An Evening with
Lori Peterson
~ Murrini ~
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Lori Peterson is half of Lori and Kim Murrini, a business run by a duo who are best friends with a shared love of glass. Many of us love the colorful and fun murrini that they create and how it makes our beads so beautiful and eye-catching. Lori does not only make murrini, she also paints as another creative outlet.
Lori will be giving us a look inside their colorful world, giving us a glimpse into the reality of creating those small bits of color and pattern. She has learned some do’s and don’ts about what works and what doesn’t, and will share some of her knowledge with us. Lori will be giving us information that we can all use, about the murrini making process and how to use murrini in our own work.
After the Demo Update!
(If you missed it, remember that members can watch the recorded demo on the Facebook Members’ Page, check it out! And if you aren’t a member but would like to be, visit the Membership page)
Lori Peterson, of Lori and Kim Murrini, has been making murrini with Kim since 2009. They come up with lots of ideas, Lori says about twenty percent of them are “great ideas” that are workable and in turn become one of their finished murrini. Lori and Kim live over two hours apart, but still manage to get together to create murrini and beads together. They sell the murrini as well as use it in their own beads, many of which they offer for sale.
Lori described the various methods of making murrini, and told us the method that she and Kim use is working from the inside outward in layers. She showed us how they draw a basic design, and described the way they turn that design into the finished product. Lori and Kim now work mostly from a proven group of patterns that they use as base ideas to build upon. They use their experience and knowledge of properties of the glass colors to choose color palettes that make the final murrini that we see.
Lori explained how the various glass colors behave, and how she and Kim use that knowledge of the properties of the glass colors – and how we can take advantage of those traits in our murrini too. For example, she categorized glass as “pushers, spreaders and receders”, then proceeded to explain the difference and importance of each.
Lori gave us tips on uses and application methods for murrini. She talked about using transparent and opaque glass in the murrini and the reasons they do it that way. Lori also shared with us some of her favorite color recipes for making murrini.
Before finishing up we got to meet Tikka, her pup. Lori has also taken up painting, and shared with us one of her fun and distinctive dog paintings (which many times include an Eichler style home in the background).
She was also kind enough to offer a discount for Dragon member purchases. You can find the details on our Facebook Members Group page.
Thank you Lori, for sharing your time and expertise with us!
Visit Lori & Kim’s website to see more of their work (and to buy some of their fun murrini if you wish!) You can also find them on Facebook.
Dragon members have access to this recorded presentation, found on our Facebook Members Group.