Laura Critchfield Chestnut Ridge Designs
I was born and raised in northeast Ohio, growing up in Canfield, then moving onto Kent State University and finally settling in Akron Ohio.
From the time I was a child, I have always been fascinated with glass. While in college, usually late at night, I used to haunt the glass blowing shop, run by the esteemed Henry Hallem. Since I was not a sculpture major, I was never able to enroll in the class, but I was fascinated by the process. and spent every free minute I had there watching the students work. Then in 2007 I had an opportunity to take a lampworking class at a local studio and I was hooked.
After countless hours into the night, and many failed (and many successful) experiments, I have found a medium that offers a depth that two dimensional mediums never could. I use Moretti , CIM, Lauscha Double Helix and Vetrofond glass, all carefully annealed in a Paragon Bluebird XL kiln. Lampwork has been around for thousands of years, and we still use the same basic processes that the earliest lampworkers started off with three thousand years ago. I guess it really appeals to my interest in ancient processes while allowing the creativity and design sense to “flow”.
These days, I am fortunate to live on the edge of a national park which still inspires me.
My website can be found at: http://www.chestnutridgedesigns.com/
From the time I was a child, I have always been fascinated with glass. While in college, usually late at night, I used to haunt the glass blowing shop, run by the esteemed Henry Hallem. Since I was not a sculpture major, I was never able to enroll in the class, but I was fascinated by the process. and spent every free minute I had there watching the students work. Then in 2007 I had an opportunity to take a lampworking class at a local studio and I was hooked.
After countless hours into the night, and many failed (and many successful) experiments, I have found a medium that offers a depth that two dimensional mediums never could. I use Moretti , CIM, Lauscha Double Helix and Vetrofond glass, all carefully annealed in a Paragon Bluebird XL kiln. Lampwork has been around for thousands of years, and we still use the same basic processes that the earliest lampworkers started off with three thousand years ago. I guess it really appeals to my interest in ancient processes while allowing the creativity and design sense to “flow”.
These days, I am fortunate to live on the edge of a national park which still inspires me.
My website can be found at: http://www.chestnutridgedesigns.com/
