Meet Our Community! 

I got interested in glass after a brief foray into metal-smithing. I'm really interested in texture, geometry, and color. With glass, the possibilities are endless.

I am originally from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. I have been living in Chicago since 2005, and studying glass fusing. I am working in the field of mental health and enjoy using art to help my clients express their inner voice. As a child I was always attracted to things that sparkle. 

I was introduced to glass beading making about 3 year ago. After the initial fear of lighting the torch I became enamored with the melting of glass and all that can be created with the manipulation of glass in rods, sheets and pieces. The torch and rod are my instruments for meditation and creativity.

My fascination with glass started in college with making simple components for chemistry experiments. Many years later, a beginning lampworking class rekindled that interest, and I’ve been at it since. Working at a torch with a medium that goes from solid to liquid and back again is challenging, and the infinite combination of colors and forms that can be produced is what keeps me wanting to learn more!

I like working with glass because it does not come easy for me. I do not have an art background and never even did art as a hobby. I have learned how to edit my work through trial and error and by working with others. Seeing what others around you are making, and talking to your fellow fusers, has really helped me get better.

Gina received her BA in studio art from NEIU in 1991, with a focus in metal working. Her adult life took her down a different career path, but her artistic side was dying to get out!

A fusing class given as a present, after discovering CGC during the Ravenswood Art Walk, led to another class and another... Now, four years later, she is one of CGC's studio technicians, teachers, and monitors. The excitement and inspiration from glass work is infectious and she is addicted!

I have dabbled in all sorts of art media but glass beads are by far my favorite. The danger of the torch provides an edge while the precision and control needed for making beads, provides a calming center. Combine those elements with the chemistry and properties of glass and you have an art form that is always challenging and thrilling. What more could anyone ask for!

Over the last 10 years, I have experimented with many media; including forged iron, turned wood, pottery, baskets, and watercolor painting. I have recently decided to focus on glass.

I’m an artist and an art educator. I work in mixed media – fibers, glass, paper-making, and printmaking. My latest work has been creating models using a 3D printer and large color prints of altered digital images. I keep trying to find a way to merge my fascination of technology & computer generated imagery with my love of tactile, physical artwork. 

Myra is an original member and one of the CGC kiln technicians and instructors. She has been experimenting with fused glass for 12 years, both in Chicago and New Jersey. She incorporates airbrushing techniques, screen - printing, kilncasting and welding into her fused glass art and multi-media projects. 

After receiving her BFA from Alfred University in 1992 Leslie Speicher travelled the country finally choosing Seattle, WA as her home. During her seven years there she focused on her glasswork, teaching at Pratt Fine Arts Center and assisting and studying with local and international glass artists.  During this time she was a TA and AA at Pilchuck Glass School, Instructor at Urban Glass in Brooklyn, NY and Red Deer College in Alberta, CA. Residencies include Urban Glass, Hastings College and Pratt Fine Arts Center. Leslie has shown her glasswork, sculptures and installations in Seattle, NYC, Miami, Philadelphia and Chicago. Publications include International Glass Art; Richard Yelle, author.

Glass has always intrigued me. At the age of 3 my mother and I would comb the beach of Lake Michigan looking for beach glass. I have been making art with beach glass for decades.  What really made me fall in love with glass was visiting the island of Murano at  the age of 9.