‘Passion quest’ drives this Clear Lake artist

Work of Chris White Rozendaal featured at Saturday’s Art Sail

For artist Chris White Rozendaal, it’s all about the process.  
    The mosaic and fused glass artist who has been chosen as this year’s featured artist at the Art Sail, said it’s the process that is fueling a whole new career in the second half of her life.

    “I won a couple of art scholarships back in my school days, but I was afraid to use them,” she said.  Instead, she pursued a career as a speech pathologist.  And while she clearly cherishes her work with preschool students, done now on a part-time basis for the Area Education Agency, she is energized by her relatively new-found love.
    It was only about eight years ago when Chris reluctantly enrolled in a stained glass class taught by local craftsman John Larsen.  As an art glass collector for several years, she appreciated the art form, but wasn’t inspired to continue the work.  Next was a bead-making class, which she stepped into only because they needed one more student for the course. 
    “As soon as I turned the torch on, I was hooked.  But I didn’t care about the beads-- it was all about the process,” laughed Chris. 
    She built upon the glass cutting skills learned from Larsen and has traveled all over the country seeking knowledge and inspiration to create one-of-a-kind pieces ranging from jewelry to framed artwork and functional household pieces. 
    She followed up her early introduction to bead-making by searching on-line for other things to do with glass.  Her search led her to enroll in a class held in Tennessee.  Surrounded by other artists, she says the class sparked her interest even more. 
    “They had to kick me out (of the studio) at midnight at the first class.  Time just left me.  I was so immersed in the craft,” said Chris. 
    There, and in several other classes taken throughout the country, she learned to fuse the glass and incorporate a wide variety of elements of nature into her contemporary designs.   Stones, shells, clay, turquoise, agates and colored glass are examples of materials she might incorporate into a -Read More Via e-Edition