Mix Color September Artist: Veronika Balsiger
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Contents: Set of 3 glass rods, approx. 30cm each, in the following colors:
Effetre:
G00.591438 Purple
G00.591210M Avocado
G00.591432 Red opaque
G00.591224 Light blue opaque
G0053L6027-RB Rosalin Peachy Reichenbach
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Interview with Veronika Balsiger:
How long have you been making glass beads and how did you get started?
I made my very first glass bead in the year 2000 using a canister burner. Unfortunately, that course was so terrible (over 30 canister burners in one room) that I didn't make any more beads for over 5 years. But then I followed the advice of a sister-in-law and found an instructor who taught me how to make glass beads using a Volcano torch. I worked with the Volcano for several years, but eventually my beads and figures became larger, and the Volcano became too small.
Through the glass bead book by Anka Münch, I eventually discovered the "Perlentreff" forum, and with it, a whole new world. In 2009, I visited the glass festival in Wertheim together with Fabienne/Perlinette and got myself a two-gas burner and a bead kiln. From then on, I started making beads regularly. I took courses in my home country and abroad, organized bead gatherings, and finally opened the Atelier Augenschmaus.
What did you find the most difficult to learn?
The most difficult thing for me is still stringer painting. Even though I had Angelika Kaufmann, the stringer queen in my opinion, in the studio for a course, I still can't manage it. I'm also not as skilled with fine motor tasks as some other beadmakers. I find patterns made of dots and figurative work easier to do.
Who is your role model?
At the beginning of my beadmaking journey, it was mainly Jackie Teuchert-Rimkus and Anne-Liese Meier. Anne-Liese was also the first to teach a glass bead course that I organized.
I learned many basics in a course with Carla di Francesco, and learned how to work with silver-infused glass from Angela Meyer.
Nowadays, the work of Sabine Frank and Sabine Star is a great motivation for me to work even more precisely and to learn new things.
Where do you get your inspiration?
That is very hard to describe. Sometimes I see something by another artist, sometimes a remark from a customer or a friend is enough, and sometimes I wake up with an image of a bead necklace in my mind. Or I see a color combination that I really like, which I then want to translate into glass beads.
And when I don't have any ideas at all, I follow the advice of Dietmar Kühlhagen: take one color and white (I also add a clear glass), and just keep making as many patterns as you can with only those two glasses. Eventually, the ideas start flowing again on their own.
For me, that is usually black and white. And since I don't like black at all, it doesn't take long before this tip works wonders.
What are your goals?
To keep making glass beads for a long time and to stay involved in the glass bead community. I think we are a great group.
What are you taking away from this challenge? What did you enjoy about it?
This color combination was difficult for me. But I learned that you can make something out of it, too. Even though I really missed white and clear glass. I appreciate them all the more for it now.
I am happy that I managed it despite these restrictions and can be satisfied with the result.
