Glass has fascinated me since childhood. Trips to Manhattan from my family's home in Queens always began with a visit to Steuben Glass on Fifth Avenue followed by glass exhibitions at museums and galleries.
My formal art education began in the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Theater Program through the study of scenic and lighting design. That followed a transition to a career in film production as a Cinematographer for commercials, documentaries, music videos and features.
Cinematography, in many ways, prepared me for working in glass. The cinematographer learns the psychological influences of color, light, and composition, as well as other visual tools to elicit emotion. In the camera, glass not only makes the art of photography possible, but is also used as a filter medium to alter the tonal quality of the image—darkening a sky, emulating a sunset, achieving selective focus, etc. On the set, lighting through textured antique or art glass creates shapes on backgrounds as well as providing transitional elements to enter or exit a scene.
I discovered the fused glass art of Martin Kremer—work of unique dimensionality—in a gallery in Taos, New Mexico. I was fortunate to learn that he was living and teaching near my current home in the Hudson Valley. He became my first mentor. Further development in a variety of fused glass techniques continued through intensive workshops with other renowned and innovative glass artists.
My work is eclectic, always striving for originality, but also reflects the influence of mentors as well other artists I admire, and my background in theater and cinematography. All are layered and dimensional, juxtaposing organic and geometric patterns. Other influences include painting, sculpture, architecture and the continuous observation of nature.