The long form version of this article originally appeared in the December-January 2021-2022 issue of Glass Line Magazine.
From Garden to Glass: The Botanical Art of Karen Burns at Locanda Studio
At Locanda Studio in Mendon, Massachusetts, artist Karen Burns turns molten glass into blooming works of wearable art. Featured in Glass Line magazine’s December/January 2021/22 issue, Karen shares her journey from discovering glass beadmaking in Atlanta to building her own glass and jewelry studio — and how her passion for gardening inspires her signature “Garden Beads.”
Looking out over a lush wildflower pollinator garden, Karen draws directly from nature for her glasswork. This environment fuels her imagination, as she reinterprets delicate blooms, dew-like sparkles, and organic textures into intricate glass beads.
A Blooming Process: From Flame to Flower
Karen’s method combines traditional lampworking with a personal twist rooted in color layering and fine detailing:
Materials & Preparation
Her palette includes vibrant Effetre glass rods (Sky Blue, Dark Lavender, Medium Blue), black and white bases, frit mixes of cool tones, and a hint of clear-based dichroic for extra shimmer. Preparing encased stringers — thin rods of glass layered with transparent or contrasting color — allows for realistic petal depth and sparkling accents.
She explains how the dichroic stringers, pulled from scrap glass, add a subtle iridescence reminiscent of morning dew or sunlight glancing off foliage.
Sculpting the Garden Bead
The bead begins as a clear or lavender glass tube, rolled in frit and melted to form the base. Swirls of dichroic glass and small colorful dots suggest budding flowers nestled in foliage. A final clear encasement enhances the depth and dimensionality — like peering through a magnifying lens at a miniature garden.
Planting Flowers in Glass
Creating the floral focal points involves layering tiny dots in triangular patterns to form petals. These are melted in stages, topped with encased stringers for color variation, and finished with contrasting flower centers inserted using ultra-thin stringers — a process that captures tiny air bubbles for added realism.
The final step: one more encasement in clear glass and a careful flame polishing to achieve the finished shape. Once annealed in a kiln, the bead is ready — a botanical microcosm suspended in glass.
Letting the Garden Grow Freely
Karen emphasizes that perfection isn’t the goal. Just like in a real garden, flowers can vary in size, orientation, and fullness — the irregularities lend authenticity. She encourages experimenting with background frits, colorful stems, and even asymmetry for a more organic feel.
Her work is a celebration of nature’s unpredictability and beauty — and a reminder that art often blossoms best when it’s untamed.