Sara Morrissey

Glass

My art is a journey, an exploration, a big experiment. I continue to be both mystified by and addicted to the creative process. I love the clarity of mind and meditative calm I experience when creativity is flowing and I’m intrigued by the unknown of what’s next, the challenge of pushing myself beyond my imagined boundaries.

Glass fits my creative process. It allows me to work spontaneously, to play with colors and shapes, to backtrack and rearrange until a design starts to gel. I approach each piece with an open mind and only a vague idea of the design. If I’m lucky, the piece will come together easily. Sometimes, I struggle and spend hours tinkering with the glass. While I work, my mind is often filled with abstract images from nature: flowing water, driftwood, petrified wood, river rock, reflections, amber, gemstones, moss, movement, waves.

I also love the technical aspects of working with glass: getting it to break properly, learning to predict how the glass will behave when fired, grinding, sandblasting, slicing, and polishing. Every firing offers the chance to experiment, the potential for failure and the possibility of unexpected stunning results.

Currently, I’m exploring using a matte surface (obtained by sandblasting and refiring) to give transparent glass the color depth of opacity while maintaining the glow of transparency. I can’t imagine ever becoming bored working in glass.