Working with glass makes artist Donna Blesi happy. “I create unique functional items as well as beautiful decorative pieces,” she says. Among her fused glass designs are bowls, wall hangings, plates and vases. During a trip to Alaska, Blesi was captivated by forests filled with birch trees. Once at home, she created a series of birch panels infused with glass evoking the Alaska forests and changing seasons. These panels will be displayed along with her other artwork throughout the month of July at Sutter Creek Gallery. An opening reception for her show will be held on Saturday, July 1, from 2 to 5 p.m., when visitors can meet the artist.
Blesi was drawn to glass fusing by the vividly eye-catching colors and the endless design possibilities. Glass comes in many different colors and forms, such as sheets, frit (small, crushed pieces), stringers (spaghetti-like shapes) and powders. Some types of glass are transparent, while others are opaque, iridescent or dichroic, a type of glass which changes color depending on the light or angle of view. She uses all these variations of glass to create movement and texture. Once Blesi decides on a project, she then chooses the colors, shapes and types of glass that will comprise the design. Firing in a kiln heats the glass to create a variety of effects. Sometimes the individual pieces are melted into a smooth slab. In other projects, such as the birch panels, individual pieces stick together but maintain their individual shapes. In other cases a flat slab of fused glass is placed in a mold and heated until it slumps into the mold to create a new design, such as a bowl.
Sutter Creek Gallery invites you to join us for Donna Blesi’s reception to view her work and learn more about this fascinating medium. She is one of twenty-three local artists exhibiting at the gallery located at 40 Main Street, in the heart of Sutter Creek. Besides original paintings and photography, the gallery offers affordable prints, cards, jewelry, pottery, glass and fiber arts, and gourds, as well as framing services. The gallery is open Thursday through Monday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For additional information, call 209-267-0228, email suttercreekgallery@gmail.com, or visit www.suttercreekgallery.com.
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