Kathy Oda
Hindsight tells me that my teens were a time of being young and silly. I used my 20’s to take chances and make mistakes without always being aware of the consequences. My 30’s were to understand the long-ranging consequences of my actions, take calculated risks and to “find myself”. My 40’s were a time to relish in making mistakes, redefine the rules and to truly enjoy who I am. My 50’s are turning out to be a thoroughly enjoyable journey..
As part of my self-discovery years, I dabbled in various artistic endeavors but nothing stuck. And then I took a glass blowing class and fell in love. The heat, the technique, learning the properties of glass captured my imagination. For me, glass was and still is, extremely sensuous. The way you can manipulate it but still respect the properties of glass just fascinates me. I blew glass for a while but at the time, setting up a studio at home was out of the question so I turned to kiln-formed glass. And let’s face it… I was not very good…
I found a mentor in Denver and started to hone my technique. Over the last 20+ years, as I moved to Charlotte and then settled in Beaufort, I’ve worked at growing my craft and thoroughly enjoying myself as part of the journey. Because above all else, it has to be fun!
Working with glass has fired my imagination to the point that I dream in color and patterns. I’m also mightily inspired by my surroundings and my work also has a botanical theme with monoprinted leaf prints in most of my glasswork.
I’m in a growth period now and branching out in a new direction. Super steep learning curve but having a lot of fun!
I love what I do and am passionate about the current direction of my work. I hope you enjoy it as well!
