For the past 4 years, Norm and Ruth Dobbins have been collaborating with internationally recognized artist Judy Chicago to create new expressions of Judy's work in glass. That effort came to fruition in their first showing, at LewAllen Contemporary gallery in Santa Fe from November 3 through December 31, 2006.

The show featured over 30 works that include glass that has been fused in multiple color layers, then carved, painted and fired in a kiln as well as glass that has been cast, then carved, painted and fired. The show was a great success, and over 1000 people viewed it on opening night. Several major pieces were sold over the course of the show and afterwards, to prominent collectors and museums.

There have been many articles written about the glasswork and the show gained worldwide attention. Some of these articles are included here in this website, under 'articles' on the left navigation bar.

The focus of the glass in the show was gesture, and how emotion and meaning can be conveyed through simple gestures. Hands are used as the conveyors of the gestures and most of the finished pieces are hands in one form or another. Glass is the primary medium because its transparency or translucence allows you to see what is under the surface of the "skin". This allows the artist to convey meaning both through the gesture itself and what she allows you to see under the skin.

The pieces in the show are the result of 4 years of experimentation and pushing the limits of how glass has been used in the past. This applies both to the painting and firing techniques used by Judy and Ruth and to the carving techniques employed by Norm to create the shapes for painting.

Judy is well known for expressing her art through projects in a wide variety of media besides painting. The Dinner Party, the project that catapulted her to international recognition in the late 1970's, featured ceramic plates, Later works included quilts, bronzes and pyrotechnics. She included a large stained glass installation in her Holocaust Project several years ago.

The installation, Rainbow Shabbat, was 4 1/2 feet high by 16 feet wide. The glass painting on the installation was created for the project by well known stained glass artist Dorothy Maddy, prior to Maddy's passing in 1991. This installation will also be a part of the show at the Lewallen gallery.