with, and I can practice quite a bit with my tools there. Then, when I go to the torch, I’ ve got a visual,” said Jill.
Along with her tools and techniques, Jill uses crushed glass or metals to create unique effects and reveal a spectrum of vibrant colors.
“ You just experiment and find out what works,” said Jill.“ I start with a plan, and it usually goes another way.”
When working on a piece, Jill said,“ You have to use a lot of heat control or your glass shatters … I’ m continually bathing it in the flame so it doesn’ t crack. Then I have a preheated, digital kiln next to me, and I anneal it for about an eight-hour session, which brings the temperature down slowly.”
Because of the slow hardening, the glass is more durable. Jill has even dropped pieces on the pavement without breaking them.
Once the glass is ready, Jill’ s finishing process begins by incorporating techniques like electroforming, beadwork, silverwork or wirework to transform the pieces into wearable art. To complement a pendant, Jill often crafts matching glass beads as well.
Jill’ s first necklace was lunar-themed, and it was purchased by someone who worked at NASA.
“ That was the first one I made, and I was pretty tickled. I was in Minneapolis showing, and she came through. That was probably one of the first major pieces I sold,” said Jill.
Today, some of Jill’ s notable pieces are realistic Wyoming wildlife necklaces with pendants featuring designs like buffalo, horses, elk, bulls, mules, moose, wolves and more. Jill also does a lot of custom elk ivory jewelry.
“ It took me about five years to get them to look realistic. I practice every day. My bird bath is full of junk pieces. Cartoontype pieces are quite easy to make, but realism is hard to make,” said Jill.
Her favorite part is when everything comes together to form a final piece.
“ I love seeing them come to life. When I get that realistic look, I’ ve accomplished something,” said Jill.
Since her business is called Wyoming Silvers, Jill also added silversmithing to her repertoire.
A lot of her glasswork techniques correlate with silversmithing. From there, Jill buys silver in sheets and uses a rolling mill to pattern it.
“ I can make my round wire into square wire with my rolling mill. I can take a leaf and put a sheet of silver through it and put the impressions into the silver, which is pretty cool,” said Jill.“ I just play and add stuff. And you know, if it doesn’ t work, you learn from your mistakes.”
To learn this new art form, Jill again went to her sister for advice.
“ She does a lot of silversmithing. She takes classes from all the bigwigs, so that helps. She’ s a great resource. But on the other hand, I do some things so different from everybody else, which I like. People come into my booth and know that it’ s not dime store jewelry,” said Jill.
When starting a project, Jill sketches out a design on paper before transferring it to the silver itself. Then, she saws out the shape and does etching from the transfer.
“ It’ s easier to make a mistake on paper than it is on my silver,” said Jill.
To get the desired effects, Jill has an acetylene and atmospheric air torch and a collection of torch heads.
“ Some pieces need a pointed flame. So you change heads
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and your oxygen settings accordingly, but basically, you start out with a plan and start building,” said Jill.
For both glass work and silversmithing, Jill said,“ You just really have to practice and do it to get to the professional level. You can tell amateur to finish, and I’ m still learning. I’ m always learning.”
Even now, Jill is working on adding more dimension to her pieces.
When asked how she knows a piece is completed, Jill said,“ You just have to figure out when to stop. That’ s really hard, because I could tweak forever … I like layering and texturing very much so.”
All of Jill’ s work is completed in a workshop that her husband created.
“ My husband converted our old garage into a gorgeous workshop. He took the garage doors out, and he put in French doors for me. And then, when we remodeled our kitchen, it had all the old-fashioned steel cupboards. Now I have all steel cupboards in my workshop. I have a wonderful workshop. My rolling mill’ s there, my polishing equipment’ s there, my glass working station— it’ s just wonderful,” said Jill.
ABOVE Jill Hendrix is a prolific artist from Upton, Wyo. Some of her specialties include hand sculpted lampwork glass and hand-forged sterling silver jewelry. TOP LEFT Some of Jill’ s most notable glass work pieces are realistic pendants featuring wildlife from the Wyoming area. BOTTOM LEFT Before creating a piece in silver, Jill sketches out her designs. Then, she saws out the shape and does etching from the transfer.
Down Country Roads 7