FEATURED ITEM
Handmade FUSED ART Glass AND GEMSTONE JEWELRY BY WINDY SEA DESIGNS
Welcome to my website for Windy Sea Designs. My name is Karel Murphy, and I am a jewelry maker and fused glass artist on the Oregon Coast in Newport, Oregon. My handmade fused art glass and gemstone jewelry can also be found in the following three galleries: Breach The Moon Gallery in Newport, Oregon; Donterra Artworks in Sisters, Oregon; and Shorelines Gallery in Poulsbo, Washington. If you have a chance, stop by one of these galleries and ask to see my work.
My main artistic focus is to design handmade jewelry by using semi-precious gemstones, precious metals, high quality beads, and fused art glass that I have assembled. I use high quality semi-precious gemstones with unusual colors, textures, cuts, and shapes when creating my jewelry pieces. Once I have a design in mind, I assemble a combination of materials to create one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art.
My fused art glass jewelry is done by cutting small pieces of art glass and then layering them into a design for fusing. Fusing involves use of a kiln to melt or fuse the layers of glass together into a solid piece of glass. One thing that makes my fused art glass pendants unique is that I don’t use glue-on bails because I don’t trust the holding power of glue. Instead, my pendants are either drilled or have a piece of wire that is fused into the glass in order to securely attach the pendant to a handmade beaded necklace or chain. My pendants are also cut by hand into shapes rather than using standardized molds for jewelry makers.
In addition to handmade jewelry, my fused art glass has expanded into larger functional serving pieces such as plates, platters, bowls and decorative art. My larger art glass pieces still use many small pieces of glass for the design that I hand set on to a larger piece of glass for fusing. My functional serving pieces are meant to be used and are food safe. They also should be hand washed rather than placed in a dishwasher which might damage the glass.
I take great pride in my handmade fused art glass and gemstone jewelry, and I enjoy the creative process involved. I hope you like what you see, and that you might find pieces to buy for yourself, family members, and friends.