Dancing Light Art


My passion for art started as a young child, and I attended a scholastic youth art program in Colorado, where I grew up. My art work was selected to become Youth Artist of the year for the state of Colorado. As the course of life progressed, I diverted my attention from art to the sciences, and worked in the computer industry for several years. For the last sixteen years, I have been happy to call the Pacific Northwest my home. I delight in pursuing my love and passion for artistic expression. I've attended the Pratt Fine Art Institute. My paintings are impressionistic, with inspirations from artists from Susan Donati, Theresa Goelsing, and Georgie O'Keef. As I love the play of light and color, my glasswork is more contemporary and abstract. I love the depth and brilliance one can bring to the art of layering vivid colors and transluency. My artwork has been shown at the Pike's Place Market in Seattle, the Kirkland and Issaquah Art Shows, and the Redmond Art Show. Currently, my Glass Art is avaiblable at Alki Arts in Alki Beach, WA, and Art on the Ridge in Seattle, WA.
Making the Art Glass Clocks All the clocks are kiln formed, and the vast majority of the art glass clocks are created using the pot melt process. A special form of stained glass is fusible together in a kiln. As glass melts at temperatures up to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, it expands as it changes into a molten, honey-like consistency. Likewise, as it cools, it contacts again as it hardens back into its solid form. In order to mix multiple colors of stained glass together, it must expand and contract at the same rate. This is called the Coefficient of Expansion, or COE. So only if two stained glass pieces have the same COE, they can be combined together. The stained glass is thereby fusible glass. For the pot melt process, I begin by selecting several different glasses of various colors for a clock with the same COE. The glass is then cut into small pieces that can fit into an ordinary terra cotta flower pot. A full 6" flower pot yields a 10"-12" art glass clock. The full flower pot is placed on stilts inside a glass kiln. As the temperature approaches 1800 degrees, the lava like glass pours through the drainage hole at the bottom of the flower pot. It flows like a puddle onto a flat kiln shelf, and forms concentric circles as it pours through. Different sized holes and hole placement, along with the placement of the stained glass in the pot determine the outcome. Once the glass cools, the finished art glass piece can then be fitted with clockworks. A diamond drill bit is used under water to drill a hole through the center of the glass. Then the clockworks are attached and Voila! You have yourself your very own beautiful, one of a kind art glass clock!

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About Susi Strom