Artist's Statement

I've created things all my life but when I came to New Mexico, I knew this was where my creative talents could flower. The geology and geography is fascinating here and the spectacular sunrises and sunsets inspired me to move into working with glass, an endlessly fascinating medium.

I create fused glass sculptures and jewelry. I was drawn to the medium of fused glass because it captures the essence of light and also sparkles and is bright and colorful. I suspect there is a magpie in all of us--a lover of shiny and colorful things with which we want to surround ourselves. It also catches other people's eyes as well and. I'm happiest when repeat customers comment on how many compliments they receive on a piece of jewelry or how much they enjoy seeing their glass piece in their window. I also love to hear about how people who have given my jewelry as gifts around the world say how happy the recipients are with their gift and how many compliments they receive when they wear their gift. I want people to smile when they try on a piece of my jewelry or picture my sculptures in their homes.

Dichroic Glass: What is it?

The technology was developed in Germany over 100 years ago by Dr. Arthur Pfeiffer. The technical definition of dichroism is an optical effect observed in certain crystalline materials, in which two different colors are seen when the crystals are viewed in different directions. Dichroic glass selectively reflects away certain wave-lengths (colors) of light and allows the remaining wave-lengths to transmit through. This is the same way nature creates the colors seen in bird feathers, fish scales, opals and even the color seen on an oil slick on water.
Applications of dichroic coatings range from use in diagnosing diseases (by tracing fluorescent antibodies), to use in heat-seeking missiles, to being a principle component in energy producing solar cells and serving as a quantitative measuring device in research photography. The technology, called "Thin Film Physics", has evolved from our aerospace programs into the glass art field. In the late sixties, a handful of sculptors started using dichroics in their work.