Gleaming Prospects

Winter 2020 Members’ Exhibition
The Glass Art Association of Canada invites you to view our winter members’ exhibition, Gleaming Prospects - Bringing Back the Future Through Celebration.
The end of the year and the start of a new year hosts many special occasions for glass making. Gleaming Prospects, showcases Canadian Glass art in all forms, highlighting the many reasons why we make glass art.
Thank you for visiting.
please note this is an online exhibition hosted by GAAC. If you have any questions or inquiries about a specific piece, please contact the artist directly, you can also check out their GAAC artists profile for more work and contact info.

Follow me
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 8" x 3.5"
- Materials:
- Blown glass
- Description:
- I love reusing remnants of earlier pieces. This takes the offcut from a piece made with cane and overlays it on top of a deep ocean blue. I find the effect mesmerizing.
Artist
Cynthia Barrett Cynthia BarrettCynthia Barrett is a graduate of the glass certificate program at the Haliburton School of Art and Design. She continues to expand her glass vocabulary through additional courses including those at the Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass. Her work is informed by her previous career in finance and accounting as well as her fascination with the optical qualities unique to glass.

Hummingbird
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 3' x 3" x 3"
- Materials:
- Borosilicate
- Description:
- I am a die-hard Glassblower that has dedicated my education and growth to being just that; a Glass Artist. I have and will continue to pour my entire heart and soul into this art form for as long as I draw breath. Be it hot, cold, hard or soft. You can usually find me in the studio working diligently at honing my craft. Glass engulfed my childhood. Half of my adolescence, I spent growing up in the glass blowing culture of Malta, an island south of Sicily. This is where my obsession truly began and it started with the collection of glass birds made from the different studio around Malta. After moving to Canada and attending the Alberta University of the Arts, formerly known as ACAD, I began to hone my calling. Since that moment, I have never looked back. My goal is to learn all there is to know about glass. These Hummingbirds represent my calling. I have started on my pursuit to create a series on North American birds to represent both my heritage and my lineage.
Artist
Alana Biffert Alana BiffertThough born and raised Canadian, glass engulfed Biffert's childhood as half her adolescence, was spent growing up in the glass blowing culture of Malta, an island south of Sicily. After moving to Canada and attending the Alberta University of The Arts (AUA), she began to hone her calling. Since graduating with a major in glass in 2008, she has been pursuing glass on a professional level. Her work consists of larger scale mixed media installations. Often times her attention is driven by details absorbed through nature’s discourse such as the crevasses left behind on the mountain hill tops. There is a dynamic relationship between glass and wood that she has chosen to venture. The resolution of these contradicting materials passing through one another are objects that hold the permanent print of an exchange.

Stack top
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 10"x6.5"x6.5"
- Materials:
- Hand blown glass
- Description:
- My current explorations in glass involve the term "Coaxial", meaning the sharing of a centre point or a centre axis. Through the use of solid colours and simple geometric forms such as spheres, cones and cylinders, combined together and stacked at their relative co-axis', I want my work to evoke a purity of shape and form that act in a similar way to graphic works and imagery, reducing to their most broad elements like colour, silhouette and negative space
Artist
Graham Boyd Graham BoydI am a glass blower and multi-media artist born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. In May of 2020 I had the pleasure of graduating with a BFA from the wonderful Glass program at the Alberta University of the Arts. I am very fortunate to be able to make work at a local studio once a week, but due to the worlds current situations, career pursuits in glass have been put on a stand still. With such a broad and globe trotting community, I'm so glad we have institutions like GAAC to bring us together in times like these.

Au naturel
- Year:
- 2018
- Dimensions:
- 32 pouces (hauteur) x 18 pouces (diamètre)
- Materials:
- Verre coulé, acier peint, peau de phoque, vitre
- Description:
- Table-poème inspirée de la réalité insulaire madelinienne (Îles-de-la-Madeleine) qu'est la tradition de la chasse aux loup-marins. Le naturel. Naturel comme les saisons qui reviennent chaque année. Naturel comme la glace qui se crée par temps froid. Naturel comme l'homme qui sillonne la banquise en tirant son canot, les yeux avides de taches sur l'horizon.
Artist
Catherine Chevrier Turbide Catherine Chevrier TurbideI am a young artist born in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, a beautiful archipelago in eastern Canada. Returned to practice arts in my home region after studying communication, visual arts and marine biology, I work with glass at La Méduse, in the workshop where my father, who is a glassblower as well, has passed on me his know-how and passion for working with glass. Today, firmly rooted in my practice and my environment, it is the encounters between glass and people that are at the heart of my artistic approach. I look for the common thread, link, bridge that will bring out a new approach to the material I touch. I create and practice in Îles-de-la-Madeleine, in the heart of the Gulf of St. Lawrence since 2013.

Habitat
- Year:
- 2017
- Dimensions:
- 7.25" x 6" x 5"
- Materials:
- Glass, Wood
- Description:
- Hot sculpted glass grizzly bear on found drift wood.
Artist
Ed Colberg Ed ColbergEd Colberg is inspired by nature, our nature and intangible aspects of human experience. Ed began working with hot glass in 2005. He has studied glass blowing and glass sculpture with many extremely talented artists in the Canadian and international glass art community. He earned a BFA with Distinction from Alberta College of Art + Design and was a full time Aritist-in-Residence in the Glass Studio at Harbourfront Centre from 2014 - 2017. Ed has exhibited nationally and internationally. He currently creates in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Spiral Waltz
- Year:
- 2019
- Dimensions:
- sizes vary - 2" x 3" x 2" to 5" x 5" x 4.5"
- Materials:
- kiln-cast and cold-worked glass
- Description:
- This wall installation consists of over 50 pieces that vary in size. Each unique piece spirals outwards and the transparent glass describes coloured shadows and reflections add to the feeling of movement. The shape of this work is created by recording a dancer's movement in a motion capture studio and converting these movement pathways into 3 dimensional form using computer software , a 3D printer and the liost wax casting technique.
Artist
Jerre DAVIDSON Jerre DAVIDSONBorn in Edinburgh, Scotland, Jerre Davidson studied at The Scottish Ballet School and later danced professionally. These early experiences are fundamental to her identity and her love of dance and music is evident in the flowing cast glass sculptures she creates. Each sculpture explores the shifting rhythms of a particular space and she uses gestural shapes, light, shadow and reflection, to captures these spatial rhythms. Jerre studied at various centers of excellence in glass education, including Pilchuck, WA; The Studio, Corning, NY; and North Lands Creative in Caithness, Scotland. Jerre works out of her studio in Southern Ontario, Canada.

Little Joy Amulet Basket
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 12" high 14" long 9" wide
- Materials:
- blown and flameworked glass
- Description:
- Little Joy Amulet Basket
Artist
Laura Donefer Laura Donefer
Lidded Vessel
- Year:
- 2019
- Dimensions:
- 10" x 6" x 6"
- Materials:
- Glass
- Description:
- Two part lidded vessel.
Artist
Courtney Downman Courtney DownmanCourtney Downman is a Canadian Glass Artist and Instructor. Courtney began working with glass in September of 2012 after enrolling in the Craft and Design program at Sheridan College. Upon graduating Courtney worked as a Teaching assistant in the glass program at Sheridan. In 2016 Courtney was awarded a two year artist-in-residence fellowship at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, ON. This past year Courtney worked as an artist-in-residence in the Glass studio at Sheridan College. Courtney is currently completing her Bachelors in Craft and Design at Sheridan. ?

Hookpik
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 10'' largeur X 7'' hauteur X 6'' profondeur
- Materials:
- Verre fusion moulé, thermoformé et sculpté
- Description:
- OOKPIK Harfang des neiges en Innu Cette petite sculpture représentait un défi personnel. Concevoir cet oiseau en deux plans, le corps massif et les ailes plus fluides. Utiliser le verre pour ses qualités de souplesse, de fondue et de transparence. Je désirais que l’oiseau naisse de la matière que la neige où transparence et opacité s’entremêlent, où neige et glace ne font qu’un pour former cet oiseau nordique. Que le verre transparent et le verre opaque s’entremêle là où il le faut. Le Harfang est une espèce protégée mais est quand même menacé par le réchauffement de la planète. Quand je les vois au dessus du champs, planner silencieusement. Blanc sur blanc. Je veux les immortaliser, blanc sur blanc, les pieds dans la glace.
Artist
Carole Doyon Carole DoyonCarole débute par le vitrail qui l’amène au verre fusion. Elle aime construire, mouler, jouer avec la couleur. À partir de 2011, elle est connue pour ses objets utilitaires en verre fusion dans la région. Puis en 2017, 2018, elle présente ses premières sculptures ‘’Totems de verre’’. Des insertions de verres animent de vieux madriers de bois. 2019-2020 À partir de sculptures d’argiles, elle développe sa propre technique de moulage avec du verre. Elle étudie les segments de fusion de masse, le thermoformage. Malgré ses coûts élevés, elle privilégie les verres compatibles pour l'utilisation des couleurs, ses effets de transparences, ses dégradés et sa fluidité. Avec le verre compatible, elle peut établir ses protocoles de cuisson. Son but est d'utiliser les caractéristiques typiques du verre en harmonie avec le sujet.

Ocean Waves
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- Six pieces of about 12” x 14” x 3” each
- Materials:
- Glass (pâte de verre)
- Description:
- I grew up in a big garden by the sea. In the 13th century, there was an outstanding poet who was, at the same time, the ruler of Japan. I love reading and re-reading his powerful poems of the sea. The rhythmic, dancing, joyous movement of waves resonates not only in me but is translated into the glass pieces I make.
Artist
Eiko Emori Eiko EmoriI started taking pâte-de-verre classes at the Sanko glass factory in an industrial area in Tokyo in the days when there were many glass factories in that particular Ward. My academic degrees and honours are: National Diploma in Design (Central School of Arts & Crafts, London, England), Master of Fine Arts (Yale University, New Haven, USA), member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Fellow of Graphic Designers of Canada. I have also studied at Académie Grand Chaumière, Paris, France and the Studio, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, USA. I am fascinated with the light, colours and translucency that the pâte-de-verre technique produces in glass. The author Marshall McLuhan's phrase, “the medium is the message”, describes what I do. I am forever pursuing new expressions of colours, lights and texture, as well as the limits of the technique. It is the challenge that keeps me going. Contact: mail@designerglassstudio.ca

Pride
- Year:
- 2019
- Dimensions:
- 12x6x8
- Materials:
- Glass
- Description:
- For me, the creation of each sculpture is as important as the sculpture itself. To me hot sculpting reminiscent of experiencing emotions, expressed by the posture and colour. This piece is about celebrating and taking pride in the body, each body unique and worthy, emotions I struggle to feel to feel about myself. Making this a precious moment captured that I have felt this way, and a reminder that I will be able to experience those emotions again. The colour pallet flavouring these pieces are ones work together to express the feelings of joy and excitement, applied differently across each piece but still creates a sense of unity in their expression. I find process of cold working to be meditative, allowing me to think and analyze what I have done and felt, and react to it with fresh eyes, and with these pieces it was to build on the euphoric energy that I so rarely experience about myself. The patterns I engraved on these pieces are symbolic of mind and body balance, as well as a focus on the center of the body, and celebration.
Artist
Victoria Guy Victoria GuyVictoria guy was born and raised in Mississauga and grew up influenced by her parents love of books. She has had strong interest in drawing since a young age, and pursued art throughout high school, her passion leading her to enrolling in the Honorary Bachelors of Craft and Design specializing in glass making. Victoria creates sculptures of the female torso in glass, using layers of opaque colours which she carves into to reveal the layers underneath. Through making these sculptures she is her identity and how that relates to her body image. Victoria sees her work as part of a conversation is she having with herself, trying to navigate these messages while exploring her identity after dealing with mental health issues throughout her life. By placing these individual sculptures together, they speak to the collective effect of these experiences and emotions, and how these small individual feelings play a larger role in developing on herself concept.

Sediment Series
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- H 8.5", W 15"
- Materials:
- Blown glass.
- Description:
- This is an ongoing series that I started as part of my grad work while attending Alberta University for the Arts. I continue to add new colour variations in response to new landscapes and geological patterns I discover through my travels. The central concept remains the same. The 'Sediment Series' focuses on the layers of geological formations and how it relates to human experience. The sedimentary layers serve as a reminder of the expanse of time that has passed in the complex creation of the earth and how we fit within that existence.
Artist
Ariel Hill Ariel Hill“My work is a reflection of my environment. I am interested in the intersection between elements of the natural world and how it relates to human experience. In my work I attempt to honour the visual beauty and fine details that exist within nature in order to evoke a sense of connection between the viewer and the subject matter. My patterns and colour palette reference vast landscape as well as microscopic details of stones, plants and other organic matter.” Ariel Hill is a native artist hailing from the Six Nations and Wiikwemkoong First Nations. Hill holds a jewelry certificate from the Kootenay School of the Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Alberta University of the Arts with a major in glass.

Chassé du Jardin d'Eden ( Chased from the Garden of Eden)
- Year:
- 2017
- Dimensions:
- 14 x 24 x 24 pouces
- Materials:
- Verre soufflé, verre massif, carton, papier, encre pigmentée, acrylique, gazon artificiel, Del.
- Description:
- Cette oeuvre a été inspirée par un cas de censure, en 2017, de six peintures qui ont été retirées d'une exposition. Il semble que la nudité en peinture, bien que très courante à travers de nombreux siècles, soit toujours controversée, en tout cas elle était certainement dans une galerie pas trop éloignée de ma propre ville. C'est dans ce contexte que j'ai imaginé qu'Adam et Eve étaient bannis du jardin d'Eden. / This sculpture was inspired by a censorship case, in 2017, of six paintings that were removed from an exhibition. It seems that nudity in painting, though very common throughout many centuries, is still controversial, in any case it sure was at a gallery not too far from my own city. It was in this context that I imagined Adam and Eve being banished from the Garden of Eden. Photo : René Rioux
Artist
Michèle Lapointe Michèle LapointeMichèle Lapointe is a seasoned glass artist, also working with photography, lost objects and other materials to elaborate complex and fascinating installations imbued with bittersweet reminiscence of childhood. Glass recipients gather doll heads as mock scientific exams, the pillows get glassy and transform into morphing surfaces for the video: the unattainable search for the truth of the past is materialised by those vain attempts. The plastic wealth of the materials, the melancholy and the poetic spirit that animate the artworks provide a one-of-a-kind and moving experience to the audience. Pascale Beaudet, Independent curator. She is interested in cross-practices of contemporary art and crafts.

Sun Shy Bowl
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 10”
- Materials:
- Glass powders, enamels, micas
- Description:
- Glass powders and enamels crackled in kiln paper, kiln carved, fired multiple times and cold worked.
Artist
Eva Lazar Eva Lazar
Firefighter Below the Sea of Smog
- Year:
- 2019
- Dimensions:
- 20cm x 25cm
- Materials:
- Colour glass vitreograph on white somerset. Two layers. Varied Edition.
- Description:
- This vitreograph is a response to the accelerating rate of forest fires in North America due to climate change. As a Romanticist, I was pleased yet dismayed to find a manipulated photograph that mimicked Friedrich's Wandering Above the Sea of Fog. Determined to capture the spirit and sublime of the landscape, I employed my skills in vitreography and pulled various editions. Each pass possesses interesting qualities that capture the intensity and life of a wildfire, as well as the murky and suffocating destruction it unleashes.
Artist
Gosia Martyniak Gosia MartyniakBoardmember on the Communications & Marketing Team. Expressing interest in an artistic career, I attended Western University and achieved my Bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in printmaking for its laborious and mechanical charm. I then decided to continue education in hopes of further developing my identity in the art world. The pursuit brought me to the Craft and Design Bachelor program at Sheridan College. I specialized in glass kilnforming, which includes kilncasting, fusing, enamel and silver stain painting. You can find my studio work under Willowind Studios. In addition to my hybrid studio practice, I am an illustrator who runs online print-on-demand shops under the name Spicy Honey Heart. I'm known for generating digital drawings and paintings incorporating glass culture, available for purchase. My designs are organized on Society6, Redbubble & Art of Where.

"Liens d'espoir" (vue de l'icosaèdre de verre)
- Year:
- 2018
- Dimensions:
- Dimensions de l'icosaèdre de verre, H: 13 po X L: 13 po X P: 13 po
- Materials:
- verre clair (thermoformage), filtre polarisant, cuivre, bois, éclairage intégré, trépied
- Description:
- Illustré dans les travaux de Léonard de Vinci, l’icosaèdre symbolise l’harmonie. Liens d’espoir, reprend cette forme en suggérant une action à travers: la lumière, la transparence du verre et l’art de la métamorphose. Cet icosaèdre, sur trépied récupéré, est constitué de 20 triangles équilatéraux en verre. Sur 19 d’entre eux figurent des noeuds celtiques, réalisés à partir de 3 torons de cordage, thermoformés dans le verre. Ces pièces sont percées et assemblées avec 20 fils de cuivre noués. Ce montage repose sur une boîte lumineuse, circulaire, recouverte d’une feuille de cuivre, reprenant la représentation des mêmes noeuds. Cette boîte est percée au centre pour recevoir le dernier triangle. Constitué d’un filtre polarisant et d’un ensemble de lignes découpée en cellophane, insérés entre 2 verres flottés, ce triangle interagit avec la lumière en la décomposant en couleurs. Le participant, muni d’un accessoire polarisant, pourra découvrir l’effet chromo-cinétique de l’ oeuvre.
Artist
Colette Matte Colette MatteColette Matte est une artiste de la région de Québec, bachelière en arts plastiques de l’UQTR, qui adhère aux théories visant à promouvoir un art plus communautaire. Son travail avec le verre réfère à l’art optique et à l’expérience chromo-cinétique avec la lumière. Voici pourquoi, elle réalise et diffuse, depuis plus de 20 ans, des oeuvres uniques: des sculptures autoportantes, des oeuvres in situ et éphémères, des installations interactives ainsi que des projets participatifs. C’est donc à travers ses oeuvres de verre, associées à la participation active du public, qu’elle tente de matérialiser la présence de l’énergie invisible de la lumière et ainsi célébrer les bienfaits du vivre ensemble. Ses oeuvres publiques sont étroitement liées avec le lieu et son histoire. Membre du GAAC depuis 1995, ses oeuvres ont été exposées au Québec, en Ontario et aux États-Unis.

Anomalous Chronometer
- Year:
- March/2019
- Dimensions:
- 18” w x 14” h
- Materials:
- Stained Glass - Lead came construction with Spectrum, Bullseye, & Saint Just (blue) glass c/w found
- Description:
- This clock attempts to grasp the elusive tick of the universe. So the internal parts required to make a mechanical clock “tick” are a major element of this piece. All printed on two stacked layers of glass, making the mechanism three dimensional. The face is done in saturated colours of transparent glass. The antique blue not only pushes the yellow forward, but the striations or folds in the glass makes it shimmer when you move by. The yellow clock hours are a mix of numbers and text in two groups of three. A conscious design choice not generally see in clock faces. The added wire work compliments the clock characters, and unifies the support system that suspends the clock.
Artist
William Popiel William PopielWILLIAM (BILL) POPIEL The transformation of sunlight through stained glass has always excited me. From the penciled concept to the finished work, stories big, small, and sometimes hidden, are realized. Coalesced from selected glass refraction properties, color frequency, line and form, to truly move your soul. My work uniquely often contains hand painted and fired imagery and symbols as the principal element in the piece, or to add further interest to the work overall.

Ancient Oceans / close up
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 20" x 14" tall
- Materials:
- Fused and Blown Glass / Stone
- Description:
- Vitrigraph and Blown out Bullseye Glass
Artist
Leslie Rowe-Israelson Leslie Rowe-Israelson
PEI Summer Solstice
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 25” x 12” x 3/16”
- Materials:
- Glass
- Description:
- Free standing kiln formed panel, fused glass
Artist
Susana Rutherford Susana RutherfordSusana Rutherford, born in Spain, immigrated to Canada in 1976. She graduated with honors from the Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto, Ontario. Susana’s passion for glass began at a very young age after visiting Chartres in France. The exploration of color and light are two elements of the medium of glass that the artist never tires of. An apprenticeship at Solarium Design in glass in Toronto grew into a ten-year position. She has exhibited in nationally and internationally and her work is in private collections around the globe, and in the Prince Edward Island Art Bank. Her work had been published in books documenting international glass artists. Susana Rutherford is the owner of Firehorse Studios and has completed many private, ecclesiastical and corporate commissions in glass over a thirty-year period. Rutherford was President of the PEI Crafts Council and the PEI, representative to the Canadian Crafts Federation.

Teal boat collaboration work between Dalia saafan and Andrea Itzeck
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 23 3/4" x 2 3/5" x 6 1/4"
- Materials:
- Colored fused glass , 3mm copper wires, copper frame
- Description:
- With the Alberta Craft Council's call for craft collaboration Dalia Saafan and Andrea Itzeck got in touch to begin the adventure of creating pieces that are a fusion of glass and metal. The idea for creating the boat was a long desired artistic endeavor. The process of working with fused glass involves many steps and challenges. The initial step in the process of making the fused glass boat, started with using plaster and clay to make a mold for the glass. Working with glass is a long journey requiring patience. During the firing process, one of the sides of the boat cracked so beautifully in such a way that we could not even break it so artistically had we tried. There was beauty in the imperfection in the shape of the glass and we decided to leverage this uniqueness in the glass by connecting the broken pieces rather than repeat the firing process. The glass pieces were curved in two different directions, so to connect them together with copper was a challenging process requiring skilled craftsmanship. We agreed to include the imperfections of the cracked glass and emphasize the cracks and celebrate the beauty of the imperfection rather than disguise it. This artistic piece is a metaphor of our lives- imperfection is perfection in its rawest form because in the end there really is no such thing as perfect.
Artist
Dalia Saafan Dalia SaafanArtist Biography Dalia Saafan, a graphic designer and teacher, earned her Bachelor of Interior Design degree in 1993 in her native Egypt.She arrived in Canada in 1995 and continued to work as an instructor, craft producer, and designer. It wasn’t until Dalia moved to Canada that she was introduced to her current medium of choice: glass. Dalia found glass to be a discipline that could blend all her creative strengths: painting, interior design, and warm glass. Her work combines elements of Bedouin culture and near eastern rural colours with the addition of plant-inspired motifs and Arabic or English calligraphy. Her portfolio includes an array of spontaneous and methodical exhibition and retail pieces, but also a number of unique commissions. Dalia’s style celebrates both her Egyptian roots and her new Canadian home. Dalia Is a Professional Member at Alberta Craft Council.

Alberta Wild Bison
- Year:
- 2019
- Dimensions:
- 11 x 11 x 1.75
- Materials:
- Bullseye glass, enamels, black oak frame
- Description:
- Early in the spring, these majestic creatures emerge with their winter coats falling away. I love to use unexpected color to draw the viewer in.
Artist
Kimberly Smith Kimberly SmithKimberly Smith is an accomplished artist. She has been selling and showing her unique artwork for over 35 years. Kimberly’s art has been featured in galleries in Alberta and the Yukon and is held in private collections in Canada, the US and Japan. Although her medium has shifted from pottery to glass over the years her unique use of color and desire to capture the Alberta landscape and wildlife remains the same. Kimberly has been teaching art for over 30 years – she has taught watercolor, oils, acrylics, ceramics and pen and ink and kiln fired glass. For the past 2 years Kimberly has been adapting these techniques to the use of enamels on kiln fired glass. Kimberly’s “Focus on Technique” allows students to build their skills with confidence while learning techniques they can adapt to other projects.

Deceitful Charms
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 12" H 6" W
- Materials:
- Blown Glass, Watercolour Paint, Marble
- Description:
- In an effort to redefine the relationship between fine art and traditional craft, Deceitful Charms is created with watercolour paint carefully applied to a glass vessel. It uses the forgotten victorian tradition of floriography and the common symbol of the koi fish to tell a tale of caution. The datura flower, known for its sweet smell, is highly poisonous if ingested. In the victorian era, it was used in early witchcraft for the making of love potions, but also has strong symbolic connections to physical and mental disturbances. Similarly, in Japan, to have a black koi fish in one's pond is said to bring wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. However, the black koi fish is often seen as malevolent, or a symbol of death in other cultures. These symbols work together to remind us that beyond the allure of aesthetic beauty, remains an element of danger.
Artist
Sydni Weatherson Sydni Weatherson
Teal Faceted pendant
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 1"
- Materials:
- Crystal Glass & Sterling Silver
- Description:
- The Covid-19 pandemic and a return to (virtual) school have redirected my focus to my jewellery line, Shiny Monkey. Making jewellery grounds me and takes me back to my roots, pre-glass school, and studies in jewellery and gemmology. These facetted gems are made using recycled kilncast crystal glass, hand facetted, with sterling silver components. The crystal gem is made using recycled crystal combined with opaline for a fiery play of colour, reminiscent of natural white opals. This line is currently available through Craft Ontario, The Canadian Clay and Glass, and Mountain Grass Glass Gallery & Smoke Shop. There is an assortment of colours as well as matching earrings.
Artist
Gabriela Wilson Gabriela WilsonEmerging artist Gabriela Wilson is best known for her work incorporating glass and metal, and her technical approach with minimalistic contemporary aesthetics. Her work explores the tactile and transformative qualities of glass, with a focus in kiln formed glass. Her former studies in jewellery and gemmology influence in her approach to glass. Gabriela has studied at numerous institutes across North America, including Craft and Design at Sheridan College with a major in glass, graduate of 2014. Gabriela is in her fifth year of residency at the Living Arts Center's glass studio, in Mississauga, Ontario. She has received multiple awards; including grants from the Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts.

Red Broch
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 7.5x7.5 x 5.5
- Materials:
- glass
- Description:
- Layered glass sphere with another glass sphere inside
Artist
Cheryl Wilson smith Cheryl Wilson smith
“I”-3
- Year:
- 2020
- Dimensions:
- 25''x 18''x 16''
- Materials:
- Flameworked glass
- Description:
- “I” is the first work I made unintentionally when I was new to glass art and became a prototype of my later series. Later I realized that the work was related to my long-term interests in finding inner-self and growth. I firmly believe that my soul and mind should not be trapped by any measuring media. They should grow, spread willfully and transcend to infinity, like the sprout of a seed breaking through the shackles of the soil, which grows wildly to become what it truly is. As soil is an indispensable environment for the growth of seeds, the invisible mind is always bound by the tangible body. While the body is the foundation of the mind, what binds you will eventually support you as well. This series of works indicate my dialectical views on restraint and freedom.
Artist
Zihao Xiong Zihao XiongHis works focused on the concepts of self-expression and examination of identity, using the temperance and fragility of glass to highlight the difference between inner truth and external perceived identity. Coupled with its ability to distort and transmit light, it has been the perfect material with which to develop these themes. He is able to visualize the abstract and alluring nature of identity with this ethereal material that has a metaphysical quality. Zihao was born in a city built in mountains in China and grew up in a modern society while surrounded by the beauty of nature. As the unique duality fascinated him, he has a desire to find the link between contradiction and balance. His time in Canada has significantly impacted his work. Since enrolling at Sheridan College he has developed his concept through kiln-casted and flameworked sculpture.

I Can’t Drink With You Any More
- Year:
- 2019
- Dimensions:
- 70 cm * 30 cm
- Materials:
- Glass
- Description:
- Transfer from one hand to another Time flees Left the heat