Carol Watson

 I am an Indiana native, and have been a Zionsville resident since 1990.  My adventure in glass started about 30 years ago when I took my first class in stained glass.  It seems that I always have some kind of art project in the works.  I was gladly sidelined by raising my two boys, though my art took a backseat for many years.

 
When I took an adult education class in glass beadmaking (lampwork) in 2002, I haven't looked back.  My passion for art was excitingly rekindled.  I use a gas/oxygen powered bench torch to melt glass to make a bead.  I get lost in a gooey, wonderfulness of the colors of molten glass.  I get a different result every single time I light the torch.  The glass never disappoints.  When I had more beads than I knew what to do with, I began designing jewelry.  Designing and creating are two completely different things - so jewelry design and metalsmithing classes were the next logical step.  I use only Sterling and Fine Silver and make most of my jewelry components.  I continue to participate in many local, juried art shows such as the Talbot Street Art Fair, Penrod, and The Indiana Art Fair at the State Museum.  

I have studied with many famous lampwork artists and consider my style to be organic, with a touch of whimsy.  In addition to jewelry, I have recently added usable, beadable objects such as salad servers, desk sets, bottle openers, and kaleidoscopes to my artist repertoire. 

My favorite art quote is "The arts are not a way to make a living.  They are a very human way of making life more bearable.  Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow for heaven's sake.  Sing in the shower, dance to the radio, tell stories, write poems to a friend, even a lousy poem.  Do it as well as you possibly can.  You will get an enormous reward.  You will have created something."
Kurt Vonnegut