Fused Glass Ornaments Take The Creative Approach

For Memphis-based fused glass artisan John Madsen, creating original jewelry creations is both a creative outlet and a way to share his approach to life with others. In some ways, Ive been working towards this my whole life, he says.

Seated comfortably in his home-based workshop, he holds up a just-completed pendant of the Norse god Odin riding a chariot. The glass elements in the piece catch the overhead light, making the pendant shimmer. Sometimes the pieces come out [of the firing kiln] and you have to tinker with them a little bit. He stretches the piece out on a swatch of velvet. But sometimes not. You get to live for those flashes of perfection.

Bringing the artistic vision into form and color

Madsen began sculpting jewelry in 2001, after leaving a career in retail sales for something more fulfilling. A former small businessman with two patents to his name and decades of living in different parts of the country, he says now his fascination with the idea of the sacred present, first encountered as he studied comparative religions, helped him to discover jewelry craftsmanship as a new outlet for his burgeoning creative energy.

There was something I knew I had to do, he said. I wasnt sure entirely what, though. After trying several different hobbies, he came back to jewelry craftsmanship partly for its aesthetics but also partly because of its chance to create something entirely unique.

The best aspects of working with handmade enamel jewelry is that I get to follow my own bliss, Madsen says. When youre working with these kinds of ingredients, you get the time to organize our own thoughts, and follow your own inspirations.

The fused glass process is a demanding feat of craftsmanship

Hours of labor and precise attention to detail go into the forging of each creative fused glass and handmade enamel jewelry piece, including the time spent assembling the materials and also the commitment to getting often meticulous designs exactly right before the firing process.

That firing process often requires temperatures of extreme heat, used to harden the glass and enamel to the perfect temperature. The end result is something much more durable than ordinary glass but that also has the lasting luster and polish of fine jewelry.

The designs used in enamel and fused glass jewelry are carefully researched.

Many talented enamel and fused glass artisans sometimes spend hours getting their designs and embossing details exactly right, often poring over artistic texts. Many of them also draw from their own studies into world iconography, religious and spiritual symbols, and details and designs from their own life experiences.

Many artists also perform art for hire commission pieces that incorporate the clients choice of symbols or designs into the pendant, handmade enamel jewelry, or other such original jewelry creation of their choice. These designs sometimes cost nominally more than the artists own workings, but are still something of a great value, both economically and aesthetically, when compared to their mass produced counterparts. The client usually provides a photograph or graphic image of the design they want incorporated into the handmade jewelry piece.