It's not every day that you find a former nurse behind a torch melting rods of glass into beautiful multicolored beads. Or for that matter, loading polymer clay swirls into an oven for curing. Or working with Precious Metal Clay, or stitching fiber art postcards, or any of the other dozen things that patsy does... and does well.
 

"I started in nursing as an LPN and ended with an MS in burn care," patsy says. "Even though I am very aware of the dangers of fire, I've always been fascinated by its potential. Fire can be destructive, or it can be tamed to cook your food. You can use fire to shape metal, to enamel copper, to melt glass, to make a waterproof vessel from wet clay. I could work my whole life and never exhaust the positive possibilities of fire."

She teaches classes in beginning lampwork from her home in Parrish, Florida, near Tampa. Information on upcoming classes will be posted soon.

patsy may be reached at

• patsy monk
• p o box 327
• Parrish, FL 34219