There has always been something inside me that drives me to constantly be making things. Growing up, I was always creating something or other. Thank goodness for my mom, who never said “no” to supplying my habits and always inspired my creativity. She was my number one supporter!
Fast forward a few years. I went to Nazareth College in Rochester, NY and earned a BS in Studio Art. I thought I wanted to become a weaver, but it turned out that I also fell in love with clay. As a graduation gift, my parents gave me the experience of a lifetime; they sent me down to the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee to take my first class at, what would become one of my favorite places on Earth, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. The class was in ceramics, but what was even cooler to me was it was the first class to fire a thing called an Anagama kiln. Arrowmont had just brought in a Japanese artist to build the kiln and at the time it was one of only three in the country. It is a kiln built into the side of a hill and uses only wood as its fuel. Talk about falling in love with heat and fire! This was my first introduction to the world of workshops and opened my life up to the most incredible learning experiences and friendships that have lasted over 33 years.
My life has always been a series of dichotomies. Not only did I have the drive to create, but I also loved the outdoors, which included canoeing, camping, skiing, etc. As I had my three wonderful children, I also worked what some call a “real” job in a ski shop, putting my artwork on the back burner. After having my youngest son, I decided to get back to my artistic roots and went back to school to earn a second undergraduate and a masters degree in Art Education at the State University College at Buffalo. Most importantly, I went back down to Arrowmont and took my first class in glass. I was hooked! I took my first job teaching art in a public school, but continued to sneak out to as many glass classes and workshops as I could, collecting tools, glass and supplies along the way.
Long story short, life got crazy and my daughter was diagnosed with a very rare form cancer at the age of 16. My entire life was put on hold while I tended to her and saw her through the life-saving process of a bone marrow transplant. I found myself back working at the ski shop and devoted my new life to that, but the glass thing kept creeping in. I snuck back into classes and eventually started assisting various artists with their classes and even taught a few myself.
When my youngest son became interested in blowing glass, I transformed my glass studio to accommodate both glass fusing and glass blowing. With a lot of encouragement from my family and friends, I finally took the leap, quit my full time “real” job at the ski shop after 25+ years, and here I am: a full time glass artist, making and selling art, as well as teaching classes and workshops. My dream come true! I think my mom would be proud, as it was always her dream for me too!
My Journey to Glass
I was born to create beautiful things; it’s what drives my soul. Not only do I always have to be making things, but I also have endless interests. I used to think this was a curse, but it’s actually a blessing because it means I get to try working with many different mediums. For now, I’ve found my “happy place” with glass. Creativity and problem solving are my strengths and although a successful outcome of the creative process is what we artists ultimately strive for, I firmly believe that it’s not about the product; it’s about the process.
Working with glass is a dream come true. I love the endless possibilities of the medium. The cool thing about glass is that you can solder colored pieces together, heat it in a kiln, or melt it in a flame. The possibilities are endless! I experiment with all kinds of techniques. Hey, what’s more fun than melting glass and playing with fire?!
My first undergraduate degree concentrated on weaving. Weaving brought me much pleasure and a few awards too. For a few years, I taught weaving at the Roycroft Craftsman’s Guild in East Aurora, NY. I loved playing with the mathematics, patterns, colors and textures, but it just wasn’t hot enough!
Signing up for my first ceramics class in college was one of the best things I ever did. Mud. Playing with mud and fire, now that was fun! Not to mention that people who enjoy this kind of play are a pretty crazy, fun-loving group. Yep, this is when I fell in love with kilns, heat, and fire.
Otherwise known as Precious Metals Clay. PMC is a very cool product that consists of microscopic particles of fine silver mixed with an organic binder to form a clay-like substance. Form it into anything you can dream up and then fire it in a kiln. All the organic binder fires out and you’re left with just the fine silver. Talk about cool! You will find several pieces of jewelry here that I made using PMC.
This is my favorite quick fix to idle hands, not to mention it makes a pretty good travel companion! I really like to make hats.
Oh, the colors! Hand dying the wool felt, cutting the strips and hooking my designs - it's way cheaper than therapy! You may see some of my creations here for sale from time to time.
I absolutely love teaching, probably because I love to share! After going back to school and earning degrees in Art Education, I taught elementary school art for a few years. Then, along came glass and am now teaching my own glass classes and workshops at places like Glass Craft and Bead Expo, Hot Glass Horizons, and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
I am a huge advocate of life long learning; I’m actually more like the “poster child.” My entire adult life I have traveled around the country taking various classes and workshops learning different mediums and techniques.
