In my “Domestic Objects” series, I investigate the rise and fall of our country’s economy in the area known as the rust belt, in order to capture its history in glass. I like to think of my work as a time capsule that begins with a photograph or an antique that commences transformation into a larger than life glass icon. My work follows the path of a nearly extinct object that I might find at antique stores that may have become obsolete today. These objects become a recollection of the past bringing us to view how much we have changed as human beings and how much technology has transformed our world. My work highlights ordinary objects by incorporating sandblasted images from the local countryside on the glass’ surface. Objects like buttons, thimbles, oilcans, watering cans, and other domestic icons are my subjects. The silhouetted image on the oilcan series raises questions of how today we are faced with consequences from such environmental concerns. These images illustrate our vanishing heritage and portray the idea of built in obsolescence that is so commonplace today. I am interested in heritage and how our memories of childhood impact our lives. I recall the cornfields and cows that were spotted around my hometown and at the end of our street. My grandparents had a chicken house with very few chickens left and a barn with an old Pontiac convertible. Memories of lace, doilies, lacy curtains hanging in the windows, a piano, old ceramic dolls, and the train tracks out front, all of which are currently inspire my work. Most recently, I have been using vintage decals that I fire on to the glass by picking the work back up and firing it in the glory hole. This is a process that they used historically to fire enamels on to blown glass. I have been using these vintage ceramic decals because they are a quick way to adorn my glass with imagery that has a historical reference.