I imagine that if glass could talk it would say, “You can’t pin me down, force me to look, act or be a certain way. You can’t control me completely, ever. I am light taking form. Partners, we dance day and night, reflecting kaleidoscopic shapes and colors from within as well as onto ceilings, walls and floors. Now you see me, now you don’t.”
This is why I love glass. When I paint with it I know that I am joining this partnership between light and form. Using watercolors, sketches or the materials as a starting point I create a composition, then add the heat of a kiln or flame of a torch. Together we transform solid to liquid into yet another solid. Each glass painting may undergo several firings while layers of color, opacity or texture are added. Once complete this metamorphosis continues as the glass interacts with its environment, whether freestanding or suspended.
A seeming contradiction, glass is enduring yet delicate. It can live outside in all-weather conditions yet can shatter into pieces if dropped or not properly annealed. This impermanent medium can change instantaneously, just like each of us. It reminds me of what matters most; that nothing lasts for a second moment. Glass making awakens me to the truth that life is precious and that all we have is this moment in time.