More about Roger and Carla
Roger and Carla were both born in Jackson, MS. We both graduated from Provine High School. We both attended Hinds Community College with Roger receiving a Degree in Business Administration from Mississippi College.
We were married in June 1965, with our only child, a son, born in 1971, and Carla worked at then Deposit Guaranty Bank and Roger worked at Mississippi State Tax Commission where he retired after 30 years of service. During this time Roger and Carla enjoyed working in woodcraft for over 25 years, winning numerous ribbons from shows throughout Mississippi. Our one and only granddaughter was born in 1996, and she has shown some interest in creating fused glass. After retirement from the State, Roger was employed as the office manager for 4 construction companies, and while doing this he received his Real Estate License. Roger and Carla enjoy traveling, camping, and junketing. We do not have a store or a place to display our pieces at our home, but we are looking at expanding our studio to include a display area. Roger and Carla are Members of the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi. PUBLICATIONS: Feature Article, MISSISSIPPI STATE OF MIND Magazine, August 2013 Feature Article, STAGES MISSISSIPPI Magazine, May/June 2014 |
ARTIST STATEMENT
After enrolling in a stained glass course at the Craftsman Guild but was not really inspired by it. I saw a few fused glass pieces in a shop in Alaska. Then we went on a cruise to Canada and New England and saw a much larger number of fused glass pieces in several shops, and the bug to find out more bit me. I purchased the first kiln in 2009 and used it to learn, what not to do and some of what to do, by trial and error. I did a few local shows and made pieces for Christmas presents, etc., The praise and questions I received that year was enough to perk my interest in finding out more and trying different processes. It was not until 2011 that I purchase the large kiln allowing me to try larger pieces. My studio is in what was my woodworking shop, with most of the woodworking machines piled up in one corner. The artistic process may seem laborious to most, it is truly a labor of love for me and there are no two pieces identical. I love creating new designs and shapes, with every color in a finished piece being a separate piece of glass. I hand cut all my glass and make my own frit. I only use my ring saw on very difficult angles and curves where there is danger of the glass breaking in the wrong place. I use two kilns, along with a grinder, and a propane torch to add a unique twists to thin strips of glass. The fusing step takes 12 hours in the kiln at 1450º, for the kiln to heat up and melt all the pieces together, then to slowly cool down for the annealing process. When I make small things like the night lights, flower designs, I tack fuse the glass together so that you have a three dimensional look to the piece, of course I do not make the night light hardware or in this case the frame for the flower piece I submitted. I am now doing a new process called a pot melt and the kiln heats the glass to 1700 º, and at that temperature the glass becomes liquefied and runs down through holds in the bottom of the pot and collects on the kiln shelf, and there is no way to control what happens, with the color or the pattern during the process. The pot melt usually has a minimum of 3 steps and sometimes 4 steps, to get a finished piece. There are times that I use non-conventional things to slump pieces. The slumping step allows me to make the newly create piece in to different forms, by firing the glass again at 1250 º, for 12 hours. The finished pieces are bright, colorful, and functional, appealing to all age groups. The real trick to this form of art is to cut the glass without cutting myself, it requires "strict concentration". |