Glass is a unique medium. It is a fluid that is solid. It is brittle, but can be stretched. Glass can be transparent or opaque. It can be clear like crystal, or clear like soapy water. It is made in colors too numerous to count. Glass can be melted, sculpted, molded, slumped, blown, spun, ground, polished, etched or turned into fibers.
My challenge as a glass artist is to use the intrinsic nature of the medium, as well as its manufactured characteristics to create a unique object.
Buried deep within a song written to his infant son, Lennon seemed to be trying to to find meaning in his own troubled life. Most of us, myself included are always trying to bring meaning to what we do and what happens to us. I was no exception.
I have been around glass my whole life. Born into a family of opticians, my great uncle was one of the first to fuse two pieces of glass together to create a bifocal lens. My father started his own company, and in the 70's I dropped out of school to join the business. Over then next 30 years, my father, mother, brother and myself created and grew a business that would eventually allow each of us to pursue our dreams. My dream was to travel, return to school, and to express, much as Lennon did, those things deep within that could not express within a corporate environment.
In 2000 I returned to school, Moorpark Community College, then transferred to Cal State Northridge, where I received a Bachelors degree in History and Archival Studies. I am currently working on my thesis and have plans to graduate with an MA in December 2007. To research and write history is a high form of academic expression.
This year, Karen and I will celebrate our 32nd year together. Since 2000 we have made "baseball trips" with our son to stadiums around the major leagues, and have traveled together to Costa Rica, Alaska, Spain, Morocco, Japan, and later this year to Peru. We also make regular visits to see our children in Monterey, CA and Phoenix, AZ. Along the way we pick up inspiration for our Art. History, travel, and art are inseparable.
Glass art has become a major part of my life. I enjoy every aspect of the craft. Cutting, arranging, fusing, tacking, slumping, and coldwork. I also love lampwork, making beads, pendants, marbles, and even frit.
When I turned 50, I thought my life was two-thirds over. Now at 55, I have discovered that my life has only just begun.
M. A. History, California State University Northridge, expected Fall 2007.
B. A. History & Archival Studies, California State University Northridge, 2003.
A. A. Ophthalmic Optics, Los Angeles City College, 1973.
Glass Education
"Boro Scluptures," Josh Mazet, May 22, 2007.
"Boro Pendants," Josh Mazet, May 21, 2007.
"Intermediate Marbles," Josh Mazet, May 19, 20, 2007.
"Advanced Fused Bowls," Patty Gray, April 2007.
"Shaping, Encasing & A Little Color," Margaret Zinser, April 2007.
"Beginning Marble," Josh Mazet, June 2006.
"Dichroic Boro Pendant," Josh Mazet, June 2006.
"Boro Bead Magic," Doug Remschneider, March 2006.
"Intermediate Lampwork Beads," Catharine Weaver, March 2006.
"Mille Madness," Diann Schwerdtfeger, November 2005.
"Stamping Glass with High Fire Enamels," Linda Scott, November 2005.
"Finish it Up," Kerry Transtrum, November 2005.
"Fusing with Irids," Jim Gregory, November 2005.
"Beginning Beadmaking," Cathy Mulligan, 2004.
