Graphics on glass: A 2-D design background forms the foundation of my work. After years of designing for print and web, I returned to hands-on design with mosaic art about five years ago. Moving into kiln formed glass saved my hands and drainpipes from grout and mortar. Mosaic art strongly influences my warm glass work, but I save the original, set-in-cement mosaic art for the summer.

When focusing on surface design techniques for glass, and how to incorporate them into decorative and functional pieces of art, I find inspiration all around. Two sources are always on the top of the list though: gardening and travel.

Gardening is like a magnet for me. Sowing seeds in the dirt and expecting the results to feed me is an act of faith on the same level as going into the studio and believing that if I begin the work, it will grow into something. Both can be nerve wracking too! Travel- venturing into the unknown, even conservation land in an abutting town, discovering new places, people, customs, and foods always inspires. As a designer, I communicate with symbols and colors and shapes. My work is abstract rather than representational, but with a little study, the underlying influences will be apparent.