I met Heather Joy Robinson at The Old School House (also known as TOSH) in Qualicum Beach. TOSH is a gallery and has studio space for artists in various disciplines. She and I were artists in residence there. Heather is a jeweler. When I met her though she was pretty sick with various health problems that were not allowing her to do her normal work. She was pretty bummed out about this so I gave her some copper and let her go wild. Well, again I was amazed, she came back to me with whales and fish and dragonflies and reeds and birds and and and amazing stuff. I was totally blown away.

Now my challenge was to come up with a form that would do justice to the intricate work that Heather had done. I tried a number of forms with the copper pieces, eventually settling for a rounded vase with a fairly tight turned-in lip. We talked about colours and effects that I could do with the glasses and various chemicals that I had to play with. As with the Spirit Vessels the glass pulls away from the copper as it is blown, in this case giving the dragonflies a wonderfully frenetic appearance as if their wings are actually moving.

Heather, her five children and her ‘man’ John, live on the shore of the Little Qualicum River. She draws her imagery from the wildlife passing by her home.

I think that these are among the finest pieces that I have ever made.