Collection: Piper Glass & Steel
"When I was a kid, I loved my Tinkertoys – the wooden ones, of course. They felt good and had simple but interesting shapes. I loved both putting things together and taking them apart. I remember an old clock that I dismantled and how mesmerizing all those shiny little gears and springs were…
The seeds for a deep appreciation for tools and handmade objects were planted early in my life. My father was a carpenter and built the house we moved into when I was six years old. At four and five years of age, there were many weekends that I got up at daybreak so I would already be in the kitchen eating breakfast when he came in for coffee before going to work on our new house. I would sit at the table not saying anything - just swinging my feet and eating my cheerios while my eyes followed him around. He would almost always fold and take me with him for the day. These were my best childhood times – handing Dad his tools or putting dropped nails back in the kegs. My father knew how to use tools so well that the rhythmic sound of sawing and even hammering was pleasing.
Fast forward to 1987 and my first art class – a stained glass class at the local adult education center. Ah! I fell in love with glass, quit my day job, and spent the next 20 years learning about and working with glass – stained glass, sculpture, furniture, jewelry, and clocks. When I reached the clock phase, I began to incorporate metal into my work and discovered another intriguing material.
I currently work with stainless steel, carbon steel, found mechanical parts and, of course, glass to make art for the home and garden – sculpture, lighting, gates, trellises, and any other object I can think of. I find inspiration in many places. Nature, of course, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral. Traditional Japanese design draws me like a magnet with its brilliant simplicity, beauty, and tranquility. Many artists’ work moves me, although I am particularly fond of the creativity and irrepressible spirit of Kandinsky, Klee, Matisse, and Miro.
I still love to make things and learn more about materials and mechanics with each project. Working with found objects has opened new territory and I’m delighted by some of the unpredictable results that these wonderful machined parts have brought to my work."
