Alice Sahagian.
Alice Sahagian.
That little involuntary gasp when you see something utterly beautiful! No matter what kind of a day you’ve had...everything seems OK in that little moment. If something I have created can achieve this, that’s what makes me happy! When I’m shopping for glass, I’m like a kid in a candy store! There is a seemingly infinite variety of colours, textures, and translucency! Sometimes I’m looking for something specific to get a particular look...as I did lately when trying to portray a pink sky reflected in water. Other times I am inspired in a completely new direction by the glass itself! I recently purchased some glass that reminds me of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting style. (I’m planning to use it for a background for some sunflowers!) It’s always a creative journey, and that’s what keeps it interesting. There have been times when I was certain I had the perfect glass for a particular image, only to realize after having cut the pieces, that it was way too opaque and did not show up as the colour I expected, or else it was way too transparent and looked much lighter than I had thought it would. I recently obtained some glass that is ‘magic’! Well, it certainly seems that way to me. When you first look at it, it looks green....but when the light shines through it, it looks red!!!! If that’s not magic I don’t know what is! I’m planning to do some maple leaves with it....so they will change colour depending on the light! Another ‘magical’ type of glass is ‘beveled glass’. It is clear and usually colourless, but has been cut with facets that create ‘rainbows’ on your walls when the sunlight hits them! Sometimes the piece of glass I’m trying to cut, shatters into many small pieces or cracks in a completely unintended direction! There’s nothing you can do about that. It just comes with the territory, along with the occasional cut finger or solder burn. Other times a difficult cut comes off perfectly! Such a great feeling! You just never know for sure, although over time, you get a ‘feel’ for what the glass is likely to do. You learn that you should never ‘force’ it. If a gentle pressure does not work, you need to try something else. This can also be a useful concept in other areas of life.
