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As a kid, I was taught to color inside the lines. Once that was imprinted on my mind, I started to think that the other kids sitting near me were better artists than me. That almost immediately shut down my creativity.

In my middle school we were required to take one art class. That is the only art class I took in all of my schooling. Because of all of that, I thought that I could never be an artist.

Fortunately, I had to help a friend develop a logo for his business about 12 years ago. So, I learned a graphics program and did the best I could with it. After that, I was able to break through my "lack of creativity" by doing web design. Through the process of creating simple graphics for my clients, I started to develop a general eye for what I thought looked good. After that, I thought, "This art thing isn't so scary. Maybe I'm actually creative". So, I bought a kid's watercolor kit and painted a picture...and I LIKED IT!!!

My next art endeavor was lampworking. I began melting glass and making beads and marbles. Then I realized that I could make jewelry with all of the beads I had created, so I was off on another creative whim.

After some of these creative tangents and businesses, I finally realized that I AM CREATIVE! Through this process, God has been healing my heart and letting me know that He has made me in His image. He is the GREAT CREATOR and He has made me in His image. I’m having so much fun now, exploring so many areas of creativity with Him.

I’ve included links to some of the creative streams I’ve been jumping into over the last few years. I hope to be adding more as I go. The latest of the streams is painting. I dove in a couple of weeks ago, after dipping my toes in the river a couple of times. Now, I’ve fallen in love with it! I hope you will enjoy seeing my work.

Thanks for visiting my site.
-Gretchen
March 4, 2008

See some of Gretchen's glass beads and jewelry.

Lampworking is the process of sculpting glass by melting thin rods of colored glass over a fiery torch. Glass is one of the most colorful and dynamic art media today. Glass is always a liquid, but its movement in time is imperceptible. When brought into the flame, its speed of movement increases so that it can be shaped and molded. My Fire Creations are truly liquid, moving works of art, caught in time.

How did I get into melting glass with a torch? I visited a glass blower in Hawaii. He was kind enough to let me watch him work for a few days. I immediately fell in love with the art form. When I got back home, I started by melting glass bottles with a blow torch. I didn't have a plan in mind, I just thought molten glass was mesmerizing and fun to play with. I finally purchased proper lampworking equipment. And, after a few months, I had a bucket of beads and decided I had better do something with them. So, I began creating jewelry and incorporated my glass beads into the designs.

I hope that as you visit my site, and hopefully buy my work, that you will fall in love with the art of lampworking as I did.

I was one of those kids that was taught to color inside the lines. Once that happened, I started to think that the other kids sitting near me, were better artists than me. In my middle school we were required to take one art class. That is the only art class I was able to take in all of my schooling. So, I always thought that I could never be an artist.

I finally was able to break through my "lack of creativity" by doing web design. I had to create simple graphics for my clients and started to develop a general eye for what I thought looked good. After that, I thought, "This art thing isn't so scarry. Maybe I'm actually creative". So, I bought a kid's watercolor kit and painted a picture...and I LIKED IT!!!

So, for the last couple of months, I have been branching out in my painting. And, I've fallen in love with it! I hope you will enjoy seeing my work. Thanks for visiting my site.