Peggy Bird started working with glass because she wanted a set of square dessert plates and couldn't find any she liked. Almost ten years and a dozen classes later, she has long had her plates. What she also has is an addiction.

"Glass has fascinated people for millennia. Its unique structure allows the material to capture, transmit and reflect light and color like no other substance. It has flow and movement. It takes shape in a kiln when slumped over a mold or with the merest breath when blown. This almost magic material has mesmerized me since I was a child and saw stained glass windows in an old church. For most of the past decade I have worked with glass to create functional and art pieces that showcase the beauty of the material.

For design inspiration, I have only to look around me. Sometimes I find a fabric pattern in a shop. Often it is something in nature, like a leaf or a landscape. Travel always inspires me. From other lands and cultures I learn new color palettes and indigenous motifs. Whether I’m returning home from half way around the world or just down I-5, I bring back scribbled sketches on scraps of paper, snapshots and postcards full of design ideas.

I also learn from fellow artisans and other artists, whatever the medium. The colors, shapes and movement of painting, photography and fiber art all have informed my sense of what is possible with glass. So, with design ideas all around me and an ever-increasing range of colors available from modern art glass manufacturers, I have a lifetime of possibilities for projects." See the Work