Meet The Maker
Donna Millard is an Internationally known
lampwork artist living in the northwoods area of Wisconsin. She has been working with various forms of
glass for more than 25 years
Tell us how you got started with lampworking?
I got started in lampworking right after I
moved to Alaska in 2001. Anchorage has
a huge outdoor “market” every weekend
during the summer months with well over
300 vendors. It was there I saw my first
lampwork beads. I fondled them, lol, as I
could not believe what I was seeing. Flowers inside a glass bead??? How could that
be? So I asked if there were classes offered
and there were so I signed up for one. The
rest is history. It wasn’t until 6 months later
that I was able to get my own equipment
set up and by then I’d forgotten everything
I learned in that initial class. I consider
myself self taught as, really I am. Years and
years of practice before ever taking another class.
Your style is just beautiful and so distinctive! How did your style develop over the
years and what inspires it?
Inspiration I suppose initially came from
my environment. Much of my work has
an organic and unrealistic feel to it. This
comes from years
I spent living in
remote Alaska, a
place as organic and wild as can be. It’s like
taking a walk on the wild side when gazing
into some of my beads.
I oftentimes don’t set out knowing exactly
what my work is going to look like, but I
am most comfortable watching where the
glass and flame take me, much like being
in a trance. If other people end up liking
my work, it’s an added bonus. I am not
saying this is the best and only way to approach creation, it’s just the way I work and
produce best, and I’ve discovered through
my own experience that my work speaks
most clearly when I let it speak on its own.
Do you have any special projects you’ve
been working on lately?
I really don’t have any special projects I’m
working on at any given time. I don’t have
time. My days are allocated to producing
beads to sell. It’s my life and how I support myself. I’m single, this is my income
and pays my bills. I have to say though, it
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