Featured Artist: Bob Heath, Aloha, OR

I’d always been drawn to glass art, especially glass paper weights and stained glass, but it had never occurred to me that it was something that I might be able to create myself. That changed in 1998 when my wife and I took a class in stained glass at Roses Glassworks in Tigard. I was immediately hooked and after careful consideration, decided that I enjoyed it enough to justify buying my own tools and investing in a grinder. Little did I realize how those decisions would evolve into the hobby that would consume most of my free time and finances for the next quarter century and more.

I subsequently learned about glass fusing and decided to explore that with my first kiln in 2000. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the Oregon Glass Guild, which has since evolved into the Pacific Northwest Glass Guild, also got its start that year thanks to George Kjaer, an amateur glass blower in Eugene. The guild soon expanded to include chapters in the Gorge and Portland, where I discovered it and began attending meetings and taking classes. I kept asking why the OGG website wasn’t being updated and soon found myself being tasked with building an entirely new website and being invited to join the guild board of directors. I wound up serving as webmaster and board member in various capacities through about 2016.

I’ve since retired from guild leadership but have remained involved with the guild as it has grown into the PNWGG. Most notably, my wife and I have worked with fellow guild member, Linda Gerrard to host classes at our studio where guild members have an opportunity to learn from visiting glass artists that are leaders in their field. The first work I created and exhibited at the Gathering of the Guilds show was pretty basic stuff; coasters, business card holders and the like. I didn’t sell much, but I was having fun.

I soon began to develop a style and became known for work that was primarily based on straight lines and geometric patterns. For a period of time, I was really into reproducing quilt patterns in glass

Then in 2009, inspired by the work of Steve Immerman, I started working with strip construction. That’s where you cut narrow strips of sheet glass, about 3/8” wide, then stand them on edge to create 3mm wide lines. That technique allowed me to create much more intricate patterns, such as my Bargello Platter which is still one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever done.

After the Bargello Platter, I continued to pursue the idea of creating “pattern bars” using strip construction, then cutting them on a wet tile saw to create components that could be assembled into complex patterns such as this bowl with a woven basket motif.

And this wavy piece that I call Magic Carpet.

I love experimenting with new techniques, so my work tends to jump from one extreme to another over time. In 2022, I was intrigued by Paul Tarlow’s “frit stretching”. Not being one to follow directions though, I decided to try using pieces of pattern bars instead of frit and came up with a series of pieces I call Time Portals. Some people have commented that this example makes them think of a faceted diamond.

I’ve long admired the work of Ian Chadwick because it was also based on the same type of straight-line intricate patterns that I had striven to create with strip construction. However, Ian’s work used stringers rather than the edges of 3mm sheet glass, so he was able to create more detailed patterns than I had managed. Last December, I had an opportunity to take a class from Ian to learn the details of how he creates his pieces. Ian works almost exclusively with 45 and 90 degree angles when cutting components for his work which gives his pieces a characteristic look that is unmistakably his. Wanting to differentiate my work, I decided to see if I could apply his technique while using 30, 60 and 90 degree angles and came up with this piece that I call Fusion Reactor.