Flameworking 101 with Carla Camasso

Carla holds a glass daisy she made during her demo at the Folk School

CP: Borosilicate is the Pyrex glass, right?

CC: Yes, it’s the same type of glass that Pyrex is made out of. Pyrex is just a brand name. It’s more durable. It melts slower than the glass used for beads, so it is easier to work with and we have a higher success rate, especially for beginner students. All my students had never touched molten glass before, and they are all going to go home with at least a dozen little goodies that they made.

CP: How did you become a glass artist?

CC: I first took a stained glass class, and then I started into blowing glass. When I went to college, I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts in glass at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. I am originally from Massachusetts. After college, I worked as a studio assistant for many artists. Now, I’m at the point where I am working on my own stuff in my studio and I teach about six time a year. I live in Asheville now and I love it. Just to be able to make my work and sustain myself as an artist, it’s my dream.

Pink glass daisy by Carla Camasso

CP: What motifs do you like?

CC: I’m drawn to nature. I love the outdoors. In my personal work, I like to mimick the outdoors and make ferns or flowers. I also make a lot of wearable art.

CP: What do you like about the Folk School?

CC: I’ve always loved craft schools like the Folk School. I love that it brings together all these like-minded people who may not do these crafts in their everyday life, but are all here to create and have a good time. You meet great people and it’s a beautiful setting. I love to connect with different people.

CP: What draws you to glass as a medium?

CC: I did start out as a 2D artist. I was into drawing & painting, and then I got into photography after that. When I discovered clay I found out that I loved to make 3D things. Glass is fun because it can be challenging, there’s chemistry and physics, it’s both a liquid and a solid, so it’s truly an amazing material. In it molten state, it moves like honey, yet when its solid, it’s fragile and can shatter. I feel like I have a lifetime of learning ahead of me with this material.