What other material, even when shattered and cast into the sunlight, is so pleasant to look at as glass? That innate beauty though, is a dual-edged sword.

Consider that the painter does not compete with the canvas for attention. With a single brush stroke he makes the canvas his own. As a glass artist, I cannot so easily take credit for beauty in my work. The content and context I add to the glass can dance with the glass' beauty, but the beauty of the glass cannot be allowed to lead.

When I am successful, when my art wields the glass to my will, marshals its qualities to my cause, and I am able to create something greater than the material itself, the reward is enormous.

What is the reward? For me it is what R. H. Blyth, in writing about the haiku, describes as the "expression of a temporary enlightenment in which we see into the life of things."

Enlightenment - even when fleeting - is the great reward for any artist.