Let Me Introduce You to Christine Hansen

My Bead Soup Blog Party #7 partner is the amazing, talented and funny, Christine Hansen!! Chris is a lampwork glass artist, maker of mixed-media art charms and author.

She makes the most incredible calla lily and glass focal beads - you should really check out her etsy shop, ChristineHansenGlass, and see all of the loveliness that she's creating now!

Chris has a wonderful blog, Intuitive Sparks, where she's been sharing her lampwork beads, jewelry and life since 2006.

I've learned a lot about Chris since meeting her through this hop and I'm happy to call her a friend!
Here's what she told me:

I've had a lifelong fascination with glass, especially molten glass. I love the concept of making a tiny piece of art that one can carry, or wear, and that can (with a little luck) last for thousands of years. As a child, I drew, colored, painted, and made books. When I got older, I took every art class offered by my high school, as well as metal shop and wood shop. I've continued my learning adventure by taking many classes including photography, chain maille, precious metal clay (PMC), metal-smithing for jewelers, beaded embroidery, and lampwork bead-making. I've also taken advantage of the many wonderful books and videos available to further my education. Jewelry-making has been just one part on my life-long artistic journey. About 20 years ago, I made earrings and sold them to friends at work. A few years later, when I had my two children, I found myself making more mixed-media art and less jewelry. About 8 years ago, the mixed media art jewelry came together, and I began making jewelry again.

Besides writing Making Mixed-Media Art Charms & Jewelry with her good friend, Peggy Krzyzewski, Chris has also written close to 400 non-fiction articles for a wide variety of print and online publications, including the Flow and Glassline magazines. Her Field of Tulips beads were featured in the April 2012 issue of Stringing magazine.