Today we’d like to introduce you to Nora Dudek.
Hi Nora, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My career for the past 20 years has been in testing computer software, pretty far off from anything artistic. As a means to focus during meetings, I would draw. I tend to daydream if my hands aren’t moving. Looking for something to better my skill as an artist, I started to look for classes on portraiture and somehow, stumbled upon glass fusing. This opened my eyes to a wonderful world of glass and I am hooked! I purchased a kiln just before the Pandemic hit, and while we were all locked in our homes, I was happily experimenting with melting glass. This soon evolved into creating jewelry. Over time, I have added custom wire-wrapping to the pendants and even added bigger items like plates and bowls. Additionally, I have added torchworked designs to my portfolio. Torchworking (also called flameworking or lampworking) is when you use a torch to melt glass rods and shape the molten glass with tools into beautiful designs. My husband has even joined me in the glass studio with the torches and finds the process just as relaxing as I do! For me, opening the kiln the next day, to reveal all the beautiful glass is like opening a present every time.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Working full-time while still creating jewelry on the side has made for little free time. I am fortunate that my family is very supportive of this business of mine and helps out when I do fairs and shows. It would definitely be more of a struggle if I didn’t have their support. The pandemic definitely has played its part. People have been telling me that they aren’t in the market for jewelry since they really haven’t been going anywhere lately – where would they wear it? They have a point. I just hope that things start to pick up and people start feeling more comfortable leaving their homes and wanting to wear pretty jewelry!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create glass jewelry and other glass gifts. I love working with dichroic glass. Dichroic glass is glass with a thin film on it that can reflect many different colors back when light hits it. It has such a wonderful sparkle in the light. Dichroic glass has just endless beautiful combinations. I love big, bright, bold colors. Glass is such a wonderful medium to work with. It is very durable, and the color won’t fade or shift – the only downside, is it is glass. If you drop it on a hard floor, it could break.
Torchworking is the other part of glass jewelry that I just love to do. The process is so completely different than what I do with glass fusing, even the type of glass used is different.
I don’t know that I am known yet for a style or a specialty and I see that as an opportunity to keep growing and adding more skills and styles to my portfolio. I plan to keep evolving and learning and having fun along the way!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I am driven to create and keep moving forward. I can’t just sit still. Granted, there are days I do just want to turn my brain off and not think, but my hands still need to be doing something. I’m either drawing, watching a video of some skill I want to try next, or working. In the end, it’s just me. If I don’t get it done, who else is going to do it?
Pricing:
- $30
- $40
- $60
- $75
- $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.noradudekdesigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noradudekdesigns/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoraDudekDesigns/
Image Credits
Nora Dudek Designs
