Sharon Elliott was looking for something that could fill an artistic void.
Elliott, an IT employee at ASU Gammage, found what she was looking for when she stumbled across a glass fusing class about five years ago.
“I’ve always been kind of the frustrated artist,” Elliott said.
She practiced, and eventually set up a kiln in her home to work more on it, honing her craft through classes at Phoenix College and Mesa Arts Center.
It’s not a cheap hobby, Elliott said, but a cheap home kiln isn’t impossible to find.
“It’s not completely prohibitive,” Elliott said.
As an employee of Gammage, she sometimes creates glasswork based on Broadway shows. When “Phantom of the Opera” came through town, for example, she made a piece based on a mask.
Working at Gammage, even in IT, has given her other unique opportunities as well. She works to recycle wine bottles that Gammage attendees go through by melting them down and using them in her glasswork.
Elliott’s work can range from something tiny, a quarter of an inch, to larger trays.
“I do a lot of jewelry, but I’ve also done plates and dishes,” Elliott said.
She imagines she’ll try to set up a website or some other way of monetizing her projects soon, but for the time being she’s learning as much as she can before she does.
But while she’s not doing glasswork, she’ll continue with her job at Gammage.
“My full-time job is as a computer technician,” Elliott said. “So this is an opportunity to see this artistic side of me.”
Reach the reporter at clecher@asu.edu
