About Julie

Throughout junior high, high school and college, Julie Wong developed her skills as an artist in traditional 2D media. After a life-altering glassblowing experience during first year studies at the Alberta College of Art & Design (Calgary, Alberta) she was compelled to learn more about working with hot glass. The following summer, Julie attended the world class Series Summer Hot Glass Program at Red Deer College (Red Deer, Alberta) to study flameworking. After this brief introduction, she fell in love with the process of working molten glass in the flame, and left her formal studies at art college to become a full-time glass beadmaker. Since 2003, Julie has been sharing her colorful and constantly evolving glass beads with an enthusiastic group of loyal customers at www.uglibeads.com.

Julie currently works out of a studio in downtown Calgary (in the Art Central building, corner of 1st St and 7th Ave SW). On the first Thursday of each month from 6-9 PM she is available to discuss her work and for live demos.

"What appeals to me about glass beads is the fact that we, as human beings, have a long history of adorning ourselves with pretty things... beads, rocks, feathers, things we find in nature and things we make ourselves. It is this finding and making - in an effort to create something of personal significance that fascinates me.

Glass, with all its intricacies, is a challenging medium with unlimited potential for self-expression. This is what drives me to draw, to explore, to experiment, to do more and learn more. My creative energy can be shared with another person through my beads - an important and profound connection tying me to the people who buy, wear, collect and appreciate my work."

In addition to her involvement in the Arts, Julie holds a BSc. from McGill University (Montréal, Québec) in Biochemistry (minor in Social Studies of Medicine), and maintains a strong interest in science and medicine.