About the Artist
My name is Michelle Heglie. (Michelle is my given name and I use it for all things written and legal... but please, call me Shelly.)
I was born and raised in Iowa. My childhood home was in Fairfax (a tiny little town near Cedar Rapids). As a child, I was fascinated by arts and crafts of all kinds. When I was about eight years old, my grandmother taught me to weave beads. I learned to knit from a book at about 12, and learned more complicated patterns from my grandmother and a neighbor. I was interested in many crafts in my teen years, and learned to do needlepoint, embroidery, decoupage, crochet, and sewing. These skills became quite useful after I married and had children. I sewed clothes, knitted sweaters, made blankets and toys, and took care of the inevitable mending jobs that come with children. Of all the things I made for my kids, my favorite was a hobby horse I made for my son when he was two years old. We had no money for such things, so I made it from an old rug, a handle from a worn out broom, and some yarn I had stashed away. He was thrilled! In my mind's eye I can still see him running around in his tiny boots and hat, "riding" his horse.
We moved to Minnesota in 1989, where I worked for several years in a city office. I wanted to spend more time with my children, so I started an in-home childcare business that helped support us for the next 10 years. Still in need of a creative outlet, I started designing mohair teddy bears which sold through my website and at collector shows. Later I learned to sculpt dolls, using either polymer clay or needle sculpting techniques in fabric. When the children were grown, I ran a custom machine-embroidery business for several years before finding glass as an art medium.
I learned to make lampwork beads by taking a class at a bead shop nearby. The medium was so mesmerizing, I couldn't help but spend countless hours perfecting each skill taught in the class. I would dream about glass, and wake up with new ideas to try. Many mornings, my husband would find me in the garage, trying out some new idea that came to me overnight. One day he commented that perhaps I should sell the embroidery business and just do glass. Great idea! We have since moved to the country where today, instead of a garage, I work out of a studio building on our property.
My beads are available on this website, but mostly they are sold in my Ebay store. I used to sell in several bead stores in Minnesota, but have recently discontinued retail sales. Ebay makes it so easy to sell all over the world without leaving home... except for the occasional trip to my local post office, of course!
Your feedback is always appreciated, so drop me a note if you have something to comment on. |
