Carine Fram

cfram@comcast.net

Carine is a retired Computer Systems Analyst, living in Lawrenceville, New Jersey with her husband and three children : Josh, Geena and Kyle. She is now learning and practicing the art of bead-making and glass fusing. Most of what she practices in bead-making was learnt at the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen in Richboro, Pennsylvania. There she attended a beginners course taught by Sharon Carlucci, a visiting teacher from Reading , PA. She took most of her advanced courses from Christell Hoffman, the resident torch-work teacher at the Guild. After the Guild dismantled its Richboro chapter, Carine set up a studio at home and worked on her own to develop her technique and style.

The art of Fusing was always an interest that stayed on the peripheral, but not out of sight. Carine then found a beginners’ course at Mercer Community College, and was introduced to the (very) basics of cutting glass and placing glass in mold designs for fusing. This must’ve been the trigger point, and she was not satisfied when the teacher took the students’ work back home to fuse (out of sight of the keen students !). So Carine went home without her art after the first day of class and started looking for a more serious course that would include the teaching of the firing stage. That is how she found the good people at Warm Glass Studio in Clemmons, NC : Brad and Jody Walker. Carine took a 5-day basic course, learning about all the aspects of glass fusing. The bug had bitten her and she returned to her studio in Lawrenceville, NJ where she rearranged the wall space to accommodate sheets of fusible glass. She returned to Clemmons for an advanced level course (“Beyond Two Layers”) where she learned how to work with multiple layers, creating dimension and interest in design.

The next step was to learn more about the cold-work process of a fused, molded item, so Carine attended a course by world-renowned glass designer Marty Kremer to expand her skills. That 4-day course introduced her to the many different tools such as the sandblaster, lap wheel, belt sander, grinder, diamond-blade tile saw, drills, lathes and many other products and tools that are used to obtain professional finishes.

As no two pieces are alike in the world of glass fusing, all pieces are unique and custom-made products, ranging from tiles, bowls, platters and dishes are common offerings from her studio.

Carine is also a keen seamstress, having made all her own clothes when she was in college. She has joined the Artists Network as a gallery member and has a number of pieces on display.