Jeri Warhaftig
Artist and Instructor

My mother always believed that it could be fatal for a child to go even a single day without an art project! She instilled in me a fascination for the arts, and a love of beads and jewelry. Over thirty-five years ago I earned college spending money selling beads at folk festivals and crafts fairs.  My interest in lampworking evolved from my work with African American porcelain dolls and my pursuit of historically accurate reproduction beads. Shortly after that, porcelain dolls were “out” and the torch was “in”! About 15 years ago I decided to concentrate solely on lampworking and teaching. I sell my beads at area bead shows and I teach workshops in my studio, around the US and abroad. My work frequently involves pushing the boundaries of a bead through the use of metal inclusions or surface treatments such as enamels. Recent work has explored grinding, sandblasting and mirroring.

 Beads are a wonderful art form. They are beautiful, portable, tactile and decorative. They offer something to the superficial viewer and to one willing to expend the interest and effort to look even closer. I have been lucky to meet creative and exciting people in this field, as teachers and friends. Almost all of my work is executed collaboratively with my husband, Neil Fabricant (aka Dr.Fab) and I am so fortunate that we share a passion for glass.

In the coming year I hope to spend a lot of time at my torch, since the past year was largely consumed with writing. Plans are in the works for teaching in Canada and around the US, with more announcements of new classes coming soon!