Artist Bio

The present methodology came about gradually, the result of different experiments with glaze-oxide preparations, mediums for their application, and painting techniques for many different situations.
The first years with oxides were frustrating. The glass bubbled, broke, emerged from the kiln too transparent or too dull or the oxide too concentrated. We (very) slowly perfected the simple coloration of bits of glass as it is done in the thousand-year old way.

After making some milestones with color, we began layering metal and mineral inclusions over the enamel layer -- at first, as a way of extending the palette. We tried to put anything we could think of between two layers of glass to see what might happen. The layering of inclusions became integral to the process, adding interesting reactions to the mix, as well as new textures, dimension, and light-reflecting properties.

The process became a kind of mixed media collage, with glass as canvas, the kiln as vessel, and heat as maker of worlds. There is a pleasure in flirting with the unexpected -- layering the glass with just enough complexity as to guarantee some kind of surprise (whether disappointing or elating) when the pieces are fired together and the heat awakens so many seemingly dead materials, and they converse together, the minerals and metals and glaze oxides and the glass itself, and their particular epiphany is preserved beneath the cooling vitreous surface. The system is complex enough, bestowed with the necessary minimum of variables, as to present us with fresh landscapes and horizons on a daily basis. From this hodge-podge of materials and accumulated trial-and-error, we finally emerged with what we'd hoped would evolve out of so many experiments: a glass canvas.

By necessity, two layers of glass are needed to entrap the collage. By intent, the second layer of glass (the thicker the better) adds depth to the finished piece and entraps light inside, more like a terrarium than a potted plant. It is essential for the piece to be properly illuminated, not from behind but rather from overhead and from the front.

Our subjects and inspirations are various. We've spent a lot of time along the Mediterranean (Spain, Israel, Greece) and our work reflects that. And South America. The natural world. New York City. etc. etc.