by Hannah Tangeman
It only takes one look at Norma Debaker’s handcraft glass jewelry to know the energy she puts into it as it flashes and glows with bright and shadowy light. Colors that are hard to imagine seem to naturally flow from her kiln as she blends hues and layers finishes to achieve a true radiance.
Norma comes random mornings to the Saturday Farmers Market many times sharing a both with Mart’s plants.
Norma sits at a high workbench next to a screened open door that lets in the pine forest smells as the rain beats down upon the branches.
The very nature outside her studio finds its way into her pieces. An open mesh grid serves as her work surface that allows her to measure and catch the bits of fine glass she cuts. Some glass she uses is new but she also recycles Patron bottles, wine bottles, and other worthy pieces she takes a fancy to melt.
Her jewelry starts as raw glass she measures (equally for earrings), layers with colors of glass then tucks away in her kiln to fuse to perfection. Then the tasks begin as she must burnish the edges to attach her wire adornments, polish and attach each piece to its chain, bracelet or earpiece.
But jewels are not her only talent as she can literally paint a picture with glass as she did with a portrait of her granddaughter admiring sunflowers. It seems an impossible task but one that Norma has duplicated for dogs, fish, and still-lifes.
Plates and bowls result from a slump process she uses to mold the glass into useful, everyday items. She has patiently spent years taking classes, reading a wall of books and teaching herself the art of glass.
She does custom work such as incorporating loved ones ashes into jewelry pieces for all family members to have a lasting and tangible reminder of their precious one’s life.
These next few months she is designing a line of holiday ornaments with pet themes to be distributed by the Treats Pet stores. She also displays at Artisan Coffee and Sierra jewelry to makes her pieces accessible to everyone.
Norma’s patrons see the love she puts into her designs and tell her the admiring compliments they have received wearing them all over the world. Check out the crafters at the market while waiting for the food demos or picking up your weekly produce and meats.
