She’s Got Glass

Cocoa Artist’s Flair for Glass Art is Unbreakable

By Andy McIlwraith

The glass art bug bit Deanna Woolet in 1982, when she noticed a particularly eye-catching stained glass window at her sister’s house. But Woolet couldn’t find any glass art instructors in her hometown of Islamorada, Florida then. A decade later, a year after moving to artist-abundant Cocoa, her dormant desire was revitalized when Woolet discovered local classes. She immediately signed up.

The course didn’t help her much. “After three out of 10 meetings, the classes were cancelled for unforeseen reasons,” says Woolet. “So I decided to teach myself.”

Woolet bought books and supplies and set up a workshop in her garage. She experimented, breaking more glass than she’d like to remember, but was able to hone her skills and develop a style all her own. In 2002, after becoming proficient in stained glass cutting and window design, Woolet purchased a kiln and added fused glass (glass that is cut, layered, melted and shaped) to her repertoire.

Today, Woolet is a full-time, awardwinning artist who shows and sells her glass creations at about 15 arts and crafts festivals throughout Florida every year. Most recently, she won second place in glass at historic downtown Melbourne’s Main Street Masters of Art Festival in Fall 2007. “That was sure an ego booster!” she says.

Inspiration comes easily for Woolet, who grew up fishing and swimming as part of her daily life. “My designs are a reflection of the wonders I’ve seen both above and below the sea,” she says of the beach scenes, game fish and tropical plant life that adorn the bulk of her windows and glassware. “But I’m also inspired by the glass itself. Its versatility, colors and textures constantly inspire me.”

The process behind her art is not so simple. Making a stained glass panel requires unwavering patience and a steady hand. Woolet begins by handcutting prefabricated sheets of colored glass into workable shapes. She then carefully grinds the edges of the glass as preparation for the next step, which is wrapping the circumference of each piece with copper ribbon. Woolet then fits pieces together like a puzzle and solders them into one permanent, beautiful whole.

Making a fused glass piece such as a dish or platter begins in much the same way, with a design and the cutting and grinding of glass. “But that’s where the similarities end,” says Woolet. “After you arrange the glass pieces into the design you want they go into a kiln where they are fused, or melted, together into a solid piece at temperatures up to 1800 degrees. Of course, you can’t put just any glass in the kiln and expect it to fuse together successfully.”

That’s because, Woolet explains, not all glass is created equal. “Different makes of glass will expand and contract at different rates and temperatures. You must use compatible glass, or your work will break when it cools.” She recommends buying glass that has been tested and confirmed compatible by its manufacturer. It takes all day, sometimes longer, to produce a finished fused glass piece. Proper fusion occurs only after hours of gradual heating. It takes equally long for fused glass to cool. Then there is the “slumping” process, during which the fused glass is heated again and formed using a mold and gravity. “Plates, bowls, platters and sinks are just a few of the endless possibilities. I love working with glass,” says Woolet.

Woolet does all her work in her garage, which she emphasizes, is a workshop, not a studio. “My finished work isn’t on display in my garage. It’s stored there,” she says. “I think of myself as having a mobile gallery, taking my work to festivals all over Florida.”

Woolet’s stained glass portrayals of game fish—everything from Snook to Tarpon—are her best sellers at the arts and crafts fairs she attends. She also takes a lot of custom orders. “My customers tell me my glass art is very different, non-traditional,” she says. “But what I’ve found is that most people either love it or hate it. There’s not much in the gray area.”

Love it or hate it, there’s no question that Woolet’s glass creations are unique, colorful, and they glisten when the sun shines through them. Examples can be viewed on Woolet’s Web site, www.glassyfish.net.