California based artist Linda Marie Bird, an Ohio native, shares her inspirational story of creating success in doing what she loves and lives for:

I like to think that life is like art. We don’t know how it’s going to turn out but we know it will be beautiful. Through art I find my fulfillment and reason for participating in life and how it affects others. Being able to bring a vision into solid form, learning about the chemistry of glass and the rules it’s governed by is both gratifying and challenging.

I have always considered myself an artist. As a child, my curiosity demanded a closer look on how objects worked. I took things apart and tested my memory on returning it to its original form, not always succeeding, but needing to know. The medium of glass spoke the clearest and loudest to me. Glass looked like solid water and air I could hold. I have lived my entire life under its spell loving every minute of it!

Working with the qualities of glass, its transparency, its strength and its fragileness is both exciting and challenging to me. Having nature as a teacher sparks my inspiration, but looking at nature is not enough for me. I need to be in it, discover its secrets and work on creating some of the beauty from it.

I see art as a reflection of my entire lifetime. The completed piece honors the artist and the story of the journey. It validates my existence. Often I stand back with wonder and marvel on how it all came together. How did it become so extraordinary where once lay shards of glass, seemingly mismatched parts resting llifeless on the table? Somehow with the right amount of care and attention it transformed into unimaginable beauty.

In this way, art is a metaphor for my life.

Linda Marie Bird currently lives and works in Chico California creating one-of-a-kind kiln worked art glass.