Yvette received a Bachelor of Arts in visual communications and spent years working in two-dimensional art as a Layout Designer for a book publishing company and a Graphic Designer for a multimedia company in Chicago. Later in life, she went on to earn a Master's Degree in health education and business administration which lead to working in the field of public health and human resources. Despite her career change, her commitment to creating art has never wavered. She has been working with stained glass for over twenty years but her passion is shaping glass with heat; either behind the torch or using the kiln as her crafting tool. “Heating glass to create various shapes, sizes, colors, patterns and textures is a medium that offers endless possibilities and is spectacularly fascinating. Working with glass rewards careful planning, creative thinking and technical expertise of how glass responds to heat and cools.”
Her hand blown glass beads and flame-worked beads can be found in her jewelry designs and custom serving utensils and kiln formed tableware and Sgraffito and enamel drawings are all available at one of her participating events.
My Studio
My newest work is using the Sgraffito drawing method and enamel painting process. Painting with glass on glass to create a 100% glass painting is exhilarating. As a stained glass mosaic artist and flame worker, I continue to explore and work in various methods to create new pieces that are both artistic and functional. All my work that comes straight out of the kiln requires cold working. Depending upon the design of the piece, I may simply hand sand it and for dramatic results I’ll use a wet belt sander to create the best finish for the piece. To create more complex designs, I will trim saw the kiln formed glass and use the pieces to develop a pattern for another piece.
There is so much to learn and love about working with glass. One thing for sure is having two home studio’s allows me to create various types of glass work when the creative sparks flow.