Engraved, encased flameworked glass

In 1976 I met Steuben’s master engraver, Max Roland Erlacher, of Corning, New York. At our first meeting I asked Max, “If I made a drawing, could you engrave it on the base of one of my paperweights?” He answered, “Yes,” and thus began a long and cherished working relationship creating paperweights and plaques with Max’s engravings and my encased flamework. This artistic collaboration gave me the ability to say more in my work. Our engraved paperweights began in the 1970s with simple subjects that progressed over time through 2009 to multiple plaques depicting portraits and complex scenes, such as “The Witness to the Battle” and, a favorite of mine, “American Farmhouse”, inspired by “Christina’s World” by Andrew Wyeth.