Fused glass wall
art and bowls
Jim Sanders didn't start out as a glass artist. In
fact, "artist" is his third incarnation. Sanders began his working life as a
forest ranger working for the Wisconsin State Department of Natural
Resources. Some years later, he and his wife ran their own interior design
business in Waukesha. When his wife died in 1993, Sanders was at loose ends.
"I traveled a lot and did volunteer work at my church," he says.
A class at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning,
N.Y., put Sanders on a path toward creating art from glass. "I decided on a
whim to take the class. It renewed my interest in something I had thought
about years before," he says.
The class Sanders took was in glass blowing, but that
skill did not turn out to be his strong suit. I decided that it was not
really for me," he says. "With glass blowing, you really only have one
chance to make it perfect." But he was interested in the ancient art of
fused glass, a technique for forming glass that has been heated in a kiln or
oven at high temperatures. Sanders uses modem technology to create colorful
layered glass designs using these early methods. "With fused glass, I create
two or three-dimensional sculptures. Its almost like painting with glass,
Sanders explains. My projects begin as flat glass sheets and pieces that I
grind to the shape I want. Then the glass goes into a kiln where it is
melted and cooled, he says. Pieces may return to the kiln several times to
add depth, relief and shape. Lately, he has begun to incorporate stone into
his work too, using it as a beginning for bowls and other items.
Sanders, a Milwaukee resident, creates most of his work
on a commission basis, but also shows pieces in some regional art shows.
Recently, he created a series of pieces for a client in Miami Beach,
including wall hangings and glass panels for a door. "My next project is a
commission from the Waukesha Business Improvement District to design and
make a series of awards," he says.
