Residing on the Grand Lagoon, just a short walk to the Gulf of Mexico in Panama City Beach, much of my art is coastal-inspired. My portfolio features a sampling of my fused glass art and shard art paintings. I often post process photos and videos on my Instagram page. Contact me for availability of existing pieces and to work together to create custom glass art.
Marlene is unbelievably talented and a pleasure to work with. Her ability to manifest a simple idea into a gorgeous piece of art is truly inspiring.
~April Wilkes, Executive Director, The St. Joe Community Foundation
Custom Installations
An installation is a three-dimensional visual artwork, created for a specific place and designed to change the perception of space. When glass art is enhanced with custom lighting or placed near windows and/or near water, the light may change the viewer's perceptions of the glass art throughout the day.
Flying High. This installation of 17 kites hangs in an inset wall at the top of stairs. The artist designed the space, created the mold, and kiln formed each kite, fusing wire into each piece for the fused glass tails. The installation was designed to fit with the theme of the home, "Coastal, Calm, and Happy".
Waves of Glass. 24 - 9" x 11" fused glass waves ceiling installation.
Kiln-fired, then tack fused with textured embellishments, slumped over stainless wave mold. Inset with LED lighting. Placed near windows by the Grand Lagoon, beautiful reflections "dance" on the waves in the afternoons.
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These 3-D glass panels took three months to create with the warm glass processes of full fuse, cold-working, tack fuse, and slumping. Artist will work with owners, builders, architects, and decorators to create custom functional fused glass art. Waves, kites, and flowers are just two possibilities. Pieces are installed with special glue for attaching metal to glass.
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"Transformation" Public Art Installation, Revealed April 1, 2022, Center for the Arts, Panama City
Transformation is a permanent public art hanging installation. It measures 14' long and spans two floors. Transformation has 240 pieces of art glass suspended from a polished steel ring fabricated by Stephen Harman. Ten brilliant shades of purple, pink, and orange catch the rays of sunlight throughout the day, connecting colors with the butterfly mural of the exterior of the Center for the Arts building. Transformation symbolizes the energetic revitalization of downtown Panama City, the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly, as well as transformations in color that occur in the kiln-firing process. The piece also symbolizes transformations from brokenness and fiery struggles to individual and collective strength and healing.
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Sea Turtle Family, wall installation. Accented with wired LED picture lighting.
Fused Glass Kiln-Formed Wall Art
SOLD! Heron Feeding in Gator Lake
SOLD! Heron in the Dunes
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SOLD! Chillaxing Pelican
Save the Seahorse. For Sale at Foster Gallery, CAA Miramar Beach Creative Campus
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Pelican Party of 3 at Buoy No. 10
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Pelican Party of 4 at Buoy No 10
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SOLD! Waterfall Pentaptych.
Rain Triptych.
Dreaming of Spa Day. For Sale at Bluegreen's Spa, Panama City Beach
SOLD! Colors of the Gulf.
SOLD! Morning Walk
Yearling's First Spring
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Foghorn in the Distance
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Young Buck on a Frosty Morning
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SOLD! UNDER THE SEA: Blue Crab
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SOLD! UNDER THE SEA: Lined Seahorse
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SOLD! UNDER THE SEA: Loggerhead Sea Turtle
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SOLD! UNDER THE SEA: Dancing Octopus
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BUTTERFLY COLLECTION: Buckeye
BUTTERFLY COLLECTION: Swallowtail
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BUTTERFLY COLLECTION: Gulf Fritillary
BUTTERFLY COLLECTION: Monarch
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Fused Glass Kiln-Formed Sculptures: Bowls, Vessel Sinks, Vases, Candleholders
The seahorse is enhanced with fusible gold. Artist will drill standard drain hole with counter sink. Your plumber can attach your hardware.
Marlin fused glass bowl. 15". Design is etched and enhanced with mica. Eye is millifori.
Family Beach Day. Vessel sink was designed to include members of family. 15" fused glass with etched mica embellishments.
"Heron at St Andrews State Park" Vessel Sink
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Seahorse fused glass vessel sink. 17". Artist will make bowls or sinks in various shapes and designs to work with your colors and decor. Vessel sinks start at $1750. Pricing determined by thickness of glass and complexity of design.
Close up of marlin bowl shows the intricate details. Sheet glass, glass frit, millifori, thin glass stringers, etching, and mica powders were used in the design. The bowl is signed by artist.
Close up shows the depth (appx 3.5"). Sinks can be custom designed to match your countertops and color palette.
Vessel sink with geometric design and pattern bar flow slab technique
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Blue Crab bowl. 17" square x 4" deep. May be converted to a vessel sink.
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Close up of the blue crab. Artist designed with space for drain hole for potential conversion to a vessel sink.
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Coral Bowl. 11". Created with carefully arrange small pieces of glass. Lightweight and delicate. Beautiful in a wall installation arrangement of similar bowls
Strip construction technique. Vanilla and turquoise small bowl. 6".
Turquoise, Orange, and White Floral Bowl.
Hibiscus Bowl.
"Handkerchief" Vases/Candleholders |
Watery. A candleholder or vase. Fused glass layers, tack fused embellishments, then draped over a form.
Crackle technique used in heart-shaped bowls.
Sea Turtle Vessel Sink
"Oh Mahi, Take the Bait" Deep Bowl or may be drilled for a vessel sink.
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Fused Glass Busts
The mold for these busts were created from scratch. It is a process of shaping a fiber blanket over a form, firing to 1300 degrees, sanding and shaping, repeating, and refiring. Glass busts and other sculptures may be displayed on acrylic holders such as these or mounted to hardware and hung on the wall. The artist will also work with you and a metal artist to collaborate on designing a metal form for displaying pieces.
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Drop Vases
Drop cases are a complex process. First, a 12 mm thick slab of four or more layers are fused together at approximately 1470 degrees. After cooling the slab is elevated and suspended on top of a donut type mold. At approximately 1280 degrees the glass will begin to drop at a snails pace through the aperture in the mold. Some drops take about eight hours. The artist opens the kiln often (wearing protective gear) to check the depth of the drop, aiming to catch it and begin flash cooling just before the vessel touches the floor of the kiln shelf. After cooling, the rim is removed, and the vessel is coldworked with a series of diamond discs to sand and polish the edges and level the bottom of the vessel. Beautiful colors and designs are formed by the drop.
Seaglass Art
Bottles, vases, dishes are upcycled into art. Seaglass Christmas trees are popular in hombred shades of turquoise and blue, white, green, and even pink. The artist smashes used glass with a sledge hammer and tumbles it in a cement mixer for 24 hours. The result is beautiful faux smooth Seaglass with a perfect frosty finish.
Shard Art
Shard art blends the artist's love of painting and glass. Backgrounds are painted with acrylics using brushes, texture medium and palette knives, or acrylic pour-style painting. Then glass bottles, dishes, and vases are crushed and sorted by size and attached with glue as focal points. Fused glass embellishments are often included. The final touch is a coat of artist's resin, which gives pieces a shiny, watery look and creates depth. The resin secures the glass to the paintings.
Heron and Crab on Shell Island's Shore. Custom 5' w x 3' h shard art painting. Background painted with acrylic and medium modeling paste using palette knives. Heron, crab, and palms are smashed vases and bottles. Finished with artist's resin.
This young blue heron is made from a blue vase, crushed bottles, and glass stringers. A sledge hammer is used to crush the glass and then it is sorted by size using frit sifters. The larger pieces offer depth and dimension and is held permanently in place by the final coat of resin.
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When tiny pieces of glass are fired in the kiln, at nearly 1500 degrees, the small pieces form baubles, which may be used for eyes, like the red eyes of the crab.
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The transparent green palm fronds are from a tall vase broken by a kitten! Broken glass may be given new life! The palm tree base is a combination of sheet glass and a broken beer bottle.
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Wine bottles and beer bottles have new life as palm trees!
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Perseverance. A 6' w x 4' high custom piece for Ascension Sacred Heart Bay. It hangs in the hospital foyer. The glass used in the trees, butterflies, and sunflowers is from hospital windows that shattered in Hurricane Michael. The antennae are pine straw pieces that blew into the hospital. The rocks forming the path also blew in from the hospital's flower gardens.
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Mystery of the Broken Vase. 12" w x 16" high. Acrylic pour background with glass shards and embellishments, finished with artists' resin. For Mary Hong's contest, "I Can See Clearly Now" and on display in her gallery March through May 2020.
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Burrow Decor with Upcycled Glass. Acrylic pour background with glass shards and embellishments, finished with artists' resin. For Mary Hong's contest, "I Can See Clearly Now" and on display in her gallery March through May 2020.
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Pirate Ship at the Jetty. 12" wide by 24" high wood panel. Acrylic painting with glass and copper inclusions.
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Sapphire Seahorse. Acrylic pour background. Seahorse is made from a Bombay Sapphire Gin bottle, smashed into a fine powder. Accented with sheet glass, fused glass stringers, and fused glass baubles.
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Sailing in the Sparkling Sea. 30" x 40" shard art painting.
Catch Me if You Can. Made from fused upcycled Bombay Gin Bottle, acrylic paint, and artist resin on wood panel.
Fun, Functional Glass Art and Jewelry
Swizzle Sticks. Custom made in your colors. $30 for a set of four.
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Nightlights. Custom made fish, cats, dogs, seahorses, sea turtles, or whatever you can imagine! Prices start at $35.
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Some fused glass jewelry is available for purchase directly from the artist and is for sale at Panama City Center for the Arts Gift Shop. Artist will custom make pendants or earrings.
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