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Oil painting and drawing in school, by the early 1990s I began exploring glass
as a creative medium. I started with stained glass because I was seeking an
activity I could share with my younger son.
As inevitably happens with children, he grew up, moved on and my involvement in stained glass waned. Later, after selling my equipment and supplies to a friend, my wife and I moved from Missouri to Virginia.
Finding myself needing a creative outlet, I began exploring the next logical stage of glass -- fused, or kiln-formed glass art. Utilizing similar raw materials as used in stained glass, fused glass allows me to break the sometimes rigid boundaries of stained glass and to explore a new world of semi-liquid glass as it melts and intermixes with other glasses, and various metal foils and powders.
While finding inspiration in the quiet woods surrounding my home, as well as the creeks, rivers and nearby Chesapeake Bay, art ultimately is a personal experience, and different to each individual. I hope you enjoy my work and it speaks to you.
I live, paint, and create fused glass art in Virginia's Upper Peninsula, on a wooded hillside nestled between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, and near the Chesapeake Bay where my wife and I sail whenever possible.
As inevitably happens with children, he grew up, moved on and my involvement in stained glass waned. Later, after selling my equipment and supplies to a friend, my wife and I moved from Missouri to Virginia.
Finding myself needing a creative outlet, I began exploring the next logical stage of glass -- fused, or kiln-formed glass art. Utilizing similar raw materials as used in stained glass, fused glass allows me to break the sometimes rigid boundaries of stained glass and to explore a new world of semi-liquid glass as it melts and intermixes with other glasses, and various metal foils and powders.
While finding inspiration in the quiet woods surrounding my home, as well as the creeks, rivers and nearby Chesapeake Bay, art ultimately is a personal experience, and different to each individual. I hope you enjoy my work and it speaks to you.
I live, paint, and create fused glass art in Virginia's Upper Peninsula, on a wooded hillside nestled between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, and near the Chesapeake Bay where my wife and I sail whenever possible.
I can be reached at: ben@bensglassstudio.com
Copyright 2008-2011. Ben Childers.
All rights reserved.