is one of my favorite Portland views.