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Direct Links to popular gemstones and cabochons:
Amazonite
Opals, Boulder
Parrot Wing Understand mm sizes: Quick guide: 1" = 25mm 1/2"=13mm 1/4"=6.5mm Change can help: 1 quarter= 24.2 mm 1 dime= 18mm Both coins: 42mm |
Introducing the Fused Glass and Metal Designs of Judith Kiriazis Artist's Biography ● Artist's Statement ● Most Recent Work ● Judy's Photo Page Starry Sky Necklace
The heart is made of multilayered dichroic glass: fused, carved, polished and texture-fused a second time to add the moon. The bail is handcrafted out of 14-kt peach gold set with a white topaz. The 16" necklace is composed of 10mm midnight blue, sparkling sunstone beads, which I strung and hand-knotted on silk. It is signed on the reverse. jk 101-33A-N $285.00 Original Design Talismans I call the necklaces below "talismans," not for any magical qualities they might contain, but because they can be used by their wearer to draw forth the unique power and energy that already reside within her. Each talisman has a theme, and comes with a notecard on which I've written a poem. With their unusual fused glass and handcrafted bails, each one is a unique work of wearable art. © Judith Kiriazis "Sea Breeze" Talisman
"Earthsong" Talisman
Multilayered glass in shades of sky blue,
green and shining dichroic golds, fused and polished. Bail of heavy sterling
silver set with a genuine green Uvarovite garnet druzy gemstone. 24” sterling
silver spiga weave chain. (Click
on the little photo to see more detail)
jk-13C-T $205.00
Sorry, Sold! Ancient Bull's Head Fused Glass Bola
I adapted this striking bull's head design from a thousand-year-old bas relief. The bull is made of glowing gold dichroic glass, permanently fused to black glass. The glass centerpiece is 2-¼" x 2-3/8" and is bolted, not glued, to the bola slide. It has a black leather cord with brass tips. It is signed on the back. Appropriate for either a man or a woman. Ancient bull's head bola jk 101-BO $75.00 ""Celebration" Brooches The two pins below were made in the same way: I fused pieces of fine silver in between the layers of cathedral and dichroic glass. I cut and shaped each piece, and added fused-on dots of glass for extra dimension. After they were complete, I carefully drilled through them with a diamond drill bit and bolted them onto their pinbacks so that they would never fall off. Each one is an original, signed. They make lovely coat or lapel pins that glimmer as though they have their own light. The pictures don't do them justice, they are much prettier in person.
Rectangular celebration brooch jk 101-P $82.00 Sorry, Sold!
Triangular celebration brooch jk 100-P $78.00 Judy Kiriazis is a native of Chicago, IL. While a young girl, she attended summer school at the Art Institute of Chicago and graduated from Lourdes High School. She attended DePaul University and emerged with a double major in philosophy and psychology. After her graduation she began work as research assistant to renowned architect Harry Weese. While working for Harry, she became involved in environmental and historic preservation issues and made the presentation nominating Chicago's Loop Elevated railway to the National Register of Historic Places. She was the first female resident of the Donohue Building, and eventually purchased a loft overlooking Dearborn Station on the south edge of downtown. Her interests led to a part-time career as a freelance journalist, writing for the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. She left Harry Weese & Associates to become managing editor of the prestigious architecture and planning journal Inland Architect. After two years of running the magazine, she got a job with the Lake Michigan Federation, a citizens' action organization devoted to protecting the water quality in the Lake and its four-state, 68,000 square-mile drainage basin. Eventually she became the organization's executive director, and in that capacity was elected chairperson of the Fair Review Council, a coalition of 50 citizens' groups representing 30,000 constituents. She was involved in revisions to the urban plan of downtown Chicago, as well as in reviewing plans for a World's Fair in that city. In 1983, Judy went back to school and earned a Master of Science in Environmental Biology. In 1987, she moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, where she attended Northern Arizona University and earned her Ph.D. in Zoology. Her research found that the alarm calls of Gunnison's prairie dogs had semantic, or meaningful, content. She taught animal behavior, zoology, and other biology courses at the university for 14 years, and was the department's distance education specialist. She taught on live, interactive television to multiple classrooms around the state. In 1995, Judy took a locally-taught stained glass course and was immediately hooked. After a couple of years making and selling her original stained glass designs, she took a glass-fusing course and immediately invested in a kiln. She has been fusing ever since. She decided that she wanted to integrate fused glass into jewelry, so she took the entire series of metalsmithing courses at Northern Arizona University, as well as many workshops in jewelry-making and glass-fusing techniques. She has had her work in galleries in Mendocino, Monterey, Kaua'i, and Sedona, AZ. She taught glass fusing out of her studio, but discontinued that practice when she moved to the Verde Valley in North Central Arizona and began to build her Heart of Stone Studio website. Today Judy lives with her husband and pets in the high desert. She has moved from being a scientist to being a full-time artist. She continues to design her unique pieces that marry together beautiful fused glass, precious metals, and gemstone accents. Glass has been around since ancient times: The Egyptian faience found in Pharoahs' jewelry is a kind of glass, and glass has been used in small bottles and plates for nearly four thousand years. In its early forms, it was considered a precious material: Glass is found in ancient crowns and necklaces--though not technically a gemstone, it added vivid color to any piece. During the Italian Renaissance, glassworkers were isolated on the Island of Murano, and anyone caught leaking glassblowing secrets was punished with death. With the advent of modern glass factories, glass could be shaped into molds and presses and suddenly it was demoted to a common material that found service at the humblest dinner table. Costume jewelry with gems made of glass was considered cheap. The goal of my work is to raise glass back up to its original glory as a material worthy of admiration, one of value. I layer, fuse, cut and polish the glass to take advantage of its inherent light-bending qualities. I also use dichroic glass extensively, because the coatings add depth and texture. The glass is the centerpiece of all my designs, framed by precious metals and accented with semi-precious and precious gemstones. Through my work I hope to bring the beauty of glass back into the world of jewelry. Next page, my New Work. Each of the above items comes in a gold gift box. For orders totaling $100 or more, shipping is FREE! See My shipping policies.
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