Melanie Grafton, of Rowland’s Glass Art, found a hobby she enjoyed and turned it into a business.
Grafton uses a background in graphic design and art in university to create beautiful glass art and jewelry.
She started making glass art eight years ago after taking classes in fused glass art at an art studio in Whistler
“I was introduced to the glass and just loved it. I started making things for myself and then had so much of it I started to sell it,” she said.
Grafton said she was lucky because the studio she was working at let her put some of her work on sale and it sold very well.
When she moved to Golden she continued to work and sell pieces.
Currently, Grafton has a full-time job at CIBC in Golden and works with glass on the side.
Glass has many qualities that Grafton enjoys but colour is something she believes attracts almost everyone’s attention.
“One of the things I like about it is all of the beautiful colours and it is really tactile. It is one of those things you are just drawn to. People love looking at glass and the way it picks up the light,” she said.
She added that there was a natural attraction for her with glass because she felt it had a lot of the qualities of water and she is a person who loves being around water.
Grafton, who has taught classes on the subject, said glass is a fairly easy medium for people to learn how to create with. However, it is also a substance which you can go into a great deal of intricacies with if you desire to make something more complicated.
“I like that it has different depths and the fact it can be jewelry, plates, dishes, wall art and many other things,” she said.
Currently her work can be purchased at The Art Gallery of Golden and will also be at the Christmas Market in Golden this year.
She also has plans to revamp her website in the near future so that it will be up to date with many new products online.
