Style El Dorado County and Foothills; October 2018

the arts
Cathy Porter and Bernadette Guimarin
employment portion of our company,
ensuring each individual has a chance to
discover their own talents and skills to take
them toward their future goals. We start
with the basics and then expose everyone
to a variety of tasks to find out what they
like, what they’re good at, and how to build
a social community with coworkers. It’s a
little job coaching and a lot of life coaching,
but each one complements the other.
Preserving Purpose
by HEATHER L. BECKER // Photo by DANTE FONTANA
Sisters Cathy Porter and Bernadette Guimarin are the forces behind
Forever Glass, the Placerville-based company taking glass bottles from
special events, melting them and then spinning the hot glass to make oneof-a-kind
keepsake bowls. Self-taught glass artist, Cathy, and retired USAF veteran and
world traveler, Bernadette, also provide job-training and employment for adults on the autism
spectrum. “The wedding bowl is the newest tradition in weddings, and we’re creating it using
couples' champagne toast bottles,” says Bernadette. “When a couple’s wedding day ends, they
have some photos, a dress, a piece of cake, and their memories—we’re giving them an actual
piece of their wedding…their first family heirloom.”
artbeat
October 2-28 –
Bold Expressions.
This international open
juried exhibit at Sacramento
Fine Arts Center in
Carmichael features daring,
high-impact fine art in a
variety of media. Gallery
hours vary.
norcalartsinc.org
HLB: What’s the inspiration behind Forever Glass?
BG: Forever Glass was formed from necessity—the need for
a fulfilling life for adults with autism. Finding purpose for a
disabled son or daughter is a driving force for parents—one that
creates fear and sometimes desperation as they reach their later
years. The [reality is], there are very few opportunities available
for their adult children after the parents are gone.
HLB: How are you able to foster employment for those with
autism?
BG: We’ve spent the past couple of years fine-tuning the
HLB: Once you receive the glass, how is a
wedding bowl created?
BG: First, we photograph every set of bottles,
along with an order tracking form; next, the
bottles are soaked and de-labeled. The glass
is then crushed, cleaned, dried, and ready for
firing. The glass gets fired at 2,250 degrees for
12 hours. We then pour the hot molten glass
into a mold and spin the glass to give it an
upward splash, which makes our unique,
one-of-a-kind designs. After cooling, we do
a quality control check and ready the bowl
for shipping. We also keep a small reserve
of everyone’s glass—just in case they want
something made out of it in the future.
HLB: How did you discover your skill of
glass artistry?
CP: I began working with glass over 20 years
ago while homeschooling my son. It seemed
that using art and a hands-on approach went
a long way in lesson plans. Although I’m not
an expert in how others with autism would
learn in the same situation, it worked for us,
and now it works here at Forever Glass. As a
parent with a disabled child and a caregiver
of a parent with Alzheimer’s, I also use the
studio as a means of self-preservation and
art therapy. Everyone can use a little quiet
time for reflection and rejuvenation.
foreverglass.works
16 styleedc.com // OCTOBER 2018 // /styleedc /stylemediagroup /stylemediagroup /stylemagedcf