Biography of Mary Ann Helmond
I have an honors Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Waterloo
and a Bachelor of Education Degree from the University of Western Ontario.
Presently, I am a full time highschool visual arts teacher in the Kitchener
area, who teaches fashion design. Recently, I exposed my fashion design
students to glass fusing. The emphasis was on creating accessories that
would complete the look of the outfit they had designed. This is how I was
able to share my latest passion of working with glass with my students.
My first encounter with glass making came when I was vacationing in Ancorage,
Alaska. My husband and I stopped at a mall where I met a lampwork bead maker
who was selling buttons with matching beads. She explained to me how I could
send her a swatch of fabric and that she could make beads and buttons to
co-ordinate with the fabric. Immediately, I saw the total design potential
and thought that I should learn how to work with glass. I started up my
torch in August of 2005 and have become hopelessly addicted to creating
with hot glass ever since. I enjoy making beads, however, my real passion
lies in the challenge of creating buttons and beads in order to focus on
the total design of an outfit. Hot glass is inspiring me like no other
artistic medium.
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