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12 x 9.5 cm framed, soda lime glass and enamel
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Understanding Ana is comprised of two pieces of glass each 8.5cm x 6cm x 3mm in size. Each piece of glass a separate idea inspired by two very different memories of my mother. These are not new ideas. They are concepts I have already been using in other pieces but they come together here in a new way for me.
For example, the background piece of glass includes a floral pattern symbolic of both my mothers passion for gardening and her fine filigree crochet work. This is representative of my mother's creative side. I began using imagery inspired by my mothers crochet when asked to do a piece for the SAVA Gallery show the Art of Family which opened in May of 2009. Since then these images have continued to show up in pieces like My Mother's Garden and some clear glass functional work. In Understanding Ana this imagery is hidden behind a layer of clear glass. The texture of the granular imagery visible but not accessible to the touch.
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The foreground layer of clear glass contains a random segment of text taken from a piece of prose I wrote after driving to work on a cold winter morning. The text was carved from the glass using sandblasting techniques and back-filled with black enamel before firing. It was written after a moment of epiphany. For the first time I felt I really understood a certain aspect of my mother, her sadness. For that moment I could truly empathize. On the glass the words are run together, no capitalization, no punctuation, no intention that they be fully read or understood. So for your benefit the original text is below.
- Empathy
This morning I slipped on my coat and I put on my mother’s gloves
I walked out into the crisp cool morning keys in hand
I drove watching my hands on the wheel detached as I once watched her’s
Turning the corner, adjusting the mirror, both hands on the wheel
I realized I had grown like her, through age and maturity
The things that as a youth I had despised with an ignorant disregard
I now understood having been exposed to life’s harsh reality
Her loneliness, the depression she battled, the sadness behind her eyes
I rubbed my hands along my face, to feel her touch in my own movements
The notes of Elgar’s cello in my mind’s ear repeating in endless loops
The hands inside her gloves were mine
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The completed piece brings together the pretty picture in the background with the cold mechanical type scaring the surface much like reality. Together I hope they make something beautiful here just as these conditions can in us. Because of its' small size in order for it to be displayed as part of the San Antonio Calligraphy Guild's (SACG) Spring Show, I framed the completed framed piece.
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You can see this along with the works of other members of the SACG on display at Crumpets Restaurant. The opening reception is today from 4:00 to 6:00 Pm and the work will be on display through May 3rd of 2010.
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Invitation Calligraphy and Design by Joanne Pacelli
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, as we drove down Main Street.
, will be returning to San Antonio, Texas to teach beginning and intermediate workshops in coldworking techniques at 
is a stunning history of the creation of this modern masterpiece. The book details this project from conception through completion including information on the materials used, scribes who participated and techniques they used. It is a beautiful record of this historic undertaking.
with calligraphy by Timothy Noad and Text by Patricia Seligman is both lovely to look at and informative. I was not ready to part with this book and had to ordered a copy of this for my own library.
a classic resource first published in 1949 has been reprinted numerous times in the past 6 decades, and for good reason. This book has been so widely published that it is easy to locate a copy either new or used. The SACG Library has a copy of this book published in 1967 and one published in 1975.
is a fabulous resource to understanding the composition and arrangement of Celtic works such as the Book of Kells, the Book of Darrow and other 7th-9th century manuscripts. Mathematical in nature I found this book's clear demonstrates of the geometric principles used to determine page layout and design placement fascinating.
handbook looked fascinating. An absolutely fabulous resource it is both a wealth of information and a truly enjoyable read. The book includes case studies and historical information in equal balance to the discussion of printing techniques used on glass. This was the perfect book to pass the time on my flight home and one I would be able to pull back off the shelf for information later. 
during the