On Thursday 22nd July Lynn Cook brought a touch of alchemy to The Old Courthouse.
As part of the Fired Up series of events Lynn, a member of the Flux Arts Group, demonstrated the lampwork technique, giving visitors an opportunity to see the process of making glass beads.
Lynn uses rods of soda lime glass, each a different colour. These are heated and wound around a ceramic covered bar to create the basic bead. The beads are adapted by twisting or adding smaller nodules of glass, building up into miniature complex works of art. As the beads cooled the colour of the glass went through several changes, often ending up very vivid in contrast to its appearance while in the gas flame.
Once the beads are made Lynn combines them with silver to make necklaces, earrings and bookmarks, transforming the beads again as they are put together in different combinations.
Lynn showed how she took inspiration for her work from walks in the Scottish countryside, the Rocky Mountains and visits to art galleries, with one necklace in particular inspired by a Turner painting.
By the end of the session visitors were so inspired they were choosing colours for their own beads.
