Meet Joan of Petsinglass

Meet Joan of Petsinglass

You can visit her store here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5169439

How many years have you been an artist?

I never considered myself an artist. Art classes were torture for me in school. It’s only been in the last few years that my overactive imagination has become constructive and given me the ability to express myself through glass. I received my business license with the Commonwealth of VA in January 2006. For about a year before that, my work was sold at a local stained glass store.

How many years have you worked with glass?

My first stained glass class was in January 2004. From the first class, I knew this was something I would enjoy doing for a very long time. With the help of a very patient instructor who didn’t mind answering my million and one questions, I’ve been able to develop my skills.

What triggers ideas for new projects?

There is really no one thing that triggers the idea for a project. Inspiration comes from just about everywhere and everything.

When do ideas come to you? How often?

Ideas pop up at the weirdest times and the strangest places. I work full-time and do glass as a hobby right now, so I can be sitting in a meeting and an idea will pop into my head, or driving down the road there can be an interesting looking tree along the way, or a squirrel can run across the road. It’s not something I try to force or do intentionally; it’s just something that “happens”.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art? There are days when working in glass is all I think about. Then there are days when it doesn’t even cross my mind. Sometimes I have to literally force myself to sit down and relax a bit, otherwise I would continue working on projects that will end up sitting in storage.

Do you create daily?

Whenever the inspiration hits, I will usually head for my work room. Sometimes it’s not possible due to other commitments, but if I don’t have to go to the office the next day, it’s not usual for me to be working into the wee hours of the morning. It’s very relaxing for me. Time seems to fly by when I’m working on glass. I try to not work on anything for more than an hour or so during the week after work because it’s difficult shutting down the creative side of my mind when it’s time to go to sleep. The really bad part is when I lose track of time and don’t realize it’s time for the dog to go out until he comes in the work room and starts poking at me. I’m just lucky he’s such a good dog! Otherwise my home would be a total disaster!
How important is it for you to create art?

I have found that glass work is very therapeutic. It helps relieve the stress of the day and gives my imagination an outlet that nothing else ever has. It’s very relaxing for me. Time seems to fly by when I’m working on glass. I try to not work on anything during the week after work because I have a hard time shutting down the creative side of my mind when it’s time to go to sleep. But on week ends or nights when I don’t have to go to the office the next day, I’ll stay up all night and just work on glass. The really bad part is when I lose track of time and don’t realize it’s time for the dog to go out until he comes in the work room and starts poking at me. I’m just lucky he’s such a good dog! Otherwise my home would be a total disaster!

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?

Have you given up certain luxuries?

Since I still work a full-time job and only do the glass work during free time, I don’t think I have given up anything. Once I can retire and devote more time to the glass work, that will probably change.

Describe your studio.

Organized mess is probably the best description for the work room. Everything has its place, but it usually doesn’t end up there. No one else would be able to find anything easily, but it works for me.

Tell me something about you.

It’s probably obvious from my store, but I LOVE animals; dogs in particular. I’d rather spend my time in a room full of dogs than socializing with people. They are so much easier to figure out than people. I volunteer for two dog related charities (Blue Ridge Assistance Dogs, which trains Service Dogs for the physically disabled, and The Magic Bullet Fund, which raises money for dogs in the US with cancer whose owners can’t afford the high cost of treatment on their own) and alternate donating proceeds from sales between the 2 charities. I’m looking forward to retirement at the end of 2008 so that I can spend more time being creative.

Merry Christmas!

If I could have a Christmas wish come true,
I would wish for wonderful things to come to you.
I wish you happiness in everything you do,
And not many worries or problems will come to you.

I wish you hope that can brighten the cloudiest day,
And strength to accept all that life sends your way.
May you rise each day with sunlight in your heart,
And may all your hopes and dreams never fall apart.

With my warmest thoughts and memories of you,
I wish that all your joys and wishes will come true.
When these special wishes are delivered to your door,
There is no doubt they will be accompanied by many more.

Of all the Christmas wishes delivered to you yearly,
There couldn't be another that's wished more warmly or sincerely.

~ Author Unknown ~

Merry Christmas Everyone!
~Yvonne~

Meet Lawatha

I am pleased to introduce you to Lawatha.

You can visit her Esty store here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5006039

I'm 51, have been married almost 33 years. Our son will soon be 31, our daughter is 29. We have no grandchildren yet, so we spoil our two lovable dogs instead. Casey is a 4 yr old golden retriever who can do no wrong, and Bailey is almost one years old. He is a cairn terrier and a constant source of entertainment. He is one funny little guy.
I've been working with stained glass for over 25 years. I started fusing 2 years ago and since then have been neglecting stained glass in favor of fusing. I love opening the kiln and seeing how the glass transforms after fusing.

I am retired from civil service, and now consider my glass business my full-time job. I love the flexibility of working when I want, and taking days off when I want. I generally put in anywhere from 4 to 12 hours a day on glass and my glass business.

I also love photography, and I've found a way to combine my photography with glass by making color decals of my pictures and fusing them onto glass. I also use my customer's photos to make personalized photo pendants for them. Those are usually pictures of their children or their dogs, but I can use any picture or design they give me.

I don't consider working as an artist a sacrifice at all. In fact, it's the opposite. If I were to go back to a 9 to 5 job, that would be a sacrifice. Giving up being able to work on glass, giving up my photography, would be a sacrifice. I don't feel I've given up any of life's luxuries, my needs and wants are pretty simple. In addition to glass and photography, the loves of my life are my family and my dogs. That's pretty simple.

My studio began as a little corner in my husband's wood shop. He built me a wonderful workbench and fixed up 1/4 of the shop as my glass studio. Soon I was taking over his workbench. I added a second kiln and needed more room. I now have possession of half the shop, and I'm still spreading over into his work area. Soon it will be all mine, and he'll have to build himself a second shop. Well not really, but we joke about it all the time.
Lawatha

Meet Sharon of shasglasscrafts

Meet Sharon of Shasglasscrafts

You can visit her wonderful Etsy store here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5036468

How many years have you been an artist?
I’ve thought of myself of a creative person rather than an artist. I’ve had so many different creative outlets since I was a child, I guess it’s been most of my life.

How many years have you worked with glass?
After admiring stained glass for years, I finally took a class in 1991 at a local studio. I then bought all the tools and I’m still at it.

What triggers ideas for new projects?
The shape of a piece of scrap glass can give me an idea. Colors and nature inspire me. Really it could be anything.

When do ideas come to you? How often?
I have had ideas or designs come to me in dreams several times this year.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
It varies. When I’m getting ready for a craft fair stained glass is on my mind all day every day. I’m between events right now, so I’m trying to take a breather for a week or so.

Do you create daily?
When I’ve got an event, I stay in my studio up to 18 hours a day. The rest of the time, no, I have to clean the house and do laundry sometimes.

How important is it for you to create art?
I have been creating “something” all my life. I’ve done crewel embroidery, counted cross stitch, I have made bench cushions and roman shades, hand painted plaster figurines, among other things. I’ve stuck with stained glass which satisfies my creativity like nothing else.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?
Certainly. I’ve never had a manicure, because I grind my fingernails along with the glass!

Describe your studio.
My studio takes up half the laundry room in the basement. My space is 10 x 10 with plenty of storage shelves. My husband built my work table for me and built in a rack for my glass sheets. We recently put up drywall, lighting and ceiling tiles. I have 2 task lights attached to the shelves above my work bench. My spare table is covered with boxes of scrap glass and needs to be better organized. I build windows on the pool table, which is in the rec room, which is next to the laundry room. I like it because it is out of the way and I can work undisturbed and also get the laundry done.

Tell me something about you.
I have lived in the Nashville area all my life, but we plan on moving out of the suburbs to someplace remote and quiet in a year or two, someplace I can have horses.I have been married since 1973 and we have 3 grown sons and 2 wonderful daughters-in-law. No grandchildren yet, though. I got my nose pierced for my 52nd birthday just because I’d always wanted to do it. I wear a diamond stud. It was a lot less painful than I thought it would be.

Meet Madeline & Mickey Of Gimmebeads

Meet The wonderful husband and wife team--

Madeline & Mickey Of Gimmebeads

You can visit their Etsy store here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5239208

How many years have you been an artist?
Madeline has been an artist all of her life. Her mother was a painter and she started drawing and painting when she was very young and has a B.A. in fine art. Mickey on the other hand has always loved art and surrounded himself with artists, but really never was an artist. Married an artists, raised kids that were artists, but he basically just watched, besides art is a way of living not a thing you do.

How many years have you worked with glass?
We both started in glass about 3 years ago. Madeline started working in design with glass beads and about 2 years ago started making beads herself. Mickey doesn’t know what in the world to do with a piece of glass, but he keeps on making things. Mickey started off working exclusively in so-called soft glass and then started blowing glass using the borosilicate glass a couple of years ago.

What triggers ideas for new projects?
Gosh, I have more projects in mind that I’ll ever be able to complete. I have ideas that range from huge installation sized pieces down to insect sculptures and from purely functional pieces to purely decorative. Almost everything I see out there registers in my head as an interpretive piece in glass. The forms in nature seem to be so closely constructed in the same flowing form that glass takes as it is worked.

When do ideas come to you? How often?
Ideas come to me all of the time. I sometimes find myself waking up with a new idea. Sometimes, I am driving along, spinning imaginary glass in my hands when a new idea for a pattern will come to mind. Sometimes I’ll see someone wearing a shirt or dress and think about how to bring out what they have on. There isn’t a formula for me.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
Well, we both do have jobs that we do in the real world, so we have to sign off for that part of the day. We wake up really early for most folks (we live on a farm ya know)…. When we get up, get coffeed and dressed, we start working on our projects and usually spend a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the late afternoon or night actually working on things. Now, thinking about art…well….I’m not sure we ever really stop.

Do you create daily?
I won’t say that we create EVERY day, but it’s darned close to it. There is the odd and rare day that we don’t work on one of the projects.

How important is it for you to create art?
I think we both feel that living is art, or maybe it’s “art is living.” If we are in touch with the things that are surrounding us, it seems very natural to create things that fit within that. I really can’t imagine not making things that express that relationship.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?
Well, as I’ve indicated, we both have real world jobs so we aren’t really sacrificing that much to do what we love. We live in a very rural area, without neighbors that live in mansions or drive anything but Ford Pick-up trucks. There is very little pressure on us to keep up in any way or to have a bunch of things.

Describe your studio.
Our studio is about one quarter of the garage that has been loaded down with tables, rolling steel tool carts, torches, oxygen tanks, cabinets loaded down with glass, hoses, foot pedals and a godsend in the form of a CD player/radio. We sit on stools or stand in front of our carts and listen to music while we make glass things. There are a couple of buckets around full of water with wooden blocks custom cut that we use as wet forms to shape glass. Most of the time a single blowhose is draped over the knobs that I use to adjust the propane and oxygen that goes into the torches to make the kind of heat we need to melt glass.

Tell me something about you.
Madeline and I started late in life down this particular trail. I think we both would have loved to have started years and years ago, but we look forward to getting better in every way at our glass working. I love the challenge of doing something that can never really be fully understood. When I was a little boy, I used to watch my uncle who was a relatively famous glassblower. He would pull hot globs of glass from his furnace and make the most beautiful things. I never forgot how even after he had been doing that for 40 years, he still loved it like it was the first day.

Meet Linda of Papernclay

Meet Linda of Papernclay!

You can visit her Etsy store here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=28593

How many years have you been an artist?

I think I was born an artist. I've always had to be making something or doing something with my hands as a child.

How many years have you worked with glass?

It's been pretty close to three years.

What triggers ideas for new projects?Nature,color,shapes,textures,patterns,seasons,suggestions from others..... they mostly just happen.

When do ideas come to you? How often?

All the time- very frequently. Most of the time I forget them before I get to use them!

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?

I physically work on my art about 20 hours a week. It's hard to measure how much I think about it. I just started lampworking and it really has me charged so I make little lists of things as I think of them to take with me to the studio.

Do you create daily?

Yes, if I can't get to the studio I am always thinking about getting there. It's an obsession of sorts.

How important is it for you to create art?

I've never really thought about that but it must be pretty important, for every spare moment, I think about creating if I am not actually doing it.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?

Have you given up certain luxuries?

No I do not feel it is a sacrifice at all. I instead feel it to be a priveledge. I have however given up my kitchen table to have a convenient work area, one where I can also be with my family as they may need me, or just to listen to their telephone calls.

Describe your studio.

My studio is the furnace room in the basement. A place where glass is remote from my family. I have 2 kilns, a torch, a grinder and lots of glass and other supplies. It's quiet there and The only noise is when the furnace kicks in. I really like it there. I even have two small windows which is one thing I'd change if I could- lots of sunlight would be welcome there.

Tell me something about you.

I work fulltime as a floral designer where I've been employed for 32 years. I have 2 wonderful children 19 and 10 years old. I also enjoy the fellowship of a wonderful church family where I volunteer in the children's ministy. I teach children's church regularly and coordinate the crafts for our annual Bible School program. I believe life is short and one needs to do what makes them happy...within reason of course!

Meet Christine Hanses of CHRIS1

I am pleased to introduce you to ...

Christine Hanses of CHRIS1.

You can visit her wonderful shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=47617

How many years have you been an artist?
I would have to say that I still don’t consider myself an “artist”. However I have been doing only glasswork for 7 yrs now.

How many years have you worked with glass?

I have been working with glass for 29 yrs now, in stained glass and lampworking and fused glass also I love to do hot glass (blown glass) and I even went through a stepping stone era when I was doing Landscaping.

What triggers ideas for new projects?
Just about anything that I see. I like flowers so they play a big part...but I see beauty all around me so I keep my mind open. When I make an item I sometimes put it up till I can think of how to use it.

When do ideas come to you?
I get ideas all the time.... but my best pieces are usually made from mistakes. I have tried writing/drawing in a booklet that I take with me but am not real good at doing that. How often?
Some times daily or several times a day then sometimes I go for weeks without any ideas.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
50% of the time~ then some days more and then other days less so I guess it averages out to about 50% of the day. Even when I am away from home I am still thinking about it.

Do you create daily?
I try to but I also do a lot of traveling so when I am home I am always creating something. When away I am wishing I had my small kiln with me to work with.

How important is it for you to create art?
That's something that I have been wrestling with lately. It is very important to me to be creating with my glass. My husband is going to be retiring in the next several yrs. And we will be moving out of state so downsizing may be something that I need to do. So I have been trying to figure out if the next part of my life will be including my glass obsession. I have to be honest with myself ~that I truly can’t see myself living without all my glass and supplies.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?
I’m sure if I was younger and just starting out it would be difficult but I have not had to sacrifice anything. Since I was working when I was first starting out I was able to get a lot of equipment and things then. The best part is that now that I am retired I have the best of both worlds. I have all the luxuries I want with no sacrificing.

Describe your studio.
Right now my studio is in the basement. I have about half the basement so it is not a small studio but as studios go the more you have the more you want. I have enough room for the equipment that I use now, but I still want that sand blaster etc…. lol…. we know there is so much more equipment to have….

Tell me something about you.
I worked 18 yrs. at the School For the Blind in Michigan, with deaf blind students mostly. While working full time with the help of my truly wonderful, supportive husband, I attended our local community college and got my degree in Horticulture. I sold well over 900 stained glass pieces to my co- workers at this time also. We raised our son together during that time. It was a very busy time of my life. Now our son is 29 and lives out of state and has his own life so I can get back to my art. For several yrs., I designed other people’s gardens and landscaping. Then I injured myself and glasswork became my life work. That’s when I was able to get my studio set up and really go after my art. I love taking classes and attending all the glass conferences that I can.

Meet Florence Niven of Nivenglassoriginals

Meet Florence Niven of Nivenglassoriginals.

You can visit her wonderful shop here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5265784

How many years have you been an artist?
I can't remember when I wasn't drawing. I always knew I was going to be an artist, it was just a matter of making it happen. I have been a Graphic Designer since 1983. Along with my freelance design work, I was an illustrator for a greeting card company for ten years, and I organized art workshops for various area schools for 7 years. I left that all behind me when I took my first stained glass course. I am now working full time as a glass artist.

How many years have you worked with glass?
I took my first stained glass course in 2000. The first project that I completed was the last time I used someone else's pattern. I approach my glass designs as I approach any new design challenge - taking into consideration the limitations and restrictions of glass and working around them.

What triggers ideas for new projects?
I am seldom without a sketch book, or at least a scrap of paper. I've been doing this long enough to know that inspiration comes from all over - a passage from a book, a walk in the park, design magazines, fashion, movies. My background as a graphic designer informs how I see things; my designs tend to be clean and precise - less is definitely more. But I also like to keep a sense of humor in my work - I don't take myself too seriously.

When do ideas come to you? How often?
I used to panic about the 'next' idea when I was working with a greeting card deadline - very much a 'hurry up and wait' environment - hurry up with the illustration; wait for the decision from the art director. I eventually just started trusting that the ideas would come to me. I have notebooks all over the house - in my car - in my purse. I'm always scribbling ideas that I may work with eventually, or that may trigger another direction for my work. The advantage of working for myself is that I give myself time to fully realize my ideas, and permission to rework them until they are exactly the way I want them to be.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
I usually work an 8:30 am - 3 pm day. However, this is not really work that you can 'leave at the office' - especially when the office is just downstairs. I often work on new ideas or finish projects at night.

Do you create daily?
Absolutely! A day when I am not creative is not a good day.

How important is it for you to create art?
See above! ; ) It is extremely important for me to be creative - and to work on my own. I don't like being told what to do - (I'm a virgo) - I like having full creative control. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to do what I love to do. I appreciate every sale that I make because it allows me to continue being creative.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?
I think you have to be willing to adapt if you are choosing to be a full time artist - it's not an easy path. If the work isn't along one path, change directions. It also helps to have a supportive partner who values what you do and is there as a safety net and cheerleader in the lean times. Choosing to be a glass artist full time was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The fact that I am able to wake up each morning and know that I will be creative that day is a blessing.

Describe your studio.
I have 3 work areas. A drafting table in my 'clean' studio with a light table and a huge window, where I design my pieces. In the glass area, I have 2 large work surfaces - one for cutting and grinding the glass - the messy work, and one for finishing the pieces - adding the findings, beading etc. I have a tiny - Easy Bake Oven size - kiln that's ancient, and that I use rarely these days, and another large floor kiln that I use all the time. I have a radio in each area, and have been known to crank up the occasional tune, put down my cutting tools, and dance around my studio - another advantage of working alone.

Tell me something about you.
I am married to an incredibly supportive husband who gets this whole creative thing! We just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We have two sons - Chris and Ben - both in university.

Meet Krista Queeney Of KristasKiln

Meet Krista Queeney Of KristasKiln

You can visit her great Etsy store here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5186368

How many years have you been an artist?
I have always been interested in art in some form. Over the years I’ve learned you don’t need to create a masterpiece to be an artist. If you have a creative mind and can find the beauty in the every day world, you are an artist.

How many years have you worked with glass?
I have been working with glass for about two years now. It was at a craft fair that I first saw the magic of dichroic glass and it just sparked something inside me that made me have to learn more.

What triggers ideas for new projects?
Ideas can come to me by simply going through a craft or decorating magazine, reading about a new technique on-line and seeing all the beautiful and varied works in the CGGE. Many times I am at my work table with various pieces and colors and the inspiration comes suddenly from playing around with what is there in front of me. I will start making something totally different than what I originally planned.

When do ideas come to you? How often?
Sometimes I think of a way of doing something new as I am going to sleep. I need to get up and write it down so I can fall asleep without worrying I am going to forget by morning! My car is another place where new ideas can spring up. I keep paper and a pen in there just in case.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
I try to get as much done in the morning as I can. Once my kids are home from school they take up my time until they are in bed. Late nights at my worktable are also not uncommon.

Do you create daily?
Between my glass and photography it is a rare day when art is not a part of it.

How important is it for you to create art?
It is simply part of who I am.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?
It has only been in the past two years that I have forsaken a regular paycheck to concentrate more fully on my glass. I’ve always fit art in between my regular job and raising my kids.

Describe your studio.
It’s just a small corner of our basement. Nothing fancy in the least. It’s next to the family room so I have lots of company down there.

Tell me something about you.
I have lived on the coast of Massachusetts my whole life. I’ve been married 16 years and have three great children ages 9-13. Besides glass and photography, I also enjoy working with clay. I love to read, bike ride and get out for walks in the woods or the beach.

Meet Nancy Addante of Smokeylady54

Meet Nancy Addante of Smokeylady54

You can visit her great Etsy store here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=37929

How many years have you been an artist?

I have been working in different art forms since Grammar School.Just always loved playing with different colors in any type of medium.I was a art major in High School and spent some time at the Art Instutite of Chicago.

How many years have you worked with glass?

I stated working in lampworking about 2 years ago. But I did work withsemi-precious beads to make jewelry for years.

What triggers ideas for new projects?

Just sitting still and looking at the world that surrounds us.

When do ideas come to you? How often?

All different times. While driving, pulling weeds from my garden, cooking dinner. Some times I have to stop what I am doing and write notes. And I think of different ways to make a necklace or a bead all the time, they just do not always look like what my mind thinks they will and NO one gets to see those items.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?

At least 6 hours a day to really work on things, wish I had more time in the day to play as it really is not work!

Do you create daily?

I am not always torching, but putting necklaces together, cleaning beads, pulling necklaces apart if I do not like the looks of them (that happens often)Pulling rods that I want to work with, etc. I also have old customers that still buy my note cards so at least one day a week is devoted to that.

How important is it for you to create art?
I would be lost if I could not make items with my hands. Pete would more than likely commit me, I would just get crazy, well more so than I am now.

Do you feel that choosing the artist's life has been a sacrifice?

Have you given up certain luxuries?

You always give up something when you create but it is so worth it. It is a joy not a sacrifice in any form. Sure I spend money on glass and other things instead of a new car or clothes but it is worth it.

Describe your studio:

I work in a small spot in my basement and clean it up every time I am done for the day or I could not do the laundry.....LOL sad but true!!!!!

Tell me something about you:

I am just a 61 year old lady that loves what I do. I just hope that I get to do lampworking for a long long time.....

Meet Sonnee McCabe of Eccentricity!!!

Meet Sonnee McCabe of Eccentricity
You can visit her store here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5230081&order=&section_id=&page=2

How many years have you been an artist?
I started painting dried gourds and working with gourd masks and fiber work in 1989 on a regular basis. Before that I did occasional work with "wearable art" and home decor. I definitely fall into the "late bloomer" category.

How many years have you worked with glass?
I took my first stained glass class 5 years ago and was a total klutz at soldering. I then took a class in fused glass and was immediately hooked on it.

What triggers ideas for new projects?
It can literally be anything. I am drawn to color and texture and abstract design.

When do ideas come to you? How often?
The ideas come more frequently than the product. I can't begin to keep up with myself. I do go through periods of non-creativity though and have learned it is best to honor those times and take the time off. If I try and go ahead and work, I usually do not have good results.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
Well I think about it daily and I have a home studio so I am in and out of it all the time. I don't have a regular schedule though. Some days I work for 5-6 hours or more and then it may be a few days before I do anything else. When the pressure is on and my inventory is low, I really get busy and work long hours. I tend to work late at night or mid-day. Early mornings are never good for me.

Do you create daily?
I always have a creative project of some type going but it is not always fused glass. I also sew and do alot of home decor work, I paint floor cloths and furniture, I work in my flower garden. I still do some small wearable art items and I make some wall pieces out of recycled objects. I have to have variety in my work but the downside is that I frequently get too much going at one time and then I don't do anything as well as I would like.

How important is it for you to create art?
It is my "sanity". It is definitely an integral part of who I am.

Do you feel that choosing the artist's life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?
Well I no doubt would starve to death if I had to support myself but I am very fortunate to have a husband who supports and sustains me in doing my art work. I also didn't start doing it until after I took early retirement from the health care field.

Describe your studio:
My studio is actually an enclosed porch. It is fairly large with alot of windows and a small garden pond with a waterfall outside which I can hear even with the windows closed. It doesn't have alot of storage space and it serves as my sewing room, crafts area, computer center as well as my fused glass studio. I have a small kiln in it and a larger one in the garage. It is a cheerful and peaceful room and my favorite place in our home.

Tell me something about you:
I have lived in south Florida for the past 15 years and before that in Colorado and DC. I grew up in WV and went to school in KY. I graduated from UK in Social Work and worked in mental health for 25 years. I have been married for longer than most of you have been alive. I have two grown children, five grandchildren and one ornery little cairn terrier named "Zoe". I do volunteer work with the local humane society in their pet therapy department. Zoe is one of the "Paws to Read" dogs where kids who are having difficulty reading read aloud to the dogs. I am an avid gardener and like to spend as much time as possible outdoors. I love working with the fused glass and I am fascinated at the moment with the "pot melts" and the randomness of the designs.