Genninger Studio: how unique Murano glass jewelry is made

How Leslie Ann Genninger became an “adopted Venetian”

American artist Leslie Ann Genninger jokingly calls herself an “adopted Venetian”. She arrived in Venice thirty-five years ago for creative work: first learning from glassblowers and artisans on Murano, and later developing her own Murano glass jewelry and opening her design studio.

Everything started with simple glass beads, but over her years in Venice Leslie Ann was fortunate to get to know many Murano families and learn their finest techniques. Today she designs the shapes, colors and details herself, then creates jewelry from the beads she invents.

How beads are born

Experimenting with color is what Leslie Ann enjoys most. And the many glassmaking techniques give her endless ways to do it. One of the most common is filigrana. The artisan takes several narrow colored rods, encases them in clear glass and pulls them into a long cane. The cane is then cut into small fragments, each one containing a miniature pattern.

These fragments are reheated until the glass becomes soft again. From there, the artisan either blows them into a small cylinder or sphere, or winds the heated piece of cane onto a metal mandrel to shape the bead.

The pattern hidden inside the long cane unfolds inside the small bead. This is how the bright elements of Murano jewelry appear.

Torciliata, murrine battuto and liquid silver

Filigrana has a more complex version called torciliata, where the colored glass rods inside the cane are twisted into a spiral for a more intricate pattern. In murrine battuto, a multilayered cane is cut, heated and blown into a cylindrical form, then the surface of the bead is carved with a diamond wheel to reveal the inner layers of color.

Liquid silver is another technique. It is based on an old Venetian method of creating a mirrored layer inside a glass object. The artisan first forms a clear glass preform, usually a small hollow shape. When the glass reaches the right temperature and becomes pliable, a very thin layer of silver is introduced inside. Under heat the silver becomes a mirrored film and spreads along the walls. To achieve the final effect, the process is repeated, which creates the distinctive double layer of silver found in Leslie Ann’s jewelry. The result is a transparent bead with a soft inner silver glow.

Genninger Studio in Dorsoduro

The process of assembling jewelry is almost meditative for Leslie Ann. In her Dorsoduro studio she spreads out hundreds or even thousands of finished beads and slowly brings together twenty to thirty unique necklaces. This is what she is most often doing when visitors see her in the studio.

Leslie Ann also loves to spend quiet moments on Lido beach when almost no one is there, and when the light becomes unusual, early in the morning or late in the day as the shadows stretch and the sea grows calm. At those times the light behaves differently, softer and deeper. The same light, the same quiet glow, can be seen in her jewelry.

If you find yourself in Venice, stop by Genninger Studio and see how light plays inside the glass beads she creates. Then head to Lido to catch that same light that has inspired her for many years. And you may see Venice a little differently.

Genninger Studio in HiddenGem.guide