Nina Cambron

I love to draw & find glass to be the richest drawing pad I’ve ever experienced. The luminescent quality of glass embodies an energy like no other medium. The glass process itself (cutting, firing) forces me to simplify my drawings & designs into their simplest, purest forms. I am drawn to the constant decision making glass requires. How many layers can I have in a single firing? How can I best layer my glass to achieve the multiple colors & optimal richness? Do I want a bubble here or there? There is never a time that I’ve not opened the kiln with the excitement of a 6 year old on Christmas Day anticipating what the package held. My work is in a constant state of flux, not just season to season but piece to piece, as each result influences the next. A BFA degree (Cleveland Institute of Art & University of Michigan) along with 30 years of graphic experimentation, work in clay & metal, a love for words, a whimsical vs “serious” bent & love for the human figure play a significant role in my current work, particularly in the mixed media pieces. Combining fused & slumped glass with other mediums continues to be a driving force. The excitement of making polar-opposite elements come together into one integral piece is where the rubber meets the road for me, the romance of the unexpected. It’s an exciting, sometimes tedious exercise in combining texture, color, shape & mediums into a piece that is also a feat of engineering.