My passion for glass began in my youth while growing up in Kansas. My mother tried to bribe me several times to reduce my assorted glass collection. Working with hot glass appeared beyond my reach until I was introduced to glass beads by a colleague in 2000. I was so convinced this was my calling that I ordered a torch the same day. Every time I turned my torch on, the instructions from my husband were always the same, "Don't burn the house down honey, but have fun." Eleven years later, I am still having fun and he is still telling me not to burn the house down.
Glass has transformed my life and ignited my creativity in a way that other mediums have failed. To watch my customers and students fall in love with glass is pure delight. Something compels me to help bring beauty into the world through glass and I know that I will never reach the end of learning this art form. It is a quest that draws me to the torch with an excitement that is difficult to explain.
Moving to Washington has influenced me to produce new nautical designs and also inspired the collection, Small Plates, a series of necklaces and bracelets that replicates glass wall art.
My jewelry has been shown in galleries in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Washington. I have participated in over 65 juried art shows. My work has been featured in Beadwork magazine and is on display at the Kobe Glass Museum in Japan. My beads help support Beads of Courage, an arts-in-medicine program for children coping with cancer and other serious illness.
Showing at the new Schack Art Center and the Museum of Glass Store are certainly highlights in my career.
"Glass shouldn't just be displayed on a shelf."
