As a 5 year old, I should have seen my destiny as an artist when I took my neighbor's driveway shells, decorated them with crayons, and sold them back to her as "handpainted" home decor. It took nearly 50 years to come to that realization. After 30 years of teaching and encouraging my gifted and talented students to face their fears of failure and meet creativity head-on, I retired. It was time to practice what I had preached for all of those years. I have always been one to see potential when others may overlook it. For all those years as a teacher, I had seen it in my students. Outside of school, it might have been in a piece of junk I saw beside the road or in a thrift store, or even in a house that had seen its better days. "It has potential" became my slogan. Many times, that slogan was a little scary to my husband, especially when it was referring to a rundown beach shack that we have since purchased! That project may have been the turning point for him...He now has confidence in my ability to see what things can become rather than what they are. Combining my love of inspirational quotations and my ability to see potential with a desire to paint, Quotentials was born as a decorative painting adventure. As a decorative painter, I painted murals and quotations to my heart's content. Eventually, I became enamored with warmglass arts, so now my time is spent in my glass studio (aka my garage). Each Quotentials fused glass jewelry or home accessory piece is the result of multiple steps that lead to a truly unique work of art. All of my fused glass art is comprised of layers of glass that have been heated at a controlled rate of temperature increase until it softens, becomes more fluid, and fuses together at approximately 1500°. It must then be cooled properly, or annealed, to achieve a unified, unbroken piece of glass. Often, the shape of the glass must also be manipulated while it is in the kiln. This is actually a process called slumping and it occurs when the temperature in the kiln is around 1200° to 1300°. During slumping a ceramic or stainless steel form is used to cause the glass to take the shape of the mold, which is often a bowl or plate. While still enjoying painting and creating unique environments, this rather old "budding artist" is now applying her knowledge of color and design to a new passion, fused glass, creating one of a kind pieces for those who want something uniquely their own.