At a very early age I realized I had a great passion for the arts. God has always placed many people with great gifts in my life, and who encouraged me to pursue this passion.

My name is Pam Bolil. My mother was the first person to nurture this passion, as she would take me to the art shows in Greenwich Village, NY, and to many art museums throughout the country while vacationing. The exquisite paintings I have seen, all the sculpture, photos, places and even the people; for me it was always the color in them that would excite me the most. At age 21 I landed a job as colorist for Clairol Inc. in Manhattan. I had the great honor to work and personally know Suzanne and John Chadwick from London, and who now currently working in Beverly Hills.

It was John and Sue who mentored me, and artistically inspired me to pursue a life “in living color“. They taught me that it wasn’t just about tone, but it was also about depth, contrast, and the feeling of how adding color can make the people and the world around you, more beautiful. I will always be grateful for them.


Inspirations

My husband Walt is my next big inspiration. He taught me how to believe in myself and to create my own destiny He has shown me the beautiful world we live in and the colors that are a big part of my inspirations: Bora Bora Blues and Rarotonga Turquoise, Hana Greens; the pinks and purples of the Grandfather Mountain Rhododendrons. The Snow White peaks of Mt Rainier, and the explosions of Reds, Orange and Golds, in a New England autumn. My life has been beyond exciting with him and I am forever grateful to have him as my partner in life!

The next gift is my daughter Trish. She has taught me humility, to always think out of the box, not follow the crowd, and how to live in the here and now. Her creativity is beyond anything I could have ever imagined or hoped for. I can’t wait to see what she decides to do with her gifts.

The next gift in my life is my friend Maggie. She taught me how to fight for life, be honest with myself, and cherish each day – no, scratch that - each second of my life. Mags had a double lung transplant recently. She has taught me that each day is a gift, I'm especially grateful to have her in my life, and to the family that gave her a second chance in life!

How did I get here?

By now you’re wondering, how did I get from a Colorist at Clariol, to Lampworking? Some of it has to do with a search to find myself - not to mention being on the downside of 40 + ;) I think they call it a “midlife crisis.”

Through soul searching, something wonderful has happened. I found a different creative side in me, a wonderful woman named Diane P. asked me to think of something I would like to do… and that’s all it took. I decided to take a jewelry class I knew I had found my passion.

In my search for the perfect beads to make this jewelry, I found two very talented ladies on the Internet by the name Brandie Rosenberry and Lori Robbins, their love for Lampworking and Borosilicate Beads, their creativity and mastery of lampworking was contagious! I started buying their beads and haven’t stopped. You can still find some of Lori's and Brandie's beads in my work today (It's always nice to get another artist’s perspective in some of my creations). You know what they say ... "variety is the spice of life.

I searched the Internet and found another talented lady by the name of Becky Mason, one of the founders of Orlando Glass Dragons. She then directed me to the J.W. Hull School of Glass Art in Orlando, FL. My new mentor Josh couldn’t have been more helpful and has taught me the basic of how to make beads. His school offered wonderful class with some of the most talented people in Orlando: Candice King and Sky McDonagh were a inspiration in getting me started.

Since then, I have had the great honor of working with incredible glass artist James Yaun in Ashville N.C. aka TC the mad scientist, or as I like to call him the Vincent Van Gogh of Boro. While visiting James Yaun in North Carolina I also had the opportunity to visit the Penland School of Crafts in Spruce Pine N.C.

I have also been able to work with some extremely talented people when putting together this website. A terrific photographer named Rebecca Dollar took most of the imagery found throughout, and credit goes to Michael DeBoer of Three Winds Marketing who put the whole site together.

Summary

If there is anything I have learned working with 2000 degree molten glass is that you don't control it ... it controls you, and if you just let it do its thing, beautiful things are created. It's one medium that constantly is evolving every second. (Letting go is very freeing.) My biggest mistakes have been my best creations.

So that’s it in a nutshell. I hope you like my work, and my only wish is to share my love, passion, and excitement about color through my beads. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I've enjoyed making them. Thank you for your time to view my Bo Bangles Website. Please keep coming back to view my work as it evolves.

"A true artist work is forever changing!"

Many Blessings to you all,

Pam