Project Description
CLAIRE FOLSTAD
Claire Folstad has loved glass for a long time. When travelling, she used to gaze at church stained glass with longing. She took some classes when she found the time. But back when her restaurant business took up all of her attention, she found mosaic work to be fussy, and other glasswork required too much patience.
“My time was not my own back then,” she says, “but every time I would stop, glass was present in some form. I seemed to be surrounding myself with it more and more. It always caught my eye and made me be present.”
The Sunshine Coast caught Claire’s eye too, largely because of its vibrant arts community. When she sold her business and moved here, she set off on a creative journey. Knowing that she wanted to work differently, and with no more than an inner glimmer of where she was headed, she began to dabble.
“I began very small [with] a tiny little hobby kiln in which I would play and experiment. I knew what I wanted but not how to create it, how to manipulate the glass, capture the light.”
Glasswork can be powerfully transformative. That’s what fire does. This excites Claire: “I take these plain sheets of glass . . . lifeless . . . break them down into tiny pieces, then fire them back together into something vibrant and alive.”
And her work is full of life! Splashy, vibrant, exuberant, delicate, so beautiful that there’s a hint of sadness. She feels that each piece has a story, tells a story. And she has been slowly moving her practice away from being bound by function to more purely for art.
“So now, practical function is not the top priority. I am learning to let go of control. I am finding beauty in the imperfections. It is very satisfying.”
Claire’s work has an organic kind of vibrancy, and she is learning what the glass needs from her. “I love a flow, a continuity. It is freedom to me. Also it is necessary to help the glass glow to its best potential. I started creating more sculptural pieces, art pieces, just letting the emotions flow from my hands and heart.”