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‘It's Just a Bead': Local artist recognized

By CYNTHIA DELANEY - Correspondent
Thursday, May 8, 2008 12:47 PM PDT

A floral lampwork bead designed and created by Kristen Frantzen Orr is considered by many to be a treasure. (Cynthia Delaney/Free Press Correspondent)

ELKO - Elko's own lamp work bead artist Kristen Frantzen Orr has recently been highlighted in “Masters: Glass Beads - Major Works by Leading Artists.”

The book, which was just released, features a select group of 40 glass bead makers who are considered to be the top in their field. Each artist showcases approximately eight pages of work.

Frantzen Orr, who grew up in the Elko community, has had a long and varied passion in the arts. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism at University of Nevada, Reno. Life took her to Arizona where she began experimenting in watercolor, calligraphy and jewelry.

She turned to glass bead making in 1993 while trying to find color to incorporate into her silversmithing. A trip to the Bead Museum in Prescott, Ariz., sparked her curiosity, and she was off and running.

First attempts using a propane plumber's torch resulted in subdued gray colors. She later learned to use an oxygen-propane torch that burns at an astounding 4,442 degrees Fahrenheit.

“I'm enchanted by the magic of the flame and the molten material, and I like the immediacy of the work; the instant gratification,” Frantzen Orr said.

As Frantzen Orr progressed in her work she looked for ways to expand her ideas and create signature pieces. Now she primarily works in floral designs, which serve as metaphors for life.

The beads are created in a time-consuming process of combining up to six canes of glass to make striped canes. These are then molded onto a base bead creating the structure and striations of each original piece.

All of the work is done over the torch with metal tools, constant movement and precise manipulation of the molten glass. The final product is always breathtaking.

Orr has become a world renowned lamp work bead maker who teaches workshops all over the country.

She has also taught in Japan, and has shown her work in England, France and Japan. She teaches glass bead making at Great Basin College.

Self-descriptions of her work include references to light and symbolism of the beauty and brevity of life. And while each tiny bead can take many hours of work, Orr laughs at how seriously bead makers take themselves.

“Geez … it's just a bead!” she said.

Just a bead indeed! And one wonders if Georgia O'Keefe described her floral masterpieces as just paintings?

The book can be purchased on Amazon.com. To see more of Frantzen Orr's work, visit her Web site at www.kristenfrantzenorr.com.

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