It is said that the beauty of art is in the ‘eyes of the beholder’. It’s not for us to criticize ourselves, we should simply enjoy doing what we are doing and strive to improve. That sounds great, right? But it’s really easier said than done and I have experienced this many times myself over the years.
My art beginnings included macrame, weaving, and jewellery before I spent a lot of time with pottery and now I have finally arrived at enjoying creating art with stained glass. As with most artists, I began by exploring in my early teen years and by 1976 had discovered the pleasure of working with earthly clay. I was a member of the Prince George Potters Guild and spent many hours there creating my pieces in my own art world.
When I moved to Merritt I discovered that there wasn't any place for me to fire and glaze my work, so I felt a little lost. But the art world takes care of their own and 8 years ago, a friend introduced me to the art of stained glass. I really enjoyed seeing the instant product, compared to waiting through the stages required for pottery to develop and I began experimenting with different colours and shapes.
I find inspiration searching the internet, looking at all forms of art and drawings to find ideas that speak to me and then I work at creating a pattern to make it my own. Sometimes I just dig into my bin of scraps and start arranging them until they flow into a design. I am always surprised at how they look once I have finished. My husband builds guitars in a shop in our backyard and he has made me a workspace where I spend most of my days cutting and grinding glass and being in my own little world of creating. It’s my happy place!
My friend Mischelle Pierce, president of the NVCAC introduced me to the Arts Council, where I am now a director. You can find a number of pieces I have created and continue to create in our gift shop, and maybe it will inspire you to explore art as well. I enjoy being involved in the Art Council and being with amazing, friendly, spirited, and fun-loving people.