I've been making lampworked glass beads since 1996, but the path that led here was a winding one. There were the early college years when I studied theatre at the University of Cincinnati. There was the eventual switch over to Fine Arts and a bachelor's degree in Film Animation. There was free-lance animation and illustration work in New York City that later segued into textile and surface design, winding up in Miami Beach designing beach towels. There was graduate school in Fiber Arts where I made wacky, mixed media, doll sculptures and dabbled in glass blowing at the furnace. And there was computer graphic design for a screen printing company in Illinois. But when I came across lampwork, I knew it was the work for me. The hot glass, I already loved. Beads are right up my designing alley. They're small, they're modular, they're beautiful, they're historical. I love the process and the product. I love teaching other people how to make beads and after more than 10 years of honing my skills and techniques I can still look forward to a lifetime more of learning because glass is so mysterious and challenging and versatile.