Joy Knepp

Specialty: Jewelry

The focus for my work involves manipulating rods of glass with a torch to create glass beads with colors, patterns and textures that reflect my love of the natural world and its beauty. I am also intrigued to learn about the styles and symbolic significance of glass beads and jewelry in various cultures around the world. When designing my jewelry, I tend to use leather cord, seed beads, interesting textural metal beads as well as gemstones and other natural materials. This style reflects my down-to-earth personality.

Joy’s Biography

Joy Knepp has been working as a glass and jewelry artist for more than 16 years and is a retired k-12 art educator of 27 years. She earned a B.S. and B.A. in art and education from Pennsylvania State University and acquired her Master’s degree and beyond from several institutions including Frostburg State University of MD, California University of PA and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia . She has studied and taught techniques in Glass at Touchstone Center for Crafts, Farmington, PA. She has also studied at Pittsburgh Glass Center, Goggleworks, Reading, PA and many other workshops affiliated with the International Society of Glass Beadmakers, of which she has been a member since 2004. Joy was juried into the Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh in 2018. Her work has been exhibited and sold in galleries and art centers in the region. She lives and works in her home studio in the beautiful Laurel Highlands in Somerset, PA.