Work in Progress

Sneak peek at my newest project. This is the largest piece of artwork I have embarked upon in its most primitive stages. What you are looking at is the first layer of patina on copper sheet. Stay tuned....glass work yet to come on this one.

Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center

Chris, Jen, and I will be showing artwork at the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center in Pennsburg PA from May 2011 to July 2011. I sincerely hope you can join us to view Chris's digitalized landscape paintings, Jen's sculptural weavings, capturing a local folk art in a modern way, and my nature inspired glass art. The opening reception is set for Sunday May 1st. I will post the hours closer to the date. We are all really looking forward to this show, and Schwenkfelder has such a beautiful gallery space. While you are there, please check out the many historical Pennsylvania Dutch heritage displays throughout the building. From antique Fraktur drawings, early PA Dutch printing presses, hand carved furniture, and looms, to gorgeous handmade quilts, a tour of Schwenkfelder is an amazing way to spend some time.

Reservoir, 9000 ft.

Winner of Best Airscape, Terra Firma Exhibition, Studio B, Boyertown PA, May 2009

I created this piece recently as part of my satellite image body of work. This is my interpretation of Green Lane Reservoir and the surrounding areas from 9000 ft. above the earth. Mostly rural, this piece is very different from the satellite image of Reading. Instead of urban areas, in this piece mainly fields and forested land surround this particular water source. However, the impact of our bustling modern human lifestyle on the landscape is clearly evident in the enormous road systems that intersect and run all through, on top of really, the otherwise beautiful, primarily agricultural and wooded area.

This is the area where I live and so I am close to this particular satellite image. When I go to Green Lane Park I can still hear the traffic of the highways that flank the park on all sides. It strikes me, and hard, that there is little area near where I live to escape the madness of commerce, the rush of contemporary life. Many of the surrounding farmers are selling their land because they cannot make ends meet growing food. Farming, a profession that has sustained humans since the beginning of time, is becoming obsolete. The loss of family farms holds a huge impact for humans, as well as the landscape and surrounding natural areas not only in this area, but all over the country.

In Reservoir, 9000 ft. I have captured a moment leading into a different age. We may not recognize this landscape in 10 years. Perhaps in 10 years most of the farmland and forested land you see here will be housing developments and quarries.

Landscape and Industry at Goggleworks

Please come and see my satellite image captured in glass, Reading from 2000 ft., at the Goggleworks group show Landscape and Industry. The Opening Reception is May 7th 2009 5:30 pm-7:30 pm. The exhibit runs from May 10, 2009-June 14, 2009. I hope you can make it in to see all the talented artists in the area take on this interesting subject matter.

Dark Blue Swirl Bowl and Tile Set

I have been sold out of this particular design in bowl and tile sets since the winter. This set is brand new just in time for spring!

Rainbow Bowl and Tile Set

Designing bowl and tile sets is such a fun thing for me to do! I love the process and the results are always rewarding. This one is so colorful and cheerful, it would be nearly impossible not to fall in love with it!

Mica Bowl

Fresh out of the kiln, this bowl was a rather nice surprise. I blew mica onto black radium glass in the hopes of creating something truly unique and I was not disappointed. After cold working, the piece was slumped into a large bowl and viola, the pictures speak for themselves!

Student Work-Betty Price (and my son Dylan

Above are two tiles in progress designed by Betty Price. The green one is all Betty's creation and it looks great! The blue one Betty made with the help of my four year old son Dylan. You can certainly tell the difference in artists between the two...Dylan is really into capturing the whole rainbow of glass colors in one piece!

I am excited to get these tiles cold worked and in the kiln for the fire polishing. They will become votive holders for Betty to display in her home when I am done with the final slump fire.

Student Work-Nancy Klick

This is a work in progress. Nancy designed this 4 x 4 tile during her visit, and I will cold work it and slump it for her. I think it looks great and another person that visited my studio last week commented on how much she liked it too! This decorative tile will eventually become a votive holder for Nancy to display in her home.

Unfortunately I am a little behind on my cold working right now so finishing this up has been going slower than I had hoped. I have a huge backlog of pieces that need to get sawed, ground, and sanded, then fire polished. I am hoping to get a fire polish in this week though.

Stay tuned to see the finished product!

Reading From 2000 ft.

This is a new piece I made for submission in a group art show with a theme of "Landscape and Industry." It is my interpretation of a satellite view of Reading, where the interchanges of 222 meet at Penn Ave/Penn St. You can see the Schuylkill River, and next to it a small part of the city. This piece was fired in 2 parts initially and then those two parts were fused together in another firing. After that it was cold worked and fire polished into what you see in the pictures.

The first layer is set on almond colored glass. The trees and natural areas around the river are represented by glass frits in green colors. the river itself is designed from copper leafing and several different colored frits, all in shades of blue. The city is created from glass melted through stainless steel. This process creates the glass swirls you see and also accounts for the building lines. Stainless steel leaves some metal residue on the glass when I fire it in such a way and it is a very interesting design element. Certainly perfect for this project! Some of the buildings and parking lots you can see are represented by copper mesh, and others with mica powders I painted on there with the help of a gum arabic and water mixture. This layer was fused with a layer of clear glass to laminate it.

The second layer was a base of sheet glass onto which I constructed and adhered the road systems. The roads are designed with copper coiling wire and all bent and arranged according to the appearance of the city at a 2000 ft. altitude. The second layer was laminated and fused.

The next firing fused the two layers together. When that firing was complete, cold working began. The sides were cut square to expose the edges of the copper wire fused within. I sanded it to a fine finish and beveled the edges slightly, then it went back into the kiln for a fire polishing.

The finished piece of artwork is 7.5" W x 5.5" H x .5" D. It is shown unframed. My wonderful husband will be welding a stainless steel frame it before it due to be shown in the gallery show.