Some Glass Working Skills from Loren Stump

I finally gave up and emailed an acquaintance about the name of my mystery bead maker. Loren Stump! I knew it was an L and an S, but his name completely escaped me. It was my first "major" bead show, and early in the history of what would evolve into the Bead & Button Show. The arena was filled with vendors, most of which were art glass bead makers. I had only been introduced to the art form within the previous year, and I was fascinated. 

I love this Loren Stump Taxi Cab bead. From
the driver to the sign, it's a work of art in
miniature. 

This show is where I met artists whose beads became items I wore proudly for years (and still wear) as well as the start of a collection of beads by major names in the art. In 1994, the infamous OJ Simpson white Bronco "chase" happened, followed by his arrest and that crazy trial that made reputations and dashed others. Loren Stump was inspired to make a variety of vehicle beads from glass, among which was one, specific white vehicle - the OJ Simpson White Bronco. 

Here's Loren's photo of one of his White Bronco beads. OJ
Simpson is sitting in the back seat, Al Cowling at the wheel.
Loren actually did a full set of all of the vehicles involved
in the chase, but I own one of his White Bronco beads. 

The detail of the bead floored me. I actually bought a lot of his vehicle beads, but DH said "No, we can't afford a check that large, you'll have to return all but one." So, the next day I brought back the taxi, school bus, and others, but I kept the OJ Simpson White Bronco which said "Guilty" on the license plate. It was a marvel. 

Here's the rest of the OJ Simpson set - all of the chase vehicles. I loved
the little police car, but had to pass on the full set - just didn't have the
available funds. 

Doing a search under his name, I'm delighted to see that he's still in business and still creating amazing beads and miniature glass sculptures in his studio, as well as teaching the next generation(s) of lampworkers. I'm still delighted with my White Bronco bead and will add his name into the slot where I keep the bead so that I don't lose the identification a second time. 

Loren also did miniature statues in glass. He did
a series of Samuri Warriors, including this one.
He still teaches at his studio, Stumpchuck. If you
are a glass worker and want to hone your skills, you
could do worse than taking a class from Loren Stump. 

I'm meeting my security alarm technician early at the store today - this will be the third time this week! There better be a fix, because my patience has just about reached the end of my rope. Here's hoping you have a grand Friday and I'll be back tomorrow.