I’m only half artist/craftsman; the other half of me is a scientist/economist.

I come by my profession genetically: my mother and grandmother are in the trade and I grew up in their studios. I credit them both for infusing me with the addiction that is stained glass. My father, conversely, is an internationally acclaimed forensic scientist. Dinner time growing up was an exhilarating mix of the two and I am a direct product of their influence.

When it was time, I chose a small liberal arts school reasonably close to home, and majored in Fine Arts. When I got there, I mostly spent my time figuring how to get somewhere else. I traveled to Vitrum Studio regularly to study with Judith Conway, Kevin O’Toole and their amazing visiting artists and instructors. I fell in love with Bullseye glass and learned everything I could about it. There was no where I wasn’t willing to go and volunteer to clean a studio, hoping maybe to get some private instruction in return. I learned about Pilchuck and the Studio at Corning and applied, feeling that my chances were slim. Accepted to both, I fired up my little diesel engine again and again. (As did Southwest Airlines.) Four years and 130,000 miles later, I had an expensive piece of paper with calligraphy on it that spoke to only a quarter of the education I had begun to seek.

And I needed a new clutch in my car.

Almost 10 years later, my favorite questions still start with “Is it possible…??” and I continue to scheme, experiment, make samples, investigate, learn, create.

Today, I am a proud business owner in Buffalo, NY who cares deeply about the resurgence of my city, the restoration of our stained glass treasures all over the nation, and where our next generation of craftspeople comes from. Friends lovingly refer to my studio as “State of the Science” because it often looks more like a laboratory than an art space. I’ve begun to investigate what it will take to hire employees to handle my studios growth.

It’s an exciting time to be in glass. Not just for the art or the science of it… but for the amazing combination of them both!