Collin County Future Mobility Oct 2023

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]

State Fair of Texas 2023 SFOT

0 Comments

Public Notice - Subscribe

Related News

Local nonprofit supports those embracing grief

Local nonprofit supports those embracing grief

To purchase books, read grief-related articles, donate or signup for a class visit bravepenny.org Grief is a complicated and personal process that has no timeline. And for survivors of any type of loss, it can often be difficult to navigate without the proper positive...

read more
‘Lights Out’ Collin County

‘Lights Out’ Collin County

Turn off lights to protect migrating birds Nearly 2 billion birds migrating through the United States in spring and fall pass through Texas. And many of them that fly by night can become confused by light pollution, slamming into buildings or other obstacles. To help...

read more
Healing power of horses helps local youth

Healing power of horses helps local youth

A love of horses, a heart for helping and an unwavering faith led one woman on a quest to blend her passions into a nonprofit that touches lives daily. Lynn Turner’s lifelong journey culminated nine years ago with Heavenly Hooves, a nonprofit that provides equine...

read more
Send a Letter to Santa this Christmas

Send a Letter to Santa this Christmas

If you’re the parents/guardians of elementary school-age children, the Monitor is collecting Letters to Santa again this year. The letters will be printed in the December 22 edition of the Murphy Monitor. Please print out the attached document, have your child write...

read more
Veteran delivers message of faith at luncheon

Veteran delivers message of faith at luncheon

Finishing up a Veteran’s Day speaking tour, Vietnam veteran and Rowlett native Tim Lee delivered a message of perseverance and faith at the quarterly Murphy Chamber of Commerce meeting Nov. 15. The luncheon was sponsored by the Murphy Veterans Tribute organization and...

read more
Register entries for annual Christmas parade

Register entries for annual Christmas parade

Individuals or groups with a yearning to add merriment to the season in the form of parade participation should act now and register for their float at the annual Holiday in the Park in Murphy. The deadline to register to walk, ride a bike, pull a wagon, or drive a...

read more
Send a letter to Santa this Christmas

Send a letter to Santa this Christmas

If you’re the parents/guardians of elementary school-age children, the Monitor is collecting Letters to Santa again this year. The letters will be printed in the December 23 edition of The Murphy Monitor. Please print out the attached document, have your child write...

read more
Dance studio makes its debut

Dance studio makes its debut

Walking into Kaiser Center for the Performing Arts for the first time, patrons might find it hard to believe it was once the site of the former home décor store, Tuesday Morning. Aisles of kitchen gadgets, shower curtains and pet beds have now been replaced with a...

read more
Public Notice - Subscribe