Jean reviews the book Glass by Marlene Blessing and Jamie Hogsett

Review of the Create Jewelry Series book, Glass

by Marlene Blessing and Jamie Hogsett

"Formed by Fire" are the words which begin this excellent book, and with such a dramatic concept to start it off, Glass manages to fan the flames of the readers' interest at every turn. Marlene Blessing and Jamie Hogsett have teamed up once again to cover a specific area of jewelry design. They have co-authored Create Jewelry: Pearls, Create Jewelry: Crystals, and Create Jewelry: Stones previous to this book.

Glass beads for jewelry design are, as is said in the book, so flexible in appearance that you can create all sorts of different looks. There is something for everyone here, in fact, from elegant to funky. In the able hands of Jamie Hogsett, who rises to every challenge, each piece is better than the last! With the ability to seed bead as well as string and work with wire (sometimes all in the same piece!), she is a true master of jewelry design. No project is forced looking or anything less than the finest, ultimately, in Glass.

There are educational sidebars, as well as introductory commentary by Marlene Blessing, which expands upon the understanding of the beautifully photographed projects.

I was impressed with the unusual styles presented. I have read many jewelry books at this point and there was a feeling of freshness to this book which imparted a special energy to it. This alone makes it very worth owning.

Even if you have never been specifically drawn to glass before in your jewelry pieces, you will not be able to resist trying out some of the beautiful projects from this book. From the sweet "Honey Blossoms" earrings, which uses brass bee charms, brass chain, and pink and yellow glass beads hand torched by Patti Cahill, to the wonderful "Tribal Relics" bracelet, which incorporates black braided leather, arrowhead glass charms, and vintage-style glass, giving off a nice hip vibe, to the grand, gently green and golden colored "Venetian Vines" necklace, with all sorts of sizes of beads, both Venetian and Czech,which is a feminine piece suitable for the finest occasion, you will be intrigued by every project you come across in Glass.

I enjoyed it thoroughly and was very impressed by the unusual and lovely beauty I found in it. I consider it an inspiring project book and a great addition to the series by Blessing and Hogsett.