Doug's Glass

My name is Doug Birnie.  I am a 23 year old Lampworker from Lebanon, New Hampshire.  My brother, who learned the craft from a friend over ten years ago, began teaching me to work with glass in my senior year of High School and I have been practicing it ever since.  In my opinion, lampworking is without a doubt the most expressive art out there.  There is always something new to learn, most of which comes up by simple mistakes.  The majority of lampworking is just trial and error, be it, mixing colors or playing with a new shape.  Lampworking is mostly just manipulating clear and colored glass to create something beautiful.  The majority of what I do is make beads and earrings, but I have also done a few paperweights, one or two vases, and quite a few small jars.  The latter are still considered to be lampworked, but the process of making a paperweight, jar, or vase includes a bit of glass blowing.  Even after five years of working at this, I am still finding new styles, or perfecting some of the most basic ones.  This is probably just about the only art that never gets old because there will always be something different to try.