Artist's Statement
My early inspiration came from my childhood oil painting teacher, an amazing lady named Happy Castle. And she was! It was obvious that she loved oil painting, and teaching it, too. I considered myself ‘an artist’ when one of my oil paintings took first place in an international competition. I was eleven years old.
My grandmother was also a wonderful mentor and had many artistic endeavors. I loved the incredibly detailed ceramics she made in her kiln. She shared her philosophy: if you want to try it, you should! I took that attitude to heart and dabbled in every medium that I had an opportunity to try: water color, acrylics, pencil, charcoal, ceramics, clay, precious metal clay (PMC), paper art, wire bending, beading, Papier-Mâché, and on, and on….
However, no medium has ever captivated me quite like 'warm' glass. I love the dynamics of the colors in the glass and their interaction with light and other colors. One of my favorite things about glass art is how it inspires discussion. It is visually intriguing and invokes curiosity about what it is and how it is made. This, in turn, stimulates my creativity.
Kiln Cast Glass is my current focus. This may involve sculpting and mold-making, resulting in more dimensional objects. My chess set pieces are an example of my cast glass.
Working as a computer engineer, I spend hours in my analytical left brain. My glass projects shift me straight in to my right brain! My no-stress, time-free, creative, energized mode!
~Deanna Smith
My grandmother was also a wonderful mentor and had many artistic endeavors. I loved the incredibly detailed ceramics she made in her kiln. She shared her philosophy: if you want to try it, you should! I took that attitude to heart and dabbled in every medium that I had an opportunity to try: water color, acrylics, pencil, charcoal, ceramics, clay, precious metal clay (PMC), paper art, wire bending, beading, Papier-Mâché, and on, and on….
However, no medium has ever captivated me quite like 'warm' glass. I love the dynamics of the colors in the glass and their interaction with light and other colors. One of my favorite things about glass art is how it inspires discussion. It is visually intriguing and invokes curiosity about what it is and how it is made. This, in turn, stimulates my creativity.
Kiln Cast Glass is my current focus. This may involve sculpting and mold-making, resulting in more dimensional objects. My chess set pieces are an example of my cast glass.
Working as a computer engineer, I spend hours in my analytical left brain. My glass projects shift me straight in to my right brain! My no-stress, time-free, creative, energized mode!
~Deanna Smith