In 1995, I became aware that I could be an antique dealer. It seems that everything that was around when I was young qualified as an antique or collectible. This was easy. I had already had a store, the great and terrible Horribaubles, in Seattle, which had been successful although torpedoed quickly by my neuroses and the landlord, Petiteman, a triple amputee who was taking it out on all his tenants.


Well, in the course of having my store, Horribaubles, I came across some beautiful glass, some intense green hobnail glass, a broken item, a pitcher or something. I had already been dabbling in leaded or “stained” glass, making huge lampshades out of limpets and scallop shells. I reasoned that this green glass, and an entire world of broken glass besides, could and should be used in leaded glass windows. I kept the hobnail glass, and eventually brought it by way of rural Washington, to Morongo Valley, where it became part of my first windows.


Additionally, I had a friend in rural Washington who was collecting glass. She had an impressive collection, and had put shelves across her windows to display it, so the light could come through. I knew nothing about glass at that time, but I became interested, and had my little spell of collecting Carnival glass, and having to sell it for cheap because I was broke. But the big idea that I had was that all this gorgeous glass is sitting around on shelves in people’s houses, and it should be seen. Where better to be seen than in windows? Additionally, when the glass is in windows, it doesn’t matter if it is chipped, cracked or even shattered.


My interest in glass extends to pottery. I tried my hand at pique-assiette, mosaic, tesserae. It didn’t sell so well because everyone was doing it. It does not have the bang of solder. So now I’m making tentative forays into using solder and pottery together as I was using solder and glass.