Review

Beaded Lampwork Glass Necklace.

Jim McLaughlin

ARTichokes
10557 Mission Road
Leawood, KS
913.322.9481

Hours : 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.
Runs through: Aug. 8.

Gallery site: http://www.artichokeskc.com

Jim McLaughlin has a lot of irons in his creative fire ... and a good deal of glass, too.

And the fire? It's not completely metaphorical. In this particular case, it's a literal flame, fueled by oxygen and propane.

McLaughlin, a retired medical equipment entrepreneur, is a novelist with two titles to his credit. He also is studying oil painting and has taken an interest in ceramics.

And in only two years, since he discovered glass bead lampwork during a visit to Venice, McLaughlin has done the research, found a supplier and taught himself the art form in a studio he set up in his Prairie Village home.

The beauty of working with glass is the surprise the artist gets when the process is complete, writes McLaughlin, whose beaded bracelets and necklaces are currently on display at ARTichokes in Leawood. Glass beads are like snowflakes…no two are ever exactly the same.  The possibilities are limited only by the imagination of the artist.

McLaughlin, who imports the raw glass for his beads from Murano, Italy, has a clear eye for color and shape (see the beaded necklace above, for an example). Subtle variations in hue and structure give each bead — and each piece of jewelry — an unmistakable stamp of individuality, and McLaughlin has a good eye for assembling the components into cohesive and attractive wholes.

Even in the middle of a hot, muggy summer, there's always room for the fruits of McLaughlin's flame.

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