Art of Glass
Using unusual technique, local artist creates hand-etched glass gifts, jewelry
By Bob Tremblay/Daily News staff
Sunday, April 01, 2007 - Updated: 12:05 AM EDT
FRAMINGHAM - Acid etching and sandblasting have been the traditional
methods to decorate glass. Framingham designer Amanda Siska decided to
try her hand, literally, at a more unusual technique.
Using a dentist-like drill
fitted with diamond burrs, Siska draws directly onto the glass, carving
permanent designs.
"I prefer my method of etching
because it gives my pieces a lot of personality,'' says Siska. "It also
allows me to add an incredible amount of detail to my designs.''
These designs grace the
etched-glass gifts sold by Siska's Framingham-based company, Bread and
Badger. These include vases, candleholders, shot glasses, pendants,
pins and magnets. The designs include Japanese fish, cherry blossoms,
octopuses, skull and crossbones, trees, anchors, robots, bombs and
hearts.
There's also the skullerfly -
a hybrid design that combines a skull and a butterfly - and a design
featuring a ball of yarn and knitting needles positioned in such a way
to resemble a skull and crossbones. The design, which originated from a
tattoo on Siska's right arm, appears on a candleholder in the
spring/summer 2007 issue of Vogue Knitting magazine.
Siska also creates custom
designs. For example, she recently made 50 roller-skate necklaces for a
roller derby league in Baltimore. Each necklace had the player's
initials engraved in it.
A former shoe saleswoman, Siska started Bread and Badger in January
2006. Its name derives from "bread and butter'' as the company serves
as her sole source of income. She added badger to the mix after reading
an article in National Geographic on the animal, which is known for its
fearless nature.
To set out on her own, Siska
quit the retail business after seven years and entered the crafts
market. "That was doing well and it looked like a good opportunity,''
she says.
Siska began making beaded
jewelry, which led to etching pendants. "Then I realized I could etch
anything,'' says the self-taught artist. She also shifted from jewelry
to home goods.
"It was more enjoyable and
more interesting to make them than beaded jewelry,'' she says. "And a
lot of people weren't in it.''
At first, Siska used a Dremel
tool to etch the glass. Then her father, Paul Heurich, a fellow crafts
person, told her about a rotary drill he had and wasn't using. "Why
don't you try it?'' he said. The rest is art history.
"This is much lighter and much
faster and it produces a smoother line,'' says Siska.
She knows of only one other
person employing this technique with glass and that person lives in
South Africa. "There could be others,'' she says, "but I haven't seen
them.''
Siska also notes that each one
of her designs is a little bit different as they're all handmade. This
differs from sandblasting where a stencil can be used to create designs
that all look exactly the same. Traditional etching, meanwhile,
produces ``a flat finish, which isn't very interesting to me,'' she
says.
Regarding the aforementioned
detail, a prime example can found in the vase with the koi as numerous
flowing lines create the graceful fish. "Whatever I can draw, I can put
on glass,'' she says. "It's something more artistic.''
Siska gets the glass objects
for her pieces from a variety of sources, including the Internet and
thrift stores. The most common color is cobalt blue to be better show
off the design. Each work also gets enhanced with a white or gold
coating to further bring out the etching.
Bread and Badger products can
be purchased on the company's Web site - www.breadandbadger.com - as
well as at Magpie in Somerville and Stingray in Allston. The items
range in price from $8 for a magnet to $200 for a vase.
Siska says the company broke
even last year. "The first year is tough for any new business,'' she
says, "but people are starting to recognize me now. Sales have been
steadily increasing. I've been doing crafts fairs and advertising more.
... This could be a really big year.''
To create a gift can range
from 10 minutes for a magnet to 6 hours for a vase. For the designs,
she draws her inspiration from American and Japanese tattoos, classic
motifs, fashion and pop art and culture.
Running her own business
definitely agrees with Siska. "I enjoy the complete freedom - to do
anything I want, express anything I want,'' says the 1999 Sudbury
Valley School grad. "This is a great medium. I've done a lot of
different art, from tattooing, to illustrating comic strips to painting
and this is really bold and different. It's something you can put in
your house and not something you just stick up on a wall. It's
something you can use and it's decorative.''
(Bob Tremblay can be reached
at btremblay@cnc.com or 508-626-4409.)
____________________________________________________
BREAD AND BADGER
Owner: Amanda Siska
Employees: One
Industry: Glass giftware
Company background: Based in Framingham, Bread and Badger makes and
sells hand-etched glass gifts and jewelry. Its Web address is
www.breadandbadger.com.
Bread and Badger
Amanda Siska of Framingham
(Ken McGagh/Daily News staff)
