Inverness Glass
works by Sally Fairfax
I work on three kinds of projects:
Art for the Home—A little plate can be quite simple. But over the years artists have developed new techniques and shared them in wonderful classes. I have enjoyed many of those classes, and have collaborated with many colleagues on what can be quite complex or customized gift pieces.
Sculpture—I try to make pieces that will emphasize the need to take care of fragile places. Sculpture is endlessly diverse and challenging and I almost always get help or collaborate. Lost wax casting—the kind a silversmith would use to make jewelry—is the most straightforward. But I really like hollow core casting, in which the subject is visible but missing from the glass.
Postcards—I love making small sculptures, pate de verre pieces, or little scenes that reflect either my home in Tomales Bay or small slices of the poles. Christmas ornaments, tiny cups, and other small pieces are offshoots of the other two projects. I am lucky to inhabit an area that makes a lot of room for art. I love participating in open studios and enjoy having an array of more affordable pieces to show folks when they drop by.
Along with all that, I am also a photographer. My goal is to get five decent shots a year which I turn into Christmas gifts. And my photography is part of my glass work, which is frequently based on my own images. I no longer go to the Poles, but I have been reading about the Silk Road for 20 years and finally just returned from Central Asia. The desert environment is just stunning and will likely show up in my future projects.
About Sally
I am not a “professional artist.” I began taking pictures in the late 1940s with a Baby Brownie and since then I have thought of myself as a photographer. I had my own darkroom as a child, but what I wanted was to work more with my hands. Early on I planned to work as a garage mechanic, but, I wound up working as a writer and teacher: I taught resource management and policy first in The College of Forestry in Ann Arbor, Michigan and later and longer in the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley.
But the working hands part never went away and I also love making a mess. When I got to California in the late 1970s, I began working first with wood and then with glass. Glass is more expensive but more fun: I love it that you can look away from a glass saw or grinding disc and get a court burn rather than lose a digit—and when the glass art and craft field emerged from centuries of domination by folks in Murano, I got on board.
Now that I am retired, I can pursue my interest in protecting fragile environments without footnotes and “publishing.” I focused first on the Poles, where I have traveled frequently, and then on the Tomales Bay area, where I now live. I can make a great piece or a big mess. Even when the piece turns out well, I have likely made at least a small mess. I love it.
