Inside the Studio

In the glassblowing studio, Kait Rhoads blows, shapes, and stretches molten glass to make multicolored hollow hexagonal glass tubes. These long hollow tubes are then cut into slices and placed in a kiln to be fire polished to a sheen. Fire polishing creates a smooth texture and surface reminiscent of suspended liquid. Once finished, these small elements become ‘hollow murrine’ that can be combined in a variety of ways to create large scale public artworks, smaller sculptures, and wearable art pieces.

Kait considers the individual units, conical hexagonal forms, as architectural elements. They are bound together to resemble constructs from the natural world, like coral colonies or bee hives. 

To create earrings and designs for the jewelry collection, Kait takes great care to thoroughly sort the unique murrine and select perfect pairings and groupings. As each slice of glass varies in shape, size, and sometimes color, she carefully finds the ones that match.

Kait acknowledges that her studio is on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.