In 2018, my wife Penny and I and our two poodles, fulfilled a lifelong dream and moved to the Big Island from Virginia. For me, it was a return home as my father’s family history stretches back 100 years on this island. I spent 20 years as a history teacher in both middle and high school. I have taught various subjects, but ancient history was my specialty. I am intensely curious about the origins of all things. Creating things has been a lifelong passion and has taken many forms: renovating a 100 year old house, mosaics, jewelry making, and for the past fifteen years, working with glass. My love of history, Hawaii, and creativity all gets expressed through my glass. 

Glass is an exacting medium that requires a lot of experimentation and trial and error. Fire it too hot and it gets a rough texture called devitrification. Too low and the edges are left too sharp. A basic knowledge of chemistry is useful as colors are created with elements. So yellows, which are made with sulfur, react with some blues and greens, which are made with copper, will discolor the glass. Different colors react differently to heat as well. Whites are sluggish or sticky and are more resistant to flow. Transparent colors melt or flow more readily than opaques. And every kiln fires a little differently, like ovens do. So that creates greater variability as well. 

I admit to still feeling like a novice and still learning how to work with this fascinating medium. But it is a lot of fun! And I am so fortunate to be able to live here and play with glass.