It's all about the journey not the destination" says Rebecca Ann Robertson of Ancient Fires Glass Studio. I want my life to have meaning and my art to have meaning - it's all interconnected.
My husband, Wann Near, was finally able to immigrate to the USA from Cambodia in April 2005.
Wann grew up in the wake of the Pol Pot regime in a country filled with land mines and starvation. His father having been killed by Pol Pot and his mother illiterate and poverty stricken was not able to care for him. He was forced to live on his own since he was about 10 years old. Wann’s background has given him a deep sensitivity and unique understanding of the "Living life force” all around us. Wann and I met at Serendipity Beach under a full moon a few years ago while I was in Cambodia to do volunteer work. Wann and I now work side by side in the studio where he is for the first time expressing himself through Art.
After quitting my high-level commercial real estate job 12 years ago and vowing never to work for any one ever again, I have gone on a pretty wild ride through life. My journey has led me from Turkey to Thailand, Egypt, Nepal, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia. And most recently Cambodia (where I met my husband). After quitting my job, I put out a call to the Universe asking "what next?" Then a friend bought me a piece of fused glass made by a woman in Guatemala, whom I later visited. I said, "That's it." I printed my business cards and ordered my equipment before I had ever taken a glass class -- "I didn't choose it, it chose me." I had never seen fused glass before. Never thought about it. I now listen to that inner voice that guides me instead of logically deciding which goal or path to take. It turned out that there are very few people teaching fused glass and I was lucky enough to find one of the best, Bruce Laughlin, in Connecticut. I have since been honored for achievement by many awards from various Arts Festivals from around the country.
Without any previous art background we now completely support ourselves with our glasswork. The technique we use is the oldest known glass forming method, dating back 4000 years. This pre-dates blown glass by 2000 years. We use several methods to achieve designs in our glassware. In some pieces I create images by painting with ceramic glazes, in others I cut designs from sheets of colored glass and then fuse them together in my kiln at 1500 degrees. Each piece is generally fired twice for 12 hours where the glass is bent and shaped a mold. I'm working on a much bigger scale now than most other artists in her field are. I have done an Adam and Eve series that uses full-scale human torsos of glass. I also make masks, large 18-inch bowls, salad sets and candle shields. Most of my designs are inspired by my love of primitive cultures and my travel experience. I'm crazy for Tribal, African, Native American Designs and Goddess imagery. Archetypal images resonate with our clients and me. I love images from those cultures that celebrate the Goddess and, by reproducing these images, I hope we will remember the awesome power and beauty or being women.
In 1999 I immigrated to Asheville, North Carolina from Pittsburgh. Living in Asheville has allowed me to explore Native American Spirituality and I feel my art, livelihood and spirituality have come together in a unified expression. I choose images for my work that have meaning beyond their aesthetic beauty. I want to share the values, spirituality and symbolism of cultures that revered Mother Earth and strove to connect with her living spirit. Wann and I combine the beauty of primitive imagery with contemporary colors - teals, blues and purples - to create both striking Talismans and functional glass artware that is both food and dishwasher safe.
We are now planning to start a “Women’s Handicraft Project” called “Seeds of Serendipity” in Cambodia.
The journey continues!
Ancient Fires
102 Fisher Lane
Asheville, NC 28804
828.645.0966
E-mail