NTXIF 2024

Artisan, inventor fuse marriage, creativity

by | May 20, 2021 | Life & Style

Sue Darte blames her daugh­ter and a jewelry making class she took nine years ago for ig­niting a passion for the art of fusing glass.

“A retail glass company had a Groupon coupon and I brought my daughter-in-law with me to make two pieces of jewelry,” Sue said.

In the class, Sue and the oth­ers learned how to make jewelry using dichroic glass, a multicol­ored glass used primarily by glass fusers to make jewelry and fused glass art.

“I gave a piece to my daugh­ter who said she needed me to make more because a lot of peo­ple wanted to buy it,” she said.

The class proved to be the catalyst for a second career as a glass artist for Sue, who at the time, was networking executive for Hewlett Packard near Hous­ton. She started making jewelry, using the glass company’s kiln for a year until she was ready to take the next step and bought her first small kiln.

“They (kilns) are very ex­pensive and depending on the type, you have to be sure that your house is wired for the right plugs,” she said.

Kiln prices can vary from $700 for a tabletop kiln used to make jewelry and smaller items to over $6,000 for a larger, free­standing kiln.

Sue set up shop in a small portion of her garage in her Deer Park home. Her workspace was created using tables purchased at Harbor Freight that her hus­band Brad turned into a 5 sq. ft. workbench with a power strip.

“I had limited space in my Deer Park garage, so I couldn’t purchase much,” she said.

After the couple moved to Farmersville in 2015, Sue had an entire garage to herself to use as her workspace. She ac­cumulated three more kilns. One, a coffin kiln called Levi, was previously owned by a man who made swords. The bigger kiln allows Sue to make bigger items, yet at the same time she said it can heat up the garage to as high as 115 degrees Fahren­heit during the summer.

For the full story, see the May 20 issue or subscribe online.

By Sonia Duggan[email protected]

Photos online

0 Comments

Public Notice - Subscribe

Related News

Looking for luxury: Top features homebuyers seek

Looking for luxury: Top features homebuyers seek

The real estate market has been something of a roller coaster ride over the past few years. Historically low interest rates coupled with a surging interest to move to communities with more outdoor space during the height of the pandemic led to a lot of movement and...

read more
Plan the perfect honeymoon

Plan the perfect honeymoon

After a whirlwind of wedding festivities, it’s no wonder why so many couples look forward to their honeymoons and the opportunity to escape, unwind and celebrate the beginning of their life together. But with so many destinations, activities and logistics to consider,...

read more
Wylie Historical Society hosts vintage fashion show

Wylie Historical Society hosts vintage fashion show

It was a fashionable affair for those in attendance at the Wylie Historical Society’s first Vintage Fashion Show fundraiser. The event was held Saturday, Jan. 27, at St. Anthony Catholic Church and included a catered box lunch. Attendees from as far away as Wichita...

read more
Wine and dessert pairings

Wine and dessert pairings

Choosing the right wine to accompany desserts or other foods, the secret is to think of wine as an ingredient that will add a new flavor profile. According to wine experts, the secret is to think of wine as an ingredient that will add a new flavor profile. When it...

read more
Get motivated, back on exercise track

Get motivated, back on exercise track

Social activity helps seniors when it comes to exercise Overcoming the lack of motivation to exercise is a common challenge, affecting people of all ages, including seniors. Recent studies are a testament to that difficulty. In a 2021 survey from the global fitness...

read more
Smart travel for seniors

Smart travel for seniors

Having made it to their golden years, many seniors have the extra time to devote to recreational pursuits, but it often comes with a limited budget. Instead, seniors can arm themselves with their earned wisdom and discover the multiple travel perks that come with...

read more
Best of 2024 balloting is underway

Best of 2024 balloting is underway

Shop local. Eat local. Drink local. Now cast your ballot and vote local. Voting for the annual Best of Murphy 2024 contest is now open and will continue until Feb. 2. Whether you’ve lived in the area for one year or 10 years, we know you’ve cultivated a list of...

read more
Is soup the ultimate  cold medicine

Is soup the ultimate cold medicine

Having a cold is not fun. A stuffy nose, sniffles, sore throat, and other symptoms make having a cold a generally unpleasant experience. According to data collected by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, the average con-sumer shops for over-the counter...

read more
Shopping tips for last-minute gift givers

Shopping tips for last-minute gift givers

Though devotees of early holiday shopping do not hesitate to point out how convenient it can be to get all their gifts long before the arrival of Chanukah and Christmas, scores of shoppers still wait until the last minute to begin checking names off their lists. It...

read more
Public Notice - Subscribe