Carved Glass
18 x 22 x 2 in.

  This intricately textured glass sculpture represents a molecular sieve that is used to clean nanometer sized molecules from water and air. They are also used to screen out heavy metals as well as a mechanical alternative to chemical detergents in the environment. I am wary of our human impact on this limited planet but also inspired by the way scientists invent solutions to the problems we create.

    I use a photographic image processing program with computers to create a rubbery mask that I place on a smooth glass blank. I then remove the exposed areas of the glass using a reductive, “sand-carving” process. The shape of the carved out areas changes as I work deeper into the glass because I direct the abrasive air stream by hand. This creates a unique, bas-relief sculptural effect that is different in every piece of art I create.

   These types of scientific devices may someday strain pathogens and other harmful microbes from drinking water in parts of the world that lack electricity and other services that the developed world takes for granted. My sculptures reference new types of scientific research with the aim of calling attention and fostering greater understanding of these new scientific discoveries. If responsibly conducted and carefully monitored, these new discoveries have the power to radically transform our lives for the greater good of humankind by adapting the natural world to help us co-exist and thrive with the plants and animals on our planet.