Mimi Bohême is an artist and art educator in Las Vegas, Nevada.  She has worked in a variety of media and has shown and sold artwork since she was 16.  Born in San Diego North County, she left to attend the San Francisco Art Institute where she received merit scholarships for three consecutive years in both printmaking and photography.  After graduating from the Art Institute with a BFA in photography, she relocated to the Las Vegas area where she later received her Masters of Arts in Teaching degree.  Mimi discovered glass beadmaking at a glass artist’s trade show in 1998 when she saw a demonstration of flame-worked glass.  She has worked with hot glass ever since.  Her sculptural beads were recognized with a “Gallery of Excellence” award in the professional beadmaking division of the 2004, 2006 and 2007 Glass Craft Expo. Her torsos were also included in the April/May 2005 issue of Beadwork magazine.

Mimi works in a variety of other media, including painting and printmaking, to depict primarily figurative subject matter.  Soon she will be casting her first bronze.  She also changes her hair a lot.

Flame-worked glass provides a fascinating combination of light on and through forms and the ability to combine colors in very painterly ways.  It also allows me to be sculptural.  It’s the ultimate medium for me because I can draw on my knowledge of painting, photography and sculpture.

 I find flame-working meditative.  A single small sculpture can take hours.  Once started, it has to be completed without interruption.  I have to focus solely on the piece I’m making in order to be successful as well as to avoid getting burned.  I have a theory that you are repelled by fire or drawn to it.  I am fascinated by it.  The way molten glass moves in the flame in response to the way it’s manipulated, to gravity, to its position in the flame is like a dance.  The completed piece is a result of partnering with those elements rather than controlling them.

 My glass designs are frequently organic and I find inspiration in natural elements like gemstones, flowers, water and even animal pelts.  I am particularly drawn to sculpting the human form, male and female.  I call them Venus and David beads.  I tend to incorporate figurative subject matter into every medium I work in.  It’s been a common thread throughout my work since I picked up my first crayon.  I find that the fluidity of molten glass lends itself perfectly to accommodating the curves of the human form.  Furthermore, I like to sculpt each torso in tiny detail and to make them classically realistic rather than abstract.  Each torso is different and has its own personality.  They are unique miniature sculptures that be incorporated into a jewelry piece or stand alone as a completed artwork.

Creating jewelry with my beads allows me to combine my glass art into a single artwork that is accessible and functional if worn or can serve as a sculptural piece if displayed.  There is something very personal and sacred about something that is worn that was made by hand.  It is my hope that both my jewelry pieces and sculptures will become much loved heirlooms that have meaning long after I am gone.

Overall, my work, jewelry and otherwise, is inspired by the human figure, the most fascinating form I've encountered.