We showed up, set up a little display area and then Grace (the Glass Shoppe Studio owner) introduced me to the group.  There was a good range of skills in  the crowd – from people who’d never heard of lampworking and beginners who had just finished class a bit earlier to experienced lampworkers. 

I’d brought an example of the bead I was going to demo – a winged goddess made with glass that resembles Moonstone.  I actually had to steal that goddess from the Teenager since he claimed it for his collection right after the show.  I have to remember to give it back to him – the actual bead i demoed is on display in the “Vase of Fame” at the store.

I was pretty nervous at first but calmed down a bit as the demo got going.  Everyone seemed interested and asked questions plus from since my very first attempt, I’ve always found goddess beads incredibly calming and relaxing to make… they just flow with (from?) me. 

All kinds of ridiculous things happened – like i talked so much answering questions that i forgot to keep the bead heated and it cracked along the mandrel and a piece flew off her butt (doh!).  It was pretty funny as those were the sorts of errors i used to make as a newb but rarely do anymore.  So then of course, I took the opportunity to demo how to carefully heal a cracked bead without melting away all the details!

Once the demo was done i stayed to talk with the various people there including two lampworkers who just moved here from Winnipeg who I’d previously only ever communicated with online.  Being the demo artist was a ton of fun (despite my nerves) and now that it’s over I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity and looking forward to being asked to do it all again!

The Glass Shoppe is the first studio solely dedicated to lampworking (no fusing, stained glass, etc.) in Ottawa and was sorely needed!   Grace has an awesome set-up – lots of torches, great ventilation, spacious workstations, comfortable seating – i could go on… She also showcases the work of many local and Canadian glass bead artists and plans to bring in famous instructors (Yippee!!). 

I left several of my goddess beads and some jewellery for sale there so do stop by and have a look!