© 2005-2007
Amanda Siska
Art of Glass
Using unusual technique, local artist creates hand-etched glass gifts, jewelry
By Bob Tremblay/Daily News staff
Sunday, April 01, 2007 - Updated: 12:05 AM EDT
FRAMINGHAM - Acid etching and sandblasting have been the traditional methods
to decorate glass. Framingham designer Amanda Siska decided to try her
hand, literally, at a more unusual technique.
Using a dentist-like drill fitted with diamond
burrs, Siska draws directly onto the glass, carving permanent designs.
"I prefer my method of etching because it
gives my pieces a lot of personality,'' says Siska. "It also allows
me to add an incredible amount of detail to my designs.''
These designs grace the etched-glass gifts sold
by Siska's Framingham-based company, Bread and Badger. These include vases,
candleholders, shot glasses, pendants, pins and magnets. The designs include
Japanese fish, cherry blossoms, octopuses, skull and crossbones, trees,
anchors, robots, bombs and hearts.
There's also the skullerfly - a hybrid design
that combines a skull and a butterfly - and a design featuring a ball
of yarn and knitting needles positioned in such a way to resemble a skull
and crossbones. The design, which originated from a tattoo on Siska's
right arm, appears on a candleholder in the spring/summer 2007 issue of
Vogue Knitting magazine.
Siska also creates custom designs. For example,
she recently made 50 roller-skate necklaces for a roller derby league
in Baltimore. Each necklace had the player's initials engraved in it.
A former shoe saleswoman, Siska started Bread and Badger in January 2006.
Its name derives from "bread and butter'' as the company serves as
her sole source of income. She added badger to the mix after reading an
article in National Geographic on the animal, which is known for its fearless
nature.
To set out on her own, Siska quit the retail
business after seven years and entered the crafts market. "That was
doing well and it looked like a good opportunity,'' she says.
Siska began making beaded jewelry, which led
to etching pendants. "Then I realized I could etch anything,'' says
the self-taught artist. She also shifted from jewelry to home goods.
"It was more enjoyable and more interesting
to make them than beaded jewelry,'' she says. "And a lot of people
weren't in it.''
At first, Siska used a Dremel tool to etch the
glass. Then her father, Paul Heurich, a fellow crafts person, told her
about a rotary drill he had and wasn't using. "Why don't you try
it?'' he said. The rest is art history.
"This is much lighter and much faster and
it produces a smoother line,'' says Siska.
She knows of only one other person employing
this technique with glass and that person lives in South Africa. "There
could be others,'' she says, "but I haven't seen them.''
Siska also notes that each one of her designs
is a little bit different as they're all handmade. This differs from sandblasting
where a stencil can be used to create designs that all look exactly the
same. Traditional etching, meanwhile, produces ``a flat finish, which
isn't very interesting to me,'' she says.
Regarding the aforementioned detail, a prime
example can found in the vase with the koi as numerous flowing lines create
the graceful fish. "Whatever I can draw, I can put on glass,'' she
says. "It's something more artistic.''
Siska gets the glass objects for her pieces from
a variety of sources, including the Internet and thrift stores. The most
common color is cobalt blue to be better show off the design. Each work
also gets enhanced with a white or gold coating to further bring out the
etching.
Bread and Badger products can be purchased on
the company's Web site - www.breadandbadger.com - as well as at Magpie
in Somerville and Stingray in Allston. The items range in price from $8
for a magnet to $200 for a vase.
Siska says the company broke even last year.
"The first year is tough for any new business,'' she says, "but
people are starting to recognize me now. Sales have been steadily increasing.
I've been doing crafts fairs and advertising more. ... This could be a
really big year.''
To create a gift can range from 10 minutes for
a magnet to 6 hours for a vase. For the designs, she draws her inspiration
from American and Japanese tattoos, classic motifs, fashion and pop art
and culture.
Running her own business definitely agrees with
Siska. "I enjoy the complete freedom - to do anything I want, express
anything I want,'' says the 1999 Sudbury Valley School grad. "This
is a great medium. I've done a lot of different art, from tattooing, to
illustrating comic strips to painting and this is really bold and different.
It's something you can put in your house and not something you just stick
up on a wall. It's something you can use and it's decorative.''
(Bob Tremblay can be reached at btremblay@cnc.com
or 508-626-4409.)
____________________________________________________
BREAD AND BADGER
Owner: Amanda Siska
Employees: One
Industry: Glass giftware
Company background: Based in Framingham, Bread and Badger makes and sells
hand-etched glass gifts and jewelry. Its Web address is www.breadandbadger.com.
Bread and Badger
Amanda Siska of Framingham
(Ken McGagh/Daily News staff)
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