Cathy Southwick and grandaughter

I live in Eugene, with my husband Jeff, dogs Grizz and Reggie, and Carlyne’s favorite cat, Todd. We moved here from Stillwater, OK in 2020, right as the pandemic was blowing up. We have a daughter and son-in-law in Cottage Grove, and a son and daughter-in-law and 2-year old granddaughter in the Tulsa area.

I started dabbling in glass in 2013 when I took a torch-working class at the community art center in Stillwater. I quickly became frustrated because my beads were all weirdly shaped, and moved into the fusing class without any idea what I was entering. I found my niche! While we were in Oklahoma, I did assist in teaching some fusing classes at the art center. But haven’t done any since moving here.

My journey with glass began a few decades ago. I was working at an antique store in Gig Harbor, WA whose owner taught stained glass at Stadium High School in Tacoma, WA and when the store wasn’t busy, he taught me his craft. I was hooked immediately. Fast forward 10 years and I opened my first studio in Woodinville, WA and dubbed it GlassRoots. I taught stained glass classes 3 nights a week and was open for retail 5 days a week.

My husband (who is wonderful) and I were raising three children and very busy. He always supported me in my artistic endeavors. One of my students gave me an old ceramic kiln and I started incorporating painted pieces into my stained glass projects. I experimented a bit, but fusing was just in its early years. Bullseye was just starting its fusible glass line. I ran that studio for almost 20 years.

Here’s a piece I did 40 years ago.

Fast forward a move to Marysville as kids grew up and out. I had a full time job at a Title company in Everett and was making and selling fused glass jewelry on the side.

I wanted to learn how to do lampwork beads. Enter a new, and now dear friend, Chris Warrington. An amazing lampwork artist, who said “I’ll teach you how to do lampwork and I want to learn how to fuse.” The moment I began to teach her fusing, I knew that was my path. Here’s my first project back after a 15 year break:

I stopped doing jewelry and started fusing again. I’ve taken classes from some amazing artists: Paul Marioni & Mark Ekstrom (back in the day), Fred Buxton, Tim Carey and Ann Cavanaugh. Lots of e-books and experimenting and I’m still hooked almost 50 years later.

Glass is the most versatile medium. I’ve done copper foil and leaded stained glass, sandblasting scenes on shower doors, bathroom windows and office doors in the Columbia Tower, fused, painted, blown, lampwork and cast glass. The way light plays off the glass entices me to constantly want to learn more. So much fun and so challenging at the same time. Every day is like Christmas morning when I open my kilns.

I think it keeps us young to continue to learn and share all that we can about this wonderful medium we all love.

Here is some of my current work:

See more of Mel’s work on Instagram

Linda Schnell, an artist with arthritis, has an enduring fascination with the intersection between art and science. She recognizes like tumbling sea glass, living with arthritis can be a rough journey. Her background in engineering along with a passion for collecting beach treasures inspires Linda to create mixed-media sculptures with her signature style of layering sea glass with special beach finds, clay art, and fused glass.

Red Octopus Sea Temple

Hot Pink Siren Sea Temple

Sea Bloom

Killer Whale Blues

My name is Kathie Wise, I live in St. Helens, OR. I’ve been making glass on glass mosaics since 2016.

I specialize in backgrounds, using many different cuts, sometimes combining more than one or two. I have occasionally taught classes. The substrate used is small enough so that the entire gluing part of the mosaic is completed in one day. I then grout each piece on another day.

Kathy Wise

In April of 2016, my husband, Dave, was creating greenhouses out of wood-framed windows. He entered one such greenhouse into the annual St. Helens Home & Garden Show, and sold it too. Meanwhile, Kory Dollar, was in the same event, selling her glass on glass mosaics. At the time, she was using wood-framed windows as substrates for her mosaics. She and Dave met, admired each other’s talent, and soon started talking about a partnership. I met Kory that weekend. As the two of them ironed things out, Kory suggested I come over to her shop for a private class in GOG.

Years ago, when Kory was becoming known as a teacher in glass on glass mosaics, she would travel to many different counties to teach others how to create their own mosaics. In the early days, she wasn’t always able to fill them with students. That’s when I would ride along with her and be one of her students. Later, Kory was invited to teach mosaics in different states, including Texas, California, Washington, and Nevada and I went with her.

So now, 9 years later, I’ve just completed my 99th mosaic. They are all different sizes, of all different things, from trees to flowers, mermaids, Big Foot, Christmas Ships, Hot Air Balloons, rainbows, birds of all kinds, cats, butterflies, a mountain scene, under sea gardens, bicycles, a fire breathing dragon, an angel, even the Eye of Ra! It’s all so fun. Some are 3-D, using two frames with a section of wood separating the two pieces of glass. Many of my mosaics are from vintage glass blocks that come in different sizes. Dave drilled holes in them to create a place to install fairy lights, which in turn creates night lights. Even after all this time of being immersed in GOG, I still find working on the larger mosaics the most challenging. Primarily it’s because they take so much time, AND they are much harder to sell because they cost so much more. It would be different if I was working on a commission, where I have an agreement with the buyer for a certain amount of money.

I joined the PNW Glass Guild with the expectations of selling my art through the Guild-sponsored events. I also wanted to meet other glass artists who specialize in different forms of glass art. I’ve never held a position on the Glass Guild Board and have no interest in pursuing any. I am having way too much fun just creating my mosaics.