The new work that was exhibited at the LewAllen Contemporary gallery November through Decemberof 2006 is a culmination of Judy's collaboration with Ruth and Norm Dobbins over the previous 3 /12 years. It involves 3 different forms of glass:

• 3 dimensionally cast pieces of glass that have been carved, painted and fired in a kiln
• flat glass panels that have been fused in layers of multiple colors then carved in reverse bas relief, painted and fired
• and a few pieces of flat, crystal clear glass that have been carved in reverse bas relief and then painted and fired.

Several of these pieces were sold at the show and afterwards, to prominent collectors and museums. A number of additional pieces have been created since the 2006 showing and these will be debuted at a new showing of the work at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery from September 9 through November 11, 2007. Visit their website for more information: http://www.canadianclayandglass.ca/

In creating these pieces the collaborators discovered that they had to break new ground in several areas, in order to get the work done. Some of these areas included multiple firings of glass paints onto cast or thick fused pieces of glass, many of which had been carved to substantial depth after the casting or fusing. It is very difficult to fire large cast pieces without cracking them, especially multiple times. Even the paint manufacturer did not know what to expect with multiple firings of their colors on blasted and carved surfaces.

All 3 artists were subject to strange moods and fits of mumbling during their experimentations. Flying blind gives a sense of exhilaration and discovery, but it also engenders random fear and emotional siezures that seem to come out of nowhere. This is subject to happening frequently in the middle of the night, when you wake up in a cold sweat, wondering if you really started the right program (of heating and cooling) on your kiln controller for the glass you have inside. Of course, if you didn't, the glass will probably explode in the kiln, ruining days or weeks of previous work. Sleep on that, if you can!