A little history here, I was working in the late spring of 1993 at Andrighetti Glassworks when I snapped. My father had died the previous year, as had a close friend from College, I was tired.

In the middle of making a piece with Rafael, he mentioned that a friend of his was having a tough time as his daughter had been killed riding a motorcycle in Greece.

Bang.

I thought "I wouldn’t mind being killed riding a motorcycle in Greece" not that I wanted to die, but I was fed up of just existing, I needed to get out and explore. I put the blowpipe and glass in the waste barrel and said "I’m outta here." pissing Raf off a lot. We didn’t talk for 4 years, we have kissed and made up (so to speak).

I sold my half of the business to my partner Joanne, and bought an airline ticket that would take me around the world.

I proposed to Allison and told her that I would be in Hong Kong during the school spring break (she is an educator) and that we could get married there. I left, I panned for gold for her wedding ring in New Zealand. I taught and worked with glass artists in Australia. Allison and I got married in Hong Kong on March 25 1994. She then came home, I carried on to Malaysia. I made it to Europe and watched Pino in his studio in Venice for a week. I got home to Vancouver and Allison during the summer of 1994 and in the fall moved to Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island where she taught. I set up shop in the town’s art facility The Old School House.