Makers Among Us....Artists in Sammamish & Issaquah

Meet Paula Del Giudice Wickersham. 

We all know people who have an incredible capacity to live life to the fullest.  One such full life has happened a little at a time, starting with a busy family, an important executive director role for an environmental & business nonprofit,  and volunteer and leadership positions in scholastic and youth development organizations. Add to that exploring interests in many different art mediums over the years, along with pursuing a love of the outdoors, and we might wonder if
someone like Paula Del Guidice Wickersham ever sleeps. 

As her husband Mike says, “When you gotta art, you gotta art.”  Paula knows that for her, art flourishes when life is rich and full, and of all the media with which she's worked through the years, glass is her (current) favorite.

"I’m not sure I would have taken the dive into glass had it not been for our move from the desert to the Northwest 10 years ago. The incredible glass artists of the
Northwest are very inspiring!  No matter where you go, you can see amazing
examples of beautiful glass artwork. The way light plays through glass is beautiful. It doesn’t matter if the light comes from sunshine or is filtered through fog and mist, it’s still special." 

Paula enjoys living in Sammamish for all its natural gifts and inspiration, and as she says,  "Because my heart is deeply rooted in the outdoors, the colors and shapes of nature influence my work. I love translating those visual experiences into glass. I also love exploring the properties of glass—learning about its boundaries."

Organic colors & shapes are the result of time intensive workmanship, and glass is expensive.  Her investment in effort and materials mean that there is an opportunity to educate her patrons.   This is one of the reasons that a community-centered art fair like the Sammamish Arts Fair appeals to her.  Paula would like to trigger the same spark for others that was ignited for her years ago when she saw work by a friend and it inspired her to work in glass.

For this maker among us, the energy has come full circle back to her!

See Paula at the 6th Annual Sammamish Arts Fair, October 13th & 14th, 2012 and at her website, www.raiseyourglass98075.org and  http://sammamishartsfair.wordpress.com/