So how does a person with a degree in physics end up an artist?

A background in science is always with me
   because of whom I was before
Searching for the beauty in life
   through it’s order, balance and wonder
Science and Art are two perspectives 
   of the same experience
Both marvel at their perception of life
The artist in me wants to capture a slice of
   the essence of a perception
The scientist mind wants to capture
   the wonder of the composition of the perception
The creation of my artwork is the coming together of the wonder
And essence of each, a frozen moments
In the medium of glass.

I have worked and experimented with a wide variety of media for over three decades, not only as an artist but also as an elementary school art teacher. The layering of color within a form has been present in much of my artistic expressions: cloisonné, painting on silk, pen and ink drawings with color washes. Fused glass is another medium in which I can layer color. 

I use the confetti glass to achieve painterly effects by layering the same color on itself and by layering different colors on each other to achieve new colors. The 14 confetti colors do not mix as paint does nor does each color of confetti fuse in the same manner. So it is a constantly evolving process. Unlike the glass sheets used in fusing or stained glass work, confetti can not be cut into the shape you want. The glass is paper thin. Each piece of confetti glass must be searched for and selected. It can also be broken randomly and then selected before it is painted in place. Several firings are necessary to complete a piece. I tack fuse the confetti because I feel that the textural quality achieved by not full fusing adds a unique sculptural dimension to my work.

The effect achieved by layering and overlapping the confetti is pleasing whether light shines from behind the glass or if it is reflected.