Heidi Duitsman
I combine vibrant colors of glass sheet, frit, rods, stringers and powder in a kiln to produce unique and functional pieces of art, sometimes enhancing the piece with silver foil and other metals. I also integrate fused glass, anodized aluminum rings, gemstone beads and other components into eye-catching, unusual jewelry pieces.
My journey as an artist started in childhood when I received my first set of Crayola crayons and created unauthorized masterpieces on my bedroom walls. I thought it would be fun to be a cartoonist when I grew up until I learned in chemistry lab how to make liquids in beakers dramatically change colors. And lots of other interesting and more practical things. So, I abandoned the cartoons and got an engineering degree from Cornell.
After many years of success as an engineer, product manager and currently as a software developer, the opportunity to reconnect with my artistic side presented itself when a dear friend hosted a jewelry making class and I was hooked. My vacations were then spent traveling to glass and jewelry shows, taking a variety of classes.
I have lived in El Granada, CA for over 20 years and am inspired by all the colors and beauty that surrounds me; the luminous, fiery sunsets on the coast with the rare green flash just as the sun sinks below the horizon, the vivid colors of the flowers on my daily walks, the ocean’s many shades of blue.