MZ Glass: Artist

Ok, Ok, I finally managed to add pictures of myself... the first is me at the 2005 Gathering in Louisville, "testing" a few colors for Hot Glass Color & Supply (the Kugler ladies!). I'm camping in the second picture, and being a bit silly.

Artist’s Statement

Color, at least in man made form, is purest and most vibrant in glass. As a medium, hot glass presents few limits upon shape, size, texture, or color. Glass has always been a source of amazement for me; it’s powerful to know that a piece of glass was once liquid and now is frozen in time, capturing within it the energy of its moment of creation. I often consider that, even though lampworking torches and tools have changed over the ages, I’m using techniques that are hundreds- if not thousands- of years old, to create objects that may last thousands of years.

My formal training in biology and entomology (another fascination with things small and colorful) has largely contributed to the stylistic themes I use in my beads. I look to the natural world for inspiration, and discover many details for my glassmaking that would be missed by only looking through my “biologist’s eyes.” The rich variety of texture and color in Sonoran Desert minerals, plants, insects, and other creatures have offered common themes for my work. The intensity of late-summer monsoons in the desert inspired the Meteorologicals series while the local abundance of copper and copper-based minerals inspired both the Mineralogicals and Talisman series.

In glass, I have truly found my medium. The technique and chemistry of working with glass feed my scientific side while the freedom allowed a molten medium nourishes my artistic and creative side.

Curriculum vitae
Margaret Zinser
born 1978, Oberlin, Ohio

Education
B. A. Zoology, Connecticut College, 2000
M. S. Entomology, University of Arizona, 2004

Workshops in lampworking with Brownen Heilman (2003, 2005), Bandhu Scott Dunham (2004), Lucio Bubacco (2004), and Shane Fero (2005)
Workshop in Level I Certification in Precious Metal Clay with Tonya Davidson (2004).

Demonstrations
Southern Arizona Glass Addicts, 2003, 2004
Southern California Beadmakers, June 2005

Juried Shows
Best Bead Show II, 2005
Art of Adorning, Bead Society of Orange Co. Show, 2005
4th Avenue Street Fair, Spring & Fall 2005
Sedona Arts Festival, 2005

Gallery/ Museum Shows
The Four Seasons, Creative Spirit Gallery, Atlanta, GA – July 2004
River of Glass, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY, July 2005- September 2005
Bead of a Different Color, Glassworks Gallery, Louisville, KY, July 2005- September 2005

Publications
Aventurine Adventure, Step By Step Beads, Jan/ Feb 2005

Professional Organizations
Glass Art Society
Southern Arizona Glass Addicts
Bead Society of Orange County
International Society of Glass Beadmakers
Wet Canvas!

Teaching
Private classes in 2005: contact for references
Southern Arizona Glass Addicts, October 2004, Tucson, Arizona
Heritage Glass, August 2005, New Braunfels, Texas
The Mandrel, October 2005, Torrance, California