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GLASS
Jan Wilcox Past – Tibetan Buddhist student,
meditator, teacher for 30 years around the western world; organic farmer; wetland and pond designer; Shiatsu therapist; stress
management instructor with University of Penn Present
– Self-taught glass artist living in the Catskill Mountains of New York Future
– Unknown – with aspirations that these pieces will delight and enlighten your world These pieces are handmade fused glass and all one of a kind. Each piece
is composed of stained glass and dichroic glass (the shiny glass). I cut and arrange the glass and fire
it in a kiln at 1500 degrees. It melts and fuses together. Most pieces are of at least
three layers of glass. The pocket vases can be hang on the window or wall with a suction cup or push pin.
They can hold water and fresh or dried flowers. Dichroic
Glass is a multi-layered coated glass borrowed from the optics industry. To create the coated glass Quartz
Crystal, Titanium, Zirconium and other metals oxides are vaporized with an electron beam gun in an airless vacuum chamber.
The vapor floats upward, attaches and condenses on the surface of the glass in the form of a crystalline structure.
Colors have as many as 30 layers of these materials yet the thickness of the total coating is approximately 35 millionths
of an inch. The main characteristic of Dichroic Glass is that it has a transmitted color and a completely
different reflective color. These two colors shift depending on the angle of the view giving the opalescent
effect.
Steve Shaffer I grew up with a love of art at an early age starting with my mother feeding my creativity
with Saturday morning trips down to the Toledo Museum of Art for drawing classes. In high school this continued as I took
about every art course in the curriculum such as drafting, ceramics, printmaking, wood shop, crafts and watercolors and earning
a Best of Show award at the annual art competition with a ceramic sculptural piece. Our family often took vacations that included stops at the Blenko
Glass factory in Milton, West Virginia. I would buy my stained glass material there and watch the glass blowers work effortlessly
producing hand blown objects. I would admire the almost seamless teamwork between the “stick up boy” the “gatherer”
or the “finisher”. At the time it seemed like glass blowing was far out of my reach. I was fascinated watching
glass being shaped and moved about like putty into bright colored vessels with so little effort. In 1997 I was introduced to hot glass by a colleague
and quickly became hooked. I in turn went through the same coursework as my friend at the Toledo Museum of Art. After taking
all the glass courses instructed by Leonard Marty at the museum I began independent study of glass for a few more years. It
became increasingly harder to find time for glass while holding a job that required travel, sometimes for months. Eventually
hanging up the roadwork as a field engineer and settling down for a local municipal electric company, I now have the time
to enjoy my deep passion for hot glass. Often my pieces will have a particular style such as pulling threads or using certain coloring. After several sessions
I will change my style completely and begin a new concept because I enjoy variety. Too often artists will get stuck in a mode
making the same type of piece over and over again and their work can often be spotted because of this. I change techniques
or styles often blowing thick and grinding for optics and then making thin walled bowls a week later. This often sets my work
apart from others and makes it difficult to spot my work. I am currently working on building the equipment to electroplate
and etch glass along with more cold working machinery for grinding and polishing. This will produce even more unique finishes
and designs. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I do in creating it.
Amy Spieth Amy lives on a farm in Napoleon, OH with her husband and three children. She is an outdoor person who enjoys gardening and marathoning. Glass has been her passion since the first time she saw a Tiffany. Amy has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree focusing on cold glass from Bowling Green State University. She also has a teaching degree. While living in Texas she fell in love with mosaics. Nature is her biggest inspiration and the art of creating gives her the most joy.  Laurie
Kowalski Laurie
was born in Toledo and grew up in Sylvania with her three brothers. She graduated from Northview High School,
married, and moved to Temperance, MI. Laurie has two sons and four grandchildren. She
has always had a love of glass and was fascinated with how things were made. Starting as an assistant to
glass artist, John Sutton, Laurie cultivated her skills. Laurie says, “I think John felt sorry for
me because I was always hanging around so he asked me if I would like to help.” Laurie does most of her glass work at
the Toledo Botanical Gardens where people can watch the artists work. Laurie explains, “We have a
lot of fun at the Botanical Gardens. It is a great bunch of people and I’m very fortunate to be able
to do this.” Laurie is also a member of the Toledo Area Glass Guild.
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