Fused glass rollups

The inspiration for these highly patterned pieces are tapestry and rug patterns that are found all over the world. Within each tapestry a story is told, each design has a meaning; each meaning a history and tradition. So too with my work, every pattern references a place, an event, or a story. While most are things I have seen or heard during my travels. Others capture a longing for places I have yet to go to.

A "Roll Up" is a collaboration between fused and blown glass. These complex pieces are made by repeatedly cutting sheet glass into pieces and melting the pieces together until a flat base pattern is formed. Once the flat plate of patterned glass is made, I transfer the plate from the kiln to the glory hole on a large ceramic tray. There the glass is heated up and I attach a blow pipe to one end and wrap the fused plate around it to create a bubble. This becomes the basis of blown glass piece.

By using a plate of glass that has already been fused together one is able to get much more complex patterns in a blown glass piece than is normally able to be archived.