In this episode of the Painterly Life Podcast, host Shannon Grissom sits down with glass artist Caroline Masters for an inspiring conversation about creativity, experimentation, and resilience. Caroline shares how growing up in an artistic family shaped her creative identity and eventually led her to discover the transformative world of glass art.
Listeners will gain insight into the fundamentals of glass fusing, including the materials, techniques, and mindset required to work with this dynamic medium. Caroline also speaks candidly about the role of experimentation in artistic growth and how making art can become a powerful therapeutic practice during difficult seasons of life.
Throughout the episode, Caroline offers thoughtful encouragement for artists—highlighting the importance of valuing your work, trusting your creative instincts, and seeking out supportive community resources. This episode is a heartfelt reminder of how art can heal, connect, and evolve alongside us.
Perfect for artists, creatives, and anyone curious about the intersection of art and well-being.
TAKEAWAYS
- Caroline Masters was influenced by her artistic family background.
- Her childhood experiences in Cape Cod inspired her love for nature.
- She transitioned to glass art after discovering the studio glass movement.
- Fused glass is a relatively new medium compared to stained glass.
- Experimentation is key in glass art, allowing for unique creations.
- Understanding the chemistry of glass is crucial for successful fusing.
- Art can serve as a therapeutic outlet during challenging times.
- Building a business in art requires valuing one’s work appropriately.
- Community resources and workshops are essential for aspiring artists.
- Networking with other artists can enhance learning and creativity.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Igniting Creativity: Introduction to the Painterly Life Podcast
01:00 Caroline Masters: A Journey into Glass Art
03:34 From Childhood to Glass: The Evolution of an Artist
06:34 Understanding Glass: Techniques and Materials
09:51 Embracing Experimentation: The Art of Fusing Glass
17:15 Showcasing Glass Art: The Magic of Creation
21:36 Innovative Materials: Non-Traditional Components in Glass Art
26:03 Art as Therapy: Navigating Personal Challenges through Creativity
29:45 Transitioning to Professional Art: Building a Business in Glass
34:21 Connecting with the Community: Resources for Aspiring Artists
ABOUT CAROLINE
I was fortunate to grow up with a designer/architect mother and an engineer father, so creativity was everywhere and all the time – and quite expected! Making/creating/designing was second nature, and the natural world was endlessly fascinating – such as exploring the shells, rocks and especially the tidepools at the beach on Cape Cod as a child.
I have been insatiably curious for as long as I can remember. And I have rarely met an artistic medium or material that I didn’t want to experiment with. I love learning new processes and techniques and have always had a penchant for “pushing the envelope” in a variety of ways including technically, sometimes much to the consternation of workshop leaders!
Featured Artist Article in Artsy Shark
And then in 2013 I encountered Bullseye glass at a local art festival and a whole new world was revealed. Portland, OR based Bullseye Glass had only recently opened a resource center in Emeryville, CA and they were giving classes in fused glass techniques (also called kiln-formed glass.) And they were hosting workshops given by some truly exceptional visiting artists as well as providing open studio access to their excellent facility. I started to take full advantage, at least as much as possible while working full-time in a non-art business profession.
Glass as a medium is extraordinarily versatile and endlessly entrancing to work with. I work a lot with transparent glasses and the interplay of light within and through the pieces. I use many forms of glass – sheet, stringer, ribbon, rod, powder, frit (crushed glass), billet, pre-fused components – and then I add metals such as silver foil and copper, and even some components from the medical device industry!
Glass changes and transforms in amazing ways, often through multiple firings using the kiln and gravity to create dynamic flow and through other non-heat processes. Images of the different stages of this creative process enable an appreciation of what is happening and show (at least in part) “How I Made This!” And please note that so much is not evident in photographs of the glass pieces – even with very professional studio shots.
View Caroline’s ACGA Newsletter Interview Here
On a practical note, some of the Discs can be displayed vertically in a metal stand or as a small table with a metal or wood base as the photos indicate. In addition, the surfaces of some of the square Tables are modulated (look closely!) and they are intended to be reversible. Some of these design directions can certainly lend themselves to architectural glass projects and custom interior design applications. Happy to discuss potential projects!
Some have asked why I haven’t been showing and selling my work before now. Briefly, in 2016 I was preparing a body of work for juried art shows and then in early 2017 my wonderful, supportive and brilliant husband Christopher became very ill and our lives changed completely overnight. While maintaining a full-time job I worked to find and employ effective treatments and keep the western medical and insurance establishments at bay. My background in the medical device industry and in consultative sales helped here a great deal. After a valiant three-year battle Christopher transitioned in June of 2020…and words can’t adequately express how much I miss him.
CONNECT WITH CAROLINE
Website: https://CarolineMasters.com
WANNA PLAY WITH GLASS? Check out this link to a great Bullseye Glass starter set: https://amzn.to/45JflfY Or how about a kiln that works in your microwave? https://amzn.to/4qByGrw Note: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
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TRANSCRIPT
Shannon Grissom (00:05)
Hi, I’m Shannon Grissom. Are you looking to ignite your creativity? Or how about be inspired by a steady stream of muses? Welcome to Painterly Life, the podcast that celebrates those who create, inspire, and innovate. So whether you’re looking to spark your next big idea, reignite your passion, or simply soak in some creative energy,
This is the place for you. Painterly life, where every guest is a new muse, just for you.
Welcome to the Painterly Life podcast. I’m your host, Shannon Grissom. Today’s guest is fabulous glass artist, Caroline Masters. She is guided by curiosity and a love of experimentation. Caroline creates kiln-formed glass art that captures the movement of light, gravity, and transformation. They’re magical. Welcome, Caroline.
Caroline Masters (01:18)
Thank you, Shannon. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Shannon Grissom (01:21)
You know, you grew up with an architect, designer mother, and an engineer father. So how did that shape your creativity growing up?
Caroline Masters (01:34)
Well, I was always encouraged to do art, which was wonderful because I was into whether it was construction toys or figure paint or anything. And I had two brothers. So we all enjoyed doing that together. But basically, my father was a very talented engineer and inventor. So he had a workshop that we got to watch what he was doing. And my mother was actually the third woman to graduate from Harvard’s architecture and design school, which was highly unusual.
So, and she was an artist and designer and so there was always interesting things going on. So that just, to me it was just completely natural to be doing creative things. It wasn’t so much art, but just creative activities.
Shannon Grissom (02:22)
You know, it just sounds amazing and so empowering. I was thinking about you and growing up in the Cape Cod area, I know you were deeply influenced by the tide pools. I too have actually been deeply influenced by the Cape Cod painters. So tell me a little bit about that.
Caroline Masters (02:41)
Well, some of my earliest memories are being on this beautiful white sand beach and there were these rocky areas with the tide pools and starfish and all kinds of amazing things. And of course, we always tried to capture the minnows and the shallows, you know, with our nets, which they were almost faster than we were. ⁓ But that just, ⁓ I guess I was always a water baby, ⁓ you know, being
doing that and I swam like a fish from an early age.
Shannon Grissom (03:14)
you’re
experimental now. Did that start in early age as well? Did you always start playing with
Caroline Masters (03:20)
⁓
yes, whatever material I was introduced to, I would try. ⁓ I mean, I remember ⁓ doing things like linoleum carving when I was quite young. I even had a scar on my hand because I didn’t pay attention when you’re supposed to always have your hand behind where you’re. I learned that the hard way. And I remember in high school doing this construction that involved styrofoam and wood
dowels and cement. discovered how, how I was always trying to work large. ⁓ So yeah, and learning the limitations of certain materials.
Shannon Grissom (04:07)
So how did you make this transition from all the different things that you tried? How did you end up in glass?
Caroline Masters (04:16)
no,
that’s an interesting story. Actually, I didn’t know about the studio glass movement at all when I was in college and art school and later, ⁓ because that started late 60s, 70s, et cetera. ⁓ I was here in the San Francisco Bay Area and going to attending art festivals, weekend art fairs and things like that. And I had seen a piece, ⁓ a slumped glass rectangular tray
at a woman’s booth and that had this beautiful dark blue sort of ⁓ veils ⁓ on over clear in the center of the piece. asked her, what’s that? And she said Bullseye And I said, what’s Bullseye? And it turns out that Bullseye Glass which was started by three hippie glass artists in the 1970s up in Portland, Oregon. ⁓ They, they, and they were going strong. And so it’s their material.
that she said, and they had just opened a resource center here in the Bay Area in Emeryville the year before. So that enabled me to start taking workshops and classes, which I did, you know, I took like 20 workshops and classes in the next three years, between 2014 and 2016.
So when I get into something, I really get into it.
Shannon Grissom (05:47)
How could you not? so you work with a number of glass forms. I don’t know anything about glass. Can you tell us about that?
Caroline Masters (05:58)
⁓ okay, yes.
⁓ Most people are familiar with glass from stained glass, because stained glass, like stained glass windows in churches, et cetera, that’s been going on for over a thousand years. ⁓ With fused glass, which is relatively new, maybe 30 to 40 years, ⁓ because the reason why you have stained glass with letting in between the colors and then painting on the glass for the images is because people
had been trying for a thousand years to put the different colors of glass, which have different chemistries and different coefficient of expansion, to put those all together in a kiln, heat it up and melt it and not have it explode. Okay. So they’ve been trying to do this for a thousand years and it was, it took really the Bullseye gang.
through a lot of experiments and trial and error to figure out how to do this. Basically, being able to put all these colors together and fuse it in a kiln and have it be stable is a relatively new phenomenon. So it’s actually a growing medium. And I love it because I trained as a sculptor, sculpture, printmaking, drawing.
These three-dimensional constructions I create that melt down to make the disks is really part of a whole three-dimensional sculptural process, even though what I end up with is not as thick. But there’s, and I’ve also been studying with the international glass artist Narcissus Quagliata, and he has an online community is created because he started going online during the pandemic like so many people did.
and was very successful in putting courses together to pass on his 50-year knowledge of glass. And he started in stained glass, because there was no fused glass when he started in glass. And then he worked with Bullseye, actually, in the 80s and 90s in helping them develop the different materials. Now, you asked about the different forms. There’s sheet.
And then they crush the glass to make different sizes of what’s called frit, which is basically crushed glass. And then they have a powder form, which you have to wear a respiratory mask. Definitely when you’re working with this, you do not want to breathe in glass powder. It’s not a good thing. So you to be careful. But the powders, you can actually draw and do amazing things with the powders. And then there are rods, which are
⁓ thicker and then stringers which are thinner in different widths and then ⁓ those are the and billets. Billets are like three quarters of an inch thick so like a rectangular thing so I cut those up and use them as pillars support in these wedding cake type
constructions that I create that meltdown. So I’m using all these forms of glass and throwing in things like silver foil to get these silver elements ⁓ in the pieces as well. So it’s, I actually use, think pretty much all the different forms of Bullseye. Okay, that’s the other thing. I’m only using Bullseye glass because the,
the COE of their materials. Their materials are all designed to work together so that they have an R &D department and education department. So they’re making sure all the batches of glass that they provide are guaranteed to be within a certain range and so that they will work well with the other glasses. So I know when I put something in a kiln, it’s not gonna explode, at least not for that reason.
Shannon Grissom (09:56)
Yeah, I was wondering if you chose things based on chemical composition in addition to the aesthetic value of what you’re working on.
Caroline Masters (10:06)
Yes, I mean there are certain glasses ⁓ that have different chemical properties. For instance, there’s the sulfur glasses and the copper glasses and then lead-based ones. And there’s certain ones like ⁓ the copper and sulfur, like copper tend to be the blues. ⁓
blues and purples and the sulfur or the the yellow reds and oranges and some of the greens. And when you combine certain ones of those together and they touch each other in the kiln, they actually react and they cause other colors. So and you don’t know ahead of time exactly what it’s going to do. So it’s always amazing. It’s like, you know, baking when you really don’t know if it’s going to work or not.
Shannon Grissom (10:45)
Cool.
Wow, fun. So how do you embrace, know, I started off as a super control freak on my, when I was, my first started painting. I’m totally loosened up since then, but how do you work with or you just have to offer it up that you can’t control it?
Caroline Masters (11:24)
⁓ Well, yeah, I again, because of my art training and background, I know a lot about the color wheel and complementary and contrasting colors and that. And I’ve been working with the Bullseye glasses for long enough so that and they have created their own color wheel in recent years so that you can actually have a wheel that is using their exact colors. I mean, as far as you can translate from three dimensional and into a two dimensional form. So you can you can plan.
⁓ Sometimes I will use secondary colors like will use green, orange, and purple violet. ⁓ So I start with that kind of a setup or I like working a lot with blues and aquas and greens and throwing in white and silver.
So I have color ways that I’m using from my background. And in design, I often like to use tripartite symmetry, which is three. So I will do something where I have. And now this is all in the constructions. When it melts down, a lot of changes happen in the disk process. I I also do other things like I’ve started doing portraiture in glass, where you can actually paint.
with these glass enamels and the glass enamels are very finely crushed glass with a binder so you’re using these these beautiful long tail brushes and you’re you’re painting with that and then it’s being fused in the kiln. Whoa!
Shannon Grissom (13:03)
and super cool.
Caroline Masters (13:07)
So I gave
you one of the images of the lady in blue. you can combine imagery that you have painted with all these wonderful colors of glass.
Shannon Grissom (13:22)
Yeah, that just opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
Caroline Masters (13:26)
It does, and I’ve only
just started experimenting with it. ⁓ and yeah, it’s an amazing, so there’s so many different things you can do. I mean, glass, I’m doing primarily fusing, but for your audience to understand, there is…
cold glass, is basically stained glass, where you’re not heating up anything, but you’re using leading between the glass. There’s fused glass or kiln glass, which is also called warm glass, because you’re putting it in a kiln at around 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. I mean, it can be a little higher or lower depending on what you’re doing. And then there’s hot glass. People know the show, Blown Away. Oh, yeah. And people, that’s how a lot of people know about glass these days.
That’s you’re using ⁓ your blowing glass and it’s much hotter, you 2,200 degrees. And with that, that’s a team sport and you have to keep moving all the time and putting it in and out of ⁓ the glory hole to keep it hot while you’re working it and then you have to anneal it afterwards. But what I like about kiln glass, which I’m doing,
putting things in a kiln, I can do it myself. I can be in the middle of a project and I can say, well, I’m not really sure what I want to do next. And I can walk away and come back later and complete it. If you’re doing hot glass or flame working, which is making beads and things where you’re working with a flame, you have to keep going. You can’t say, I’m not sure what I want to do next. Yeah.
Shannon Grissom (15:09)
I would say some of that is I think about lifestyle or just your situation at home whether you have time in the studio where you can go in and not be disturbed you would be better you would be able to work with that type of scenario. ⁓ Somebody like me that has limited time to put into different things it would be better to it would be the kiln is doable for me so that’s
Caroline Masters (15:36)
Absolutely. people can have, for instance, I have a relatively small kiln at home. Paragon Ventstuk 16, basically it runs on household current. So it’s only 16 by 16 inches by six inches deep on the inside. So I can do things up to like 10 by 12, 13 by 13 inches flat in there.
All my major pieces, my tables and disks and the large shallow bowls, I do those at the Bullseye Studio, their resource center, which is now in Alameda, because they have all the larger kilns and they have the cold working shop because you have to polish everything afterwards if you’re,
of a process that involves that. And they of course have all the supplies there. So if I run out of anything, I can get it right there. ⁓ And it’s a very smart business model. They have several resources centers around the country because you’re not only purchasing their material, but once you’ve taken classes with them, then you can use what they call open studios. And I have a frequent user card with them. So they’re enabling people to actually get involved.
and use this before purchasing equipment and things at home. But without their resource center and the classes and visiting artists workshops that I did ⁓ several years ago, I wouldn’t be doing glass. Because it’s the access to, it’s not the capability, the access to the tools and equipment and the teaching.
And I found that in workshops, you learn as much from the other students as you do from the teacher, which is why I love taking workshops.
Shannon Grissom (17:24)
I was
thinking that it has to be a tremendous sense of community, even just going down there and working on your own pieces, meeting with the other artists, seeing what they’re doing, you know, on top of all the workshops. mean, what a great experience. I mean, you’re lucky to have. So how many, how many facilities do they have across the
Caroline Masters (17:45)
⁓ They
have five. ⁓ So, of course, in Portland, Oregon, where their factory is. And I got to, I took a trip on vacation in August and went up to Oregon. So I got a tour of the factory and met with some of my glass friends up there. It was really quite amazing. ⁓ And they are open for, to the public, you have to reserve a spot, but to do a tour, which is quite an amazing situation. ⁓ And they’re here in the Bay Area.
down in Pasadena in Southern California and Santa Fe and just outside of New York City ⁓ as well. But they serve glass artists around the world. Yeah. But I recommend if people want to try out glass, find in their area there are glass studios all over the country that give classes, both introductory classes and more.
advanced, take an introductory class. mean, there’s even weekend, you know, just evening situations or an afternoon situation on a weekend, on a weekend, where you can try it out where they do all the heavy lifting for you, or you can make a plate or you can make something fun. ⁓ At Bullseye, allow people, they make little snowflakes with the Frit. So it’s there’s ways of experimenting and trying it out and seeing if you if you like it.
And it’s really a growing ⁓ field, I think. ⁓
Shannon Grissom (19:14)
Well, I want to play now. So, you know, you,
we’ve talked and you mentioned that photographs and even some video doesn’t really capture the magic of your pieces. Can you show, do you have any?
Caroline Masters (19:31)
Yes, well here to give you an idea, this is a piece and it, don’t know, this is about 16 inches. This is kind of egg-shaped because I actually it was thicker and then I put it back in the kiln and let it melt to a larger shape. Glass. ⁓
it wants to be six millimeters thick, which is about a quarter inch. So this is a little bit of the science. If you just put some chunks of glass in the kiln and heat it to full fuse, it will flow out to it. So it’s a quarter inch thick. And that’s what it wants to do. If you want it to be thicker, as many of my pieces are, you have to put dams around it to contain it, because it’s going to get like molasses or honey.
at the temperatures you’re fusing and it’s just gonna flow and it’ll flow all over the place if you don’t contain it. But at six mil it will do this. So this is my process. This was actually the original piece was done in my little kiln ⁓ at home and then I floated out at Bullseye. But you can see that is real silver in there because silver foil I discovered.
when you sandwich it between sheets of glass and then it’s the glass will flow and the silver breaks apart in what I call silver rain. So I discovered that in a class early on and then I’ve been experimenting with it ever since. So that’s fun. And then there are this piece and you can see there is actually no black in this piece. That is all reaction.
between the turquoise, you can see the turquoise color, turquoise which is a copper, a copper bearing glass, and I believe I had ⁓ something called a reactive ice. There are some glasses that Bullseye has that it looks clear or white and they will react with the copper glasses. So this was a piece that was first fused flat.
And then I slumped it over a form to make this shape. And I just had a lot of fun. And this was actually a multiple process. It was fused into a block, then it was cut up into chunks, and then all the chunks were arranged in a circle. And then I fused it flat. So it’s a little bit complicated. But I just wanted to show this as the…
⁓ what you can do ⁓ with the piece. And here’s just a little piece to see ⁓ these little circles were something called vitrograph. You can have a small kiln that’s held up, that’s up high with a pot of hot glass in it with a hole in the center and you pull the glass down.
and you make something called Murrini And these were little cut sections and then arranged together and fused. I’m sorry if that’s, I hope it’s not too complicated.
Shannon Grissom (22:48)
I
was thinking back to the one with the form. What’s the material you put in the kiln that can withstand that? What kind of form?
Caroline Masters (22:57)
⁓
this, well, there are ceramic molds, ceramic slumping molds. ⁓ So that’s one thing you can use. There’s also, you can use something, a stainless steel mesh. This was done with the wavy form, putting some ceramic pieces for the structure and then bending this stainless steel, very fine stainless steel mesh over it.
in this form and then it slumped over it. So the stainless steel of course withstands much hotter temperatures in the glass. And ceramics, like many people don’t realize, when you’re firing ceramics, know, clay things, you’re often going to much higher temperatures, 1800, 2000, 2200 degrees, and a full fuse of Bullseye glass is only around 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. Oh, okay.
Shannon Grissom (23:57)
a lot of that can withstand that. I know you’ve you’ve experimented with some non-traditional ⁓ components in your work. I love how you’re always pushing it. You you’re always experimenting and trying. So tell me about some of these non-traditional components that end up in your
Caroline Masters (23:59)
yes.
Okay, I have a background in the medical device industry. I mean, I’ve always been been working in some form of consultative sales business business consultative sales. So because I had experience in medical device, and I ⁓ not that long ago was in custom us manufacturing, so I was going to trade shows, like medical device trade shows. There are manufactured components in like copper.
and they stamp them out so they’re thin and they use these in the manufacture of medical devices. And many of the companies that would be on the show floor at a ⁓ conference and trade show would have samples.
So I would now I knew that I couldn’t use mixed metals because of the outgassing in the kiln. So if something was pure copper and I’m sorry I have it in the other room sorry. But ⁓ you can you can use like other artists use copper sheet that they cut up and fuse into the glass.
and make images of animals and different things that can be very beautiful, like a trout in copper fused into the glass. But I use some of these pieces from the medical device that had very interesting, like filigree, and cut them up and incorporate them.
So, so long as it was pure copper or pure silver, etc. Because with with some of the mixed metals, ⁓ you don’t know how it’s going to out gas in the kiln and you don’t want to do anything that is that is dangerous. ⁓ So that’s why and you and also you can put organic material I’ve just started doing experiments because I’ve learned about this. You can take things like leaves and other organic material.
they will burn out, but they will leave a trace of what they were. ⁓ Exactly. So there’s amazing things you can do. So you can try and you can use different metal meshes. So like screen, pieces of screen. But I like the idea of using organic materials.
Shannon Grissom (26:23)
Like a five.
Caroline Masters (26:41)
and sandwiching them. Now, if you just put them in the kiln with no glass over it, they’ll just vape, they’ll disintegrate completely. But if you sandwich them, and people could do this at home, actually, if they had a kiln, you can do it with what we call float glass, which is window glass. So you can use plain glass and just, there’s an artist that I was introduced to in the last year.
⁓ working in South America, only uses because where she’s located, it’s very expensive to get things like Bullseye Glass She uses all window glass and does these layers with all these different materials in the glass. And so it’s absolutely fascinating what you can do.
Shannon Grissom (27:26)
I was thinking it might be, unless you knew the source of your window glass, could be a problem.
Caroline Masters (27:35)
Yeah, that you would have to look, I mean, you wouldn’t want to use safety glass because that has something else laminated in between. ⁓ But just plain what they call float glass because it’s the way it’s manufactured. It’s floated on a
Liquid metal surface I think to make it really clear but regular window glass is is quite inexpensive and so long as you fuse it to each other That’s one of the things I in my work I only use Bullseye Glass with Bullseye Glass because I know it’s Compatible what they call compatible. I wouldn’t want and that is CoA which is coefficient of expansion 90 Whereas there are other glasses that people use that are coefficient of
expansion 96 or 104 and you don’t want to mix different suppliers, different coefficient expansions together because that’s when you can have explosions in the kiln, you can have things break, you can have all kinds of unusual things happen when it’s not compatible.
Shannon Grissom (28:40)
That makes sense. You I’m inspired by you’ve had tremendous personal challenges in your life, yet you still create through your husband’s illness and passing. How has that shaped your work? And if you could maybe speak to that to others who are going through some challenging times and still trying to create, navigate all that.
Caroline Masters (29:08)
It was very difficult because of course I was working full-time at the same time. What I would recommend, even if you can just sketch, I keep sketchbooks all around. I’m sorry, didn’t. It’s in the other room. But just doodling, just sketching what’s around you or just sketching abstractions.
I find that to keep yourself doing ⁓ creative activities and then when you can schedule the time for yourself to do a project or to do something, whether it’s painting or with glass or other materials, and I do work in a number of other materials besides glass, I would say you need to keep nourishing yourself with whatever else is going on in your life.
Like I just did and I’ve sent you the pictures, ⁓ two new discs over the Thanksgiving holiday the week and one of which is a 20 inch diameter, ⁓ temporarily called ⁓ Red Orange Flame, which ⁓ I designed to be a tabletop because I do tabletops. So it’s over a half inch thick and it’s 20 inches in diameter. ⁓ schedule the time.
to be creative, to do projects. And when you can’t, just keep sketch pads around and do something. That I find is, it’s like meditation. If you schedule a little bit of meditation in your day, that can be tremendously beneficial.
Shannon Grissom (30:53)
Well, and I know that, you know, once things started to calm down a little bit, you, started to get your work out there and do shows. How did you make that transition from not to doing again?
Caroline Masters (31:06)
Well,
the interesting thing was in 2016, which was the year before my husband became ill, I was actually then preparing to start showing my work. Because a friend of ours had seen the first tabletop that I had done. And I’d actually done it in a workshop at Bulls Eye. But I had three layers of color.
with clear in between so the tabletop was actually an inch thick, about 15 by 18 inches, it’s on my website, ⁓ and it weighed 25 pounds. But that tabletop when I showed it to Kathy, she looked at it said, you know, she’s here in the Bay Area, she said, ⁓
a high-end interior designer will pay five or $10,000 for that. And I looked and I said, really? And so that got me thinking because I hadn’t really, I’ve been more interested in just exploring all the different ways you could use glass and taking workshops with visiting artists and different things. And at that point I started thinking about it and I was just getting ready to apply to shows.
And then I had the company I was with for a long time was purchased by another company. So there was a transition there. And then unfortunately, my wonderful husband, Christopher, became seriously ill in early 2017. So basically a lot of things got postponed. And after he passed in 2020, it was during, it was in the beginning of the pandemic.
And ⁓ I started looking around and saying, well, maybe I could make a business out of this. So see how we can look at that. And I was looking to move into another, for my day job, work into, to ⁓ go into a different field, which I ended up doing. But.
Then I really started looking into, well, where do you want to show things? And with Glass, I discovered you really need people to see it in person.
And just this last summer in 2025, I was in four juried art festivals here in the San Francisco Bay area, and I sold several of my signature pieces, which are my discs and tables, and a number of the slumped pieces, which are more functional work that I make as well, yes.
So, thank you, thank you. was given that they sell for several thousand dollars a piece. was because it doesn’t make a business. I discovered again, with my business background, I realized you, there are some artists who either they’re retired or they don’t really need to make a business out of it. They’re just looking to cover their costs of the materials. But I really encourage people to really price your work.
Shannon Grissom (33:47)
Thank
Caroline Masters (34:16)
⁓ that values you as an artist, that values the work and the vision and the creativity that you put into it. That’s really important to educate the art flying public ⁓ and to make sure that it is valued the way it should be.
Shannon Grissom (34:40)
Yes. Yes. I’m with you, sister. Wow. If somebody, you talked about how to get started if somebody ⁓ didn’t have ⁓ them in the area, but there are places that they can go. Are there small kilns that people can buy for, you
Caroline Masters (34:43)
You
yes, yes,
definitely and ⁓ it still will cost over a thousand dollars for a good small count but there are also when you learn about this you can also get used equipment. You don’t have to buy new.
⁓ I hear from friends about, know, that they, again, they’re people who, ⁓ they are closing their studio or they’re whatever, or they’re moving and, you know, just look around at the various sites where you buy, use things, you know, whether it’s eBay or elsewhere. ⁓ And so there’s that capability, but you basically want to take classes or take workshops to find out if this is something you enjoy doing.
⁓ And very often the glass studios that give workshops, they also do what Bullseye does, which is open studios. So you can work on your own projects and fire them in their kilns and use their cold working shop. So you don’t have to have the equipment at home. ⁓ You can do it at their facilities. ⁓ And there’s lots of them all around the country. Just look up.
glass studio or fused glass art. ⁓ you’ll find who the and also go to art open studios in your area. I know here in the Bay Area, we have multiple times a year in different areas of the Bay Area, they have open studios. So you can visit other artists and ask them, you know, do you have kilns at home? Where do you where do you work? How did you learn?
and just see what your local resources are. and oftentimes there will be people that have kilns at home and maybe they’ll be willing to share. ⁓ will, you know, so the community, okay, I’ve been studying, I mentioned with Narcissus Quagliata, who’s an amazing, he’s in his early 80s, still going strong. And he started teaching online during the pandemic.
His daughter, one of his daughters happens to be an ⁓ internationally known documentary filmmaker. So she filmed a lot of his experiments and everything for the courses. But he wanted to transmit his knowledge of glass and glass art and fused glass particularly ⁓ to others. And he did that. And he also, once he completed this six courses that a number of us took.
he wanted, we all wanted to have a community. So he created an online community, which we have a Facebook group and we have ⁓ coaches, it’s all by subscription, is coaches, and we meet several times a week. It’s all recorded. So if you can’t attend live, but Q &A. So basically he’s created an extraordinary community online. But so I encourage people to look for their local art.
leagues, art associations, and see who’s giving workshops so that you can experiment.
Shannon Grissom (38:19)
Yeah, the local art organizations are a fantastic resource as our arts councils for various counties. So yes, I would encourage people to do that as well. wow, I’m totally inspired. Want to go find some things where I can go play. So how can people find you online? Where will they find you?
Caroline Masters (38:38)
My website is carolinemasters.com, so just myname.com. A lot of my glasswork is there and of course how to contact me. ⁓ You can of course sign up for my newsletter. I occasionally send out a newsletter talking about new work and where I’ll be showing. ⁓ That’s there.
I’m also on Instagram and Facebook and the links are on my website to that. I haven’t been as active as I’d like. Again, it all takes time to be active and I found I’m very active in the private glass groups and things that I’m in. But, ⁓ and I will be posting more on Instagram and Facebook.
Shannon Grissom (39:27)
You can only do so much. so I focus my efforts where I can and then you got to let the rest go.
Caroline Masters (39:35)
Exactly, and I know you’re dealing with some difficult challenges as well. as they say, ⁓ life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. ⁓
Shannon Grissom (39:51)
Totally. Well, this is another wrap of the Painterly Life podcast. Thank you, Caroline. I really am inspired. want to go take a class. And I know we’ve got a fused glass artist in our local art group. So I will check in with her. ⁓
Caroline Masters (40:01)
Good.
Definitely
do that because she’ll know all the resources.
Shannon Grissom (40:12)
fun.
Well thanks for tuning in everybody. Please be sure to like, subscribe, and share so that I can bring more inspiration to you. That’s a wrap. We’ll see you next time.
Caroline Masters (40:26)
you