Earlier works such as Glass Mug and Champagne Glass present glass in its most direct, functional form — a vessel that captures, refracts, and fragments light into shifting blue‑green tonalities. (See Objects on the Edge.) In the same year, 1980, glass begins to act not only as a container of light but as a threshold or bridge between objects and ideas. In Orange on Glass, the glass becomes a satirical supporting player: an orange rests partly inside and partly above it, allowing the glass to trap a faint orange glow. This contrived interplay introduces a note of irony consistent with my ongoing curiosity about Pop Art’s ambiguous humor.

Between 1980 and 1982, glass appears repeatedly as an object of inquiry — not only for its internal luminosity but for its effects on surrounding surfaces and its tactile dialogue with nearby materials. (See Everyday Life - Things We Leave Behind.)

Unlike high‑end glass collectibles, glass figurines are made in jest, rarely valued, often broken, and frequently dismissed with ridicule. Their forms are exaggerated, their colors garish or cartoonish, their identities caricatures of the animals they depict. Yet when these figurines are enlarged in drawings and paintings, their presence intensifies. They must be lifted toward the viewer’s eyes, inviting close inspection of their oddities, distortions, and exaggerated features. Shadows and reflections expand with them, becoming newly assertive.

In Glass Miniatures, the figures remain life‑size, as they do in Glass Animals with Necklace. But in Pink Glass Elephant, the figurine is enlarged, casting a blue shadow that signals both its physical presence and the future evolution of the series. As the figurines grow larger and press forward to crowd the pictorial space, their true interactions with light and surrounding surfaces become unmistakable. Their accurately rendered surfaces — faithful to real glass — begin to read as abstractions of light and color.

First shown at the Campbell House Gallery

“From a Glass Menagerie”: Figurines Enlarged, Emotions Amplified

Miniatures made monumental. Expressive paintings and drawings of glass figurines—cats, dragons, owls—bring playful forms to life with vivid color and bold scale. A celebration of light, character, and imagination with true to life depiction.

Glass Miniatures, oil on board, 6x8” -year 1982

Glass Cats, oil on canvas, 30x36” -year 1983

Glass Horse, oil pastels on rag paper,

9.5 x10” -year 1982

Glass Dragon, oil on canvas, 30x40’ -year 1983

Glass Horse, oil on canvas, 30x36” -year 1983

Glass Horse, oil on canvas, 24x48” -year 1982

Pink Glass Elephant, oil on canvas, 16x20” - year 1981

Glass Ducks, oil on canvas, 30x36” -year 1983

Glass Elephant, oil pastels on rag paper, 11x14” - year 1982

Glass Owl, oil pastels on rag paper, 7x10” -year 1982

Glass Rooster, oil on canvas, 16x20” - year 1983

Glass Duck *Horse Heads, oil on canvas, 16x20” -year 1983

Glass Duck, oil pastels on rag paper, 11x14” -year 1982

Glass Animals & Necklace, oil on board, 10x12” -year 19 -year 1981

Glass Elephant, oil on canvas, 30x36” - 1983