Thanks for following along on my journey and wanting to know a little bit more!
I am a South Carolina artist, a wife, sun seeker & nature explorer. I do my best to live life in full bloom with my five dogs by my side.
I think I've always been creative. Growing up in Southern California I would sit for hours at my grandmothers house painting or working on a needle point project or photography when I was old enough to have a "real" camera. But I didn't live the life of an artist until I moved to Hawaii and found this cute little glass shop in Lahaina right off front street.
The first time I walked into the gallery and heard the the loud whistle of the torch and saw the sparkly things it made I was hooked. I had to do this for a living. And so started my apprenticeship. If you have been to Maui chances are you saw me working in the window making sealife sculptures. Or met me under the banyan tree at a weekend art show. Some of my work was also displayed at the Village Galleries, Maui Ocean Center, and Lahaina Art Society.
After leaving Maui I stopped off on the coast of Florida for a couple of years before moving here to SC where I met the Love of my life. We live on 11 acres in the woods next to a river. It is so peaceful out here. The loudest noises that we hear are from the wildlife that roam our property and make their homes near by. Lots of birds, coyotes, bobcats, cows and then the quite critters like deer, raccoons, opossums & turkeys.
My days are spent roaming the woods with my dogs and swimming in the river with them during the summer. They're my pals. My husband and I never meant to adopt five dogs but we kept finding dogs in need and the rest is history. I am a big time animal lover, really a lover of all critters. And they know it.. and find me.. I'm the neighborhood dog mom. When the neighbors go to work their dogs come to my house for the day. They wander up at all different times seeking soft beds that I lay out for them in the garage. So at one point in time I think I had 10 dogs hanging out with me and only 3 were mine. They know my house is a safe place from the storms, heat, cold, being alone, and anything else that might bother them.
In between all of this furry fun I head to my glass studio and play with fire. Most of the time I have no idea what I'm going to make. It just sort of comes to me as I stand there. Sometimes though I will have a rough Idea.. I know I want to make flowers or cabochons or maybe I have a custom order to finish. Upstairs is where I photograph, I have a silversmith bench for making jewelry and a table purposed for all my shipping needs.
My days are long but fun, challenging but rewarding, beautiful, hot, and filled with love. I wouldn't change a thing.
If I had one statement about glass I guess it would be this..
"​Glass is one of the most beautifully challenging of all the mediums I have worked with. It's also very addicting. There is something so captivating about the feel of it, at the end of my rod, in its molten state, dancing in the flame of my torch"
Hope you enjoyed my little story and had some of your questions answered. Anything you want to know?
Email: Wendy@MorningLightGlass.com
