Peggy Brackett
Medium: Glass & Jewelry
Location: Powell River, BC
Member Since: 2013
ABOUT
I design and create a distinctive line of glass jewellery which includes several styles of earrings, bracelets, flat & domed pendants, and hair clips. I take my inspiration largely from nature (especially the small and microscopic), but am also influenced by cityscapes and decaying objects of metal and wood. My work always starts out from considerations of colour and pattern. I make my jewellery from sheets of fusing compatible opaque, transparent and dichroic glass. I frequently manipulate the surface of the dichroic glass using etching techniques I have developed, by sketching or photographing objects, computer manipulating my images and then either having them cut out of vinyl to use as a sandblasting or etching resist or by carving designs freeform onto the glass using a hand-held flex shaft tool. Once I have prepared all of the dichroic glass and altered those pieces I want to be patterned, I cut, piece and layer the glasses to create particular designs, colours and surface alterations. I then fuse them in an electric kiln. After slow-cooling the new sheet, based on my design plan and incidental changes during the firing, I cut it into jewellery pieces, and then grind, surface carve, drill and re-fuse & bend them as my design ideas dictate. My transformation of the raw dichroic glass and the surface of the fused pieces, and the extensive cold-working I do --I grind edges and surfaces, drill holes for attachment of hooks, bails, bolts, etc.-- gives my work its unique patterns, and the crisp, clean look which sets it apart from much of the dichroic glass jewellery on the market. Finally, I fabricate my jewellery pieces using these glass creations and largely self-designed and self-made findings (made from sterling silver). I choose or create my findings such that they become an element of the overall design and complete the piece, rather than simply using whatever is commercially available. My customers truly appreciate the quality and style of my hand made ear wires. Further, by using mechanical attachment of findings & not using glue my jewellery is afforded the longevity both I and my customers desire. Lastly, I complement my pendants with high quality Italian-made sterling chains.