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Merrilee Harrigan
Jewelry
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The unique complexities of glass – the way it flows when heated, the chemical reactions between colors, the effect of air and metals in glass -- ensure that there are always new things to learn and frontiers to explore.
Creating beautiful objects from glass involves more than creativity, however; I have learned a new kind of discipline, and patience with the painstaking process of shaping, channeling and refining glass projects. The work of art is almost as rewarding as the outcome as I bring out the best of each piece of glass.
I took my first fused glass class in 2003 and was immediately hooked on the beauty and creative process of glassmaking. I studied fused glass at Vitrum Studio, Bullseye Glass and the Art Glass Center at Glen Echo, and recently began crafting silver settings to add to my fused glass jewelry. I was until recently a Studio Artist at the Art Glass Center at Glen Echo.
I found that my glass art added a life-affirming balance to my long time career in environmental education; I live my values by using solar panels to power my home studio.
My glass art is inspired by the brilliance and subtlety of color in glass, by the graceful and sometimes unexpected way that glass flows, and by the unending ways to create beauty and meaning through glass.
Creativity has been the common thread in my winding journey through life, and fused glass has proved to be the most exciting, engaging and joyous expression of my creative spirit.
