On Christmas morning, the very thought that someone might unwrap one of her handcrafted bracelets or necklaces excites West Shore artisan Corrine Marley.
She has always had an eye for the creative arts, but it wasn’t until she decided to stay home with her two young children that Marley had the time to fully pursue her passion.
Now, she makes a variety of handcrafted jewellery, using wood, fused glass and ceramic, but she’s also gotten into semi-precious beads lately.
“Like most creative people, I have a hard time focusing on just one creative outlet,” she said, laughing.
Marley worked in health care for 14 years prior to becoming a full-time mother and she’s enjoying the fact that she now has a lot more time to create.
“It gave me an opportunity to pursue that creative side that I’ve always been drawn to,” she said.
She started small, making jewelry mostly for herself, but that turned into something more. “People asked to buy them off (my) neck … it just sort of led that way.”
For her glass pendants, Marley buys sheets of glass and hand cuts them all before layering them in a kiln. After being heated to 1,600 F, they’re fixed onto a bale.
“I used to have a box of Band-aids right beside where I’d do all that,” Marley said, laughing again. “Hand-cutting glass all the time you end up with cuts on your hand, but it’s all part of the process.”
Marley hopes her vision and care is evident in each of her pieces, and in a more general sense, that’s what makes the numerous craft fairs around the Christmas season such a great place to shop. She’ll be selling her work at next month’s Winter Market at David Cameron elementary (Dec. 1, 6 to 8 p.m.).
“The main thing about these markets is you’re supporting local,” she said.
