These platters came from an assigned design project at Sheridan College. I had to take an idea/concept and make some ‘thing’ from it. I had been missing my westcoast home, but I couldn’t think of anything to make from that. My Mother died in March that year and I returned home for the funeral, I spent a lot of time at the beach in Stanley Park and Kitsalano watching the water, the waves and the patterns in the sand. A friend of mine told me during this time that she was doing more Ichibana flower arranging and could I make something for her to use.

Ichibana arrangements are often in low flatish vessels, so I started from there. These platters are what evolved from that series of events.

They were also among the first pieces that I sold. I mention that because as a student in Toronto, I was living on $500 a month, often less. After my mother died, my father and my aunt helped out as best as they could, but money was more than tight. Art supplies were not cheap, glass colour was $50 or so a kilo and you could go through that pretty quickly. During this time I was usually hungry. So I had tremendous impetus to sell my work and to make something that I could sell.

This is picture of me demonstrating for Ontario's Lt. Governor Lincoln Alexander and my glassmaster Dan Crichton