Meet Cynthia Konow Brownell
Hi! My name is Cynthia Konow-Brownell. I’ve been lampworking since 1997 when I saw a demonstration of how to make ancient Norse beads. I was hooked! My family and I have been long-time historic re-enactors and experimental archeology is a big interest. Figuring out how people did things in the past has always fascinated me.
I worked over a Hot Head torch for about 7 years, until my husband thought that maybe it was time for my “big girl torch”. He set up my tanks and torch….I work on a Bethlehem Bravo with two oxycons. I should note that my husband is a Physics professor, so all the technical aspects of what I do fascinates him. He loves to solve mechanical problems and so I’ve been married to tech support for almost 25 years!
I was basically self taught in the early years. In 1999, I relocated to San Diego, CA. Once there, I was able to tap into instruction from Heather Trimlett. Heather’s instruction really informs a lot of what I do, as making a good bead is all about the foundation and having a good base.
One of my other passions is to read archeological journals reporting on grave finds. At that time, I was weaving items based on the description in the articles. Something that was a common find with textiles is beads. I began my exploration of historic glass and recreating what I saw. I’ve included photos of a few reproductions, the Eura dress pendant necklace from Finland as well as Hiberno-Norse beads on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
Another big influence on me was the sculptural work of Joy Munshower. At that time, she also lived nearby! Learning about bas relief sculpture has been a lot of fun for me. As you can see with my Beluga whale, I love sea life and making it appear as if it’s swimming right towards me.
During the pandemic shutdown, I took a few ISGB classes with Pearly Karpel and learned the skills for torch fired enameling. That is such a fun technique and the skills apply to working with copper blanks as well as glass. I’ve also learned much from Corrina Tettinger and her work with flowers, color, and design.
Another group of inspiring artists are Kristina Logan, Stephanie Sersich, and JC Herrell. Their work with dots, pattern, and color just makes me happy.
Haley Tsang-Sather has been instrumental in helping me develop my skills with reactive glass and shards. The ivory bead with bright teal and black, employs reducing glass that has been encased. The series of beads was inspired by the artwork I saw in the Islamic Collection holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
Finally, making hollow forms was a major goal of mine. The bottles I made are all in 104 coe glass, but in the shape of a 14th century Pilgrim’s Costel/canteen. This form was aided with technical instruction from a friend in the Netherlands who has sadly left glass making.
I’ve just retired from 38 years in clinical practice as a Speech Language Pathologist with a specialization in the field of Deafness. I like to joke that I was paid to annoy teenagers!
Now that I have time, I’m trying out glass blowing at a furnace. That has been one of the most humbling experiences in my entire life! I’m looking forward to making at least one useful thing.
