THE GLASSHOPPER STUDIO
With some 36 years experience the ‘Glasshopper Studio’ specializes in commissions for custom designed windows, panels and lamps - also period restorations and repairs. Her frequent decision to incorporate ‘Found Objects’ and whimsical accents, continues to make her work exciting, fresh and interpretative of classical design. Her Port Hope full-service studio includes kiln work, sand-etching and glass mosaics. Numerous original custom designed examples of her work may be found in many private homes, businesses corporations & institutions in greater Metropolitan Toronto area, and other communities throughout Southern Ontario and across Canada. Commission pieces may also be found in private and corporate collections in the following countries: Australia, West Indies, USA, England, Ireland and other European Union countries, Japan, Hong Kong and now mainland China.

Chris Montgomery's highly collectable original designs are signed and dated in the glass, and her custom pieces are never repeated, in order that her work may retain the originality of a unique work of art. For the past 20 years co-owner of gallery, ‘Lord Russborough's Annex’ (with husband - Fine Art Dealer) in Port Hope, Ontario. Over the years she has taken numerous classes, courses and workshops in Toronto (Ontario), Dallas (Texas), Reno (Nevada), Europe, Australia, and at the Haliburton School of the Arts (Ontario). - These classes, courses and workshops have covered glass lamp design, safety in working with glass, specialized copper-foiling techniques, etching, kiln work and painting on glass as well as glassblowing.

“My goal is to continually challenge my design, technical and artistic ability by stretching the boundaries of my medium and thereby simply to bring beauty into your life, so that you can live with it and so enhance your life.”

HER LADYSHIP’S BIJOUTERIE
Chris Montgomery also creates individual, unusual and original handmade jewellery. These travel inspired chic hand-crafted jewellery are the result of numerous trips around the world collecting various beads, found objects and gems.

Travels have brought Chris to such exotic places as the outback of Australia, the islands of the South Pacific, Indonesian and South-East Asian hill tribe villages, as well as ethnic trade bead centers and first nation villages in Europe, Central and North America. There she has had the opportunity to study native and traditional designs and gather or purchase unusual beads, often directly from the native villagers.

Her talents in mixing found objects, antique artifacts, or retrofitted vintage elements with native beads or rare Hill-tribe silver has resulted in some truly outstanding original one-of-a-kind jewellery to delight the eye and enhance its wearer.

Chris has had numerous jewellery shows at the gallery at Lord Russborough's Annex for the past seven years including a pearl exhibition in 2005 and a show at Capitol Arts Centre, Port Hope.