Carli Schultz
Glass is one of very few materials that can be made by nature or made by humans, and is one of the most enduring materials a human can create with, or wear. We all have experienced glass for most of our lives, as a functional material, but for me it is a wonder, a fascination, a joy, and an art. Through my work, and my enjoyment of glass, my goal is to raise it up for others to see it in a new way, to experience the curiousness, the outright weird and wonderful voice that glass can have in this world. Layering and combining glass with silver, gold, and semi-precious stones has been my recent path to stretch my work, and my artistic voice, further.
By working in disciplines so ancient, I reach to the future with one hand, while standing in the footsteps of so many glass artists and metalsmiths behind me, stretching back into time for thousands of years. My inspiration is drawn from the world I live in, in this one life I have. Anything is fair game, from nature to infrastructure, from a tidepool to a wind turbine. Each day starts with a question, glass today, metal and stones, or both?
A piece begins with a selection of colors, but eventually, part of the control is given up to the medium itself. Glass behaves like water when molten, and while you can shape the path of a river with stones and sticks, the water eventually makes a decision on the direction of its journey. Working with organic shapes and patterns frees me from striving to be perfect in my symmetry, while allowing for happy accidents and wondrous challenges found within my chosen materials, to create truly unique statement pieces, from my hands to yours.
Carli has worked in glass since 2004 and metals since 2011. Education at the Oregon College of Art and Craft and at the Bullseye Glass Resource Centers well as with many talented and generous teachers over the years, have helped her further her knowledge of glass and jewelry fabrication. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, in past issues of The Flow and A Distinctive Style magazines, and in the Beaverton Valley Times and Oregonian newspapers.
