I grew up on the family farm in Iowa, the third of four children.  In the early years, we didn’t have many luxuries in life like running water, a bathroom, or a furnace.  As unusual as it is today, I went to the same school from K thru 12.  I primarily studied business and went on to work in Human Resources where I spent most of my career until the mid 1990’s.

As I said, we didn’t have much money during those years.  I remember my Mom’s most treasured jewelry being the solid gold wedding band she wore throughout her life.  I didn’t know if  I had an artistic bone in my body, a career in art and jewelry design seemed very unlikely for my future

However, life is always full of the unexpected.  Somehow, the best laid plans don’t work out the way we think they should.  In the mid 1990's, I was diagnosed with a serious health issue that caused me to be disabled from my career in Human Resources.

I spent much of the next ten years battling a recurring bone tumor and living in excruciating pain following multiple surgeries and a later diagnosis of severe rheumatoid arthritis.

My health had derailed me from the track I had been on.  I found that living life in pain was really not a life at all.   My doctors suggested that I find a passion, something creative to do to help stimulate my mind, something that might  take my focus off the chronic pain.  

I picked up some beads one day, glass beads to be exact.  I was hypnotized by the iridescent colors, the shapes, the play of colors.  I started doing some beading, creating designs in my head that my hands then turned into reality.  I developed a keen interest in particular for Dichroic glass, but it was elusively expensive for my budget.  

Time passed, and I bought a kiln and borrowed some books from the library to learn the process.  My first pieces were creative, but not very sales-worthy, to say the least.  But my passion continued and I taught myself how to make some glass that really was stunning.  In the past few years, I have taken a few classes from a world-renowned instructor.  That is what really helped my reach the next level of glass making.  

The world of glass opened my life to many new friends.  It’s extremely flattering when a person touches or looks at my work and smiles, or tells me how beautiful my work is.  Their kind expression tells me that others are touched, whether for a moment or for a lifetime, by the same beauty I found in glass.  The optics of glass can bring the “illusion” of movement and life to any design,  hence the name Illusions Glass Designs.

Thank you for your time and I hope that my glass brings some unexpected joy to your life.