Fifty years ago, I was sewing dresses for my young daughter; today I’m a fused glass artist at The Loft. And it’s been a great trip!
My creative endeavors were pretty much limited to making clothes for myself and my young children until 1978, but that year, in preparation for a two-year stint in Riyadh, I discovered batik. I loved it! While in Saudi Arabia, I taught two classes each week to both expats and Arab women. When we returned home, I enrolled in Northern Virginia Community College, earned a degree in graphic design, and in 1985 started Church Street Graphics. At that time, we didn’t use a computer for graphics. I cut text (X-Acto blades!) and pasted it (hot wax!) into my designs. When Apple appeared, all that was history; everything was now on a screen. I tired of that pretty quickly, but kept at it until 2000, at which time I fell in love with glass after taking an introductory course at a local shop in Vienna.
At first, I limited my glass work to jewelry (which I still love to do) but I soon wanted to try my hand at bigger items. Classes at Corning Glass (New York), Arrowmont (Tennessee), and Anne Nye (Arizona) and in local glass shops and studios have helped me develop my own techniques. I’ve been a member of the Vienna Arts Society and the Northern Virginia Capitol Glass Guild for the last 20 years or more, and a member of C’ville Arts, a gallery in Charlottesville for 25. And now I am thrilled to be in The Loft Gallery!