Sunset at Cape May Light

Sunset at Cape May Light is made of 212 individual pieces. Each of the three sections measures 11.5” x 155/8”. Finished with frame and hooks it measures 14 1/4” x 57”.  It contains 27 different colors of glass including waterglass, artique, striated, cathedral, quarter reed, seedy, and prismatic glass. Some very special pieces of glass include the gold infused cranberry glass that is the sun and the gridded prismatic glass that makes up the “light” part of the light house. The moon is an almost opalescent milky white that literally glows against the sunset.

The look and feel of this piece is based on vintage Cape May postcards with a modern graphic use of color and form.

A little bit about Cape May Lighthouse…

The Lighthouse was built in 1859 and continues in operation to this day. It was first lighted on Halloween of that year.  It is the third fully documented lighthouse to be built at Cape May Point. The first was built in 1823; the second in 1847.The exact locations of the first two lighthouses are now underwater due to erosion. 

The current lighthouse was built from bricks salvaged from the 1847 structure.  There are 199 steps to the top of the Lighthouse. The view from the top extends to Cape May City and Wildwood to the north, Cape May Point to the south, and, on a clear day, Cape Henlopen, Delaware, to the west. Within immediate view are Cape May Cove and Battery 223, a harbor defense battery originally built during World War II. 

Cape May Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1973.

There are so many poems and stories about lighthouses but this one felt the most right…

“For now she need not think of anybody.  She could be herself, by herself.  And that was what she often felt the need of - to think; well not even to think.   To be silent; to be alone.  All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others…and this self having shed its attachments was free for the strangest adventures.”

- Virginia Woolf, To The Lighthouse

Spider Mum

Oh these colors! The white opal of the petal tips just glows like a sunset in the light. It’s what I imagine a fire opal made into a flower would be. Spider Mum is made of 230 individual pieces -  comprised of a mix striated, seedy, & mystic art glass. It measures 22” square unframed; 25” square framed.

The look and feel of this window was inspired by traditional Japanese ukiyo-e wood block prints and serves as the bigger little sister to Taurus.  

The Chrysanthemum was first cultivated from wild blossoms by the Chinese. The first breeding efforts date back to the 15th century. 

It is believed that Buddhist monks first brought the Chrysanthemum to Japan around 400AD. The Japanese Emperors thought so highly of the flower that they often sat on thrones of chrysanthemums. To this day, the Japanese believe that the chrysanthemum is a symbol of the sun, and that the way in which the flower opens its petals denotes perfection. Japan also holds a "chrysanthemum festival" known as the Festival of Happiness. The name is derived from the Greek language -“chrysos" meaning gold, and "anthos" meaning flower. As November’s official flower, the Chrysanthemum teaches us that even the beginning of winter can have joy and beauty.

they spoke no words

the visitor, the host

and the white chrysanthemum

        – Oshima Ryota (1718-87)

Clouds

When we lost my friend Dave this past fall it broke our hearts. Dave was funny and so smart.  Dave could listen to you like what you were saying mattered the absolute most to him in that moment. Dave painted beautiful things. He painted clouds. He would say that the static membrane of what separated cloud and sky - the part that roiled and pulsed - that was the edge to capture. Dave and I would talk for hours about how hard it is to let people see who you really are- all the parts. We would share our struggle with our individual feelings of rage/doubt/anger/sadness - he believed that you should nurture these feelings and be kind to them and in that kindness it would enable the feelings to leave us. It was hard to draw him away from his studio and into the world so it always felt like a little gift when he’d leave his work and meet me for coffee- still covered in paint but looking glittery eyed and excited. 

When Rob (his brother and my friend) asked me to translate one of Dave’s paintings into glass to be set into his headstone it broke my heart all over again. Which painting to use was an easy choice because it’s my favorite.  Dave said of it, “you can’t tell if it’s coming together or pulling apart.” To me it’s both. It’s the above and the below. It’s Dave and Rob reaching for each other always. They loved each other so intensely. The hole is a vacuum for anyone who loved him. I’m deeply honored to be able to gift this to his family. Dave could be so calm and he could be a storm. I miss him. 

After I got my Plus Ultra tattoo (further beyond) - Dave told me about the Heart Sutra and recited it to me. 

The Heart Sutra

The Bodhisattva of Compassion, When he meditated deeply, Saw the emptiness of all five skandhas
And sundered the bonds that caused him suffering. 

Here then,
Form is no other than emptiness, Emptiness no other than form. Form is only emptiness, Emptiness only form. 

Feeling, thought, and choice, Consciousness itself,
Are the same as this. 

All things are by nature void They are not born or destroyed Nor are they stained or pure Nor do they wax or wane 

So, in emptiness, no form,
No feeling, thought, or choice, Nor is there consciousness.
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;

No colour, sound, smell, taste, touch,
Or what the mind takes hold of, Nor even act of sensing. 

No ignorance or end of it,
Nor all that comes of ignorance; 

No withering, no death, No end of them. 

Nor is there pain, or cause of pain, Or cease in pain, or noble path
To lead from pain;
Not even wisdom to attain! Attainment too is emptiness. 

So know that the Bodhisattva Holding to nothing whatever, But dwelling in Prajna wisdom, Is freed of delusive hindrance, Rid of the fear bred by it, 

And reaches clearest Nirvana. 

All Buddhas of past and present, Buddhas of future time,
Using this Prajna wisdom,
Come to full and perfect vision. 

Hear then the great dharani, The radiant peerless mantra, The Prajnaparamita  Whose words allay all pain; Hear and believe its truth! 

Gone, gone, gone beyond, completely gone beyond, enlightenment. Gone to the farthest shore.  

(L to R: Dave with his paintings; THE painting; Process of translating painting to glass; Finished glass)

Polled Hereford Cow

This lovely cow is a 15th wedding anniversary gift. Who knew glass is a traditional gift for 15 years?!

More about Herefords…

Until the 18th century, the cattle of the Herefordshire area were similar to other cattle of southern England, being wholly red with a white switch, similar to the modern North Devon and Sussex breeds. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, other cattle (mainly Shorthorns) were used to create a new type of draught and beef cattle which at first varied in color, different herds ranging from yellow to grey and light brown, and with varying amounts of white. However, by the end of the 18th century the white face characteristic of the modern breed was well established, and the modern color was established during the 19th century.

The first imports of Herefords to the United States were around 1817 by the politician Henry Clay, with larger importation of the breed beginning in the 1840s.

The Polled Herefords are highly resilient cattle, able to withstand harsh weather conditions and insufficient grazing. This glass is a fantastic example of open collaboration with my client. The details make this so special and they brought them to me: The ear tag for their farm, lily of the valley for their anniversary month, but most importantly, the look and feel of this special breed.

From “A flower fairies alphabet”

Gentle fairies, hush your singing:

Can you hear my white bells ringing,

Ringing as from far away?

Who can tell me what they say?

Little snowy bells out-springing

From the stem and softly ringing—

Tell they of a country where

Everything is good and fair?

Lovely, lovely things for L!

Lilac, Lavender as well;

And, more sweet than rhyming tells,

Lily-of-the-Valley’s bells.

Taurus & The Pleiades

The look and feel of this window was inspired by old star maps.  The stark white depictions of the constellations is set against the deep blue of the night sky. The star points comprising the constellations were often amplified as actual star shapes. To achieve a similar look, I used a mixture of clear glasses, semi transparent opalescent white, and striated white glass with a rich multi tonal blue that has the tiniest bubbles in the glass - that to me looked like far away stars. Add to all of this some little 8 points stars, et voila! While this was a custom commission, the subject matter is close to my heart. I grew up gazing at constellations with my father and the Pleiades was one of the first that I learned to spot on my own. I was always so fascinated with the ‘sisters’ and their story and felt a mix of sadness for their banishment to the heavens and comfort that they could be together forever.

Taurus In the Northern Hemisphere, the bull charges through the sky from November to March, but the constellation's at its most visible in January. 

Taurus is one of the 48 constellations cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. Its name means “bull” in Latin. It is an ancient constellation dating back to the Bronze Age, where it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox.  Depictions of the constellation have been found in cave paintings dating back to 15,000 BC. 

In Greek mythology it is believed to represent the story of Europa, a Phoenician Princess and the white bull named Taurus. The story goes that one day Europa saw a majestic white bull grazing near her father's herd. The bull was actually Zeus in disguise. After allowing Europa to climb on its back, the bull whisked her off to Crete where he made her his mistress.

The Pleiades The Pleiades is an open cluster of about 500 stars, six of which are visible to the naked eye. All of these stars formed from the same cloud of gas about 100 million years ago. The seven brightest stars are named after the seven daughters of Atlas, the titan who holds up the sky.  Maia, Electra, Taygete, Celaeno, Alcyone, Sterope, and Merope.

One myth recounts that they all killed themselves out of grief over the death of their sisters, the Hyades. Another explains that after being relentlessly pursued by Orion, they were turned into a flock of doves and sent into the heavens by Zeus. Zeus also caused Orion to become a constellation, and so he continued to pursue the sisters across the sky. The faintest star of the Pleiades was thought to be either Merope, who was ashamed of loving a mortal, or Electra, grieving for Troy.