GlassLight Goes to Japan

In July, my realtor friend, Arlene Makita-Acuña, bought a serving dish to take to the wedding of her friend's daughter. Not knowing her or her fiancé well, she spent quite some time poring over each and every piece I had laid out on my dining table before my show at Annie's Art in the Garden (seen in photos from my July posting). Arlene is very meticulous and thoughtful. She is also a seasoned traveler and was worried about the glass breaking on her trans-Pacific flight and her travels around Japan before reaching the wedding location. After much exclaiming over all the pieces, touching and caressing them, revisiting certain ones, she selected a piece she thought the younger generation would like--some more modern, less "organic," more contrasty and with a bit of an edge to it.

She was able to send me a photo of the loving couple, Yoko and Hirofumi, showing off their wedding plate with Arlene. "They were very pleased!" she emailed.

I feel blessed to know that something I had a hand in makes two people happy. Every day I'm wishing for the light to pass all around the planet, and touch everyone's life.

The Magic and Mystery of Fused Glass

My friend Ellen called my glassware "fumeless art" a while ago. However, tonight at the studio, there were some awful fumes blowing our way. Everyone in the studio was put off by the noxious smell and I felt a bit heady myself. Nevertheless, we persevered, being compellingly drawn to cut and snip and saw bits and pieces of glass in the hopes it will do something wonderful. Some of my studio mates work with such precision, it makes me see squares in my dreams. Meanwhile, I am still fascinated with what can happen when I take some leftover slices and chunks and lay them on a surface or two of glass. It's the recycler in me that prevails, not some orderly cadence that others seem to march to. So, if you are looking for perfectly square edges or perfectly round dishes, I am not your Glass Woman! There is something provocative about odd shapes, odd corners, pieces that don't quite match. One would think I had not worked on all those jigsaw puzzles my mother used to put out on a card table when we were growing up. We would walk by the table, spot a piece that looked just so, and fit it neatly into the negative space just waiting for its mate. No, I do not "do glass" that way.

The kilns, which are powered by the sun through the solar panels on top of the studio roof, work their magic while we are away from the studio. I can never predict what my pieces will look like when they come out Will there be a "dribble" here? or a color different from what I pictured in my mind as I worked with the pieces. The striker glass is the most surprising. It can look orange when I cut into it cold. After being fused onto another piece of glass, if that one is clear, what was once orange has now turned a striking red!

Tonight the kiln gave birth to several new card holders, soap dishes, a small plate perfect for sushi, and a large art deco-type serving platter. I am looking forward to finding out what appeals most to the MENSA folks this Saturday!

Whatever is left over from that show will be shown and sold at The Crucible Show December 13-14, 2008.