ZOOM | Spring 2019

Claire Folstad has loved glass for a
long time. When travelling, she used
to gaze at church stained glass with
longing. She took some classes
when she found the time. But back
when her restaurant business took up all of her
attention, she found mosaic work to be fussy, and
other glasswork required too much patience.
“My time was not my own back then,” she says, “but
every time I would stop, glass was present in some
form. I seemed to be surrounding myself with it more
and more. It always caught my eye and made me be
present.”
The Sunshine Coast caught Claire’s eye too, largely
because of its vibrant arts community. When she
sold her business and moved here, she set off on a
creative journey. Knowing that she wanted to work
differently, and with no more than an inner glimmer
of where she was headed, she began to dabble.
“I began very small [with] a tiny little hobby kiln in
which I would play and experiment. I knew what I
wanted but not how to create it, how to manipulate
the glass, capture the light.”
Glasswork can be powerfully transformative. That’s
what fire does. This excites Claire: “I take these plain
sheets of glass . . . lifeless . . . break them down
into tiny pieces, then fire them back together into
something vibrant and alive.”
And her work is full of life! Splashy, vibrant, exuberant,
delicate, so beautiful that there’s a hint of sadness.
She feels that each piece has a story, tells a story.
And she has been slowly moving her practice away
from being bound by function to more purely for art.
“So now, practical function is not the top priority. I am
learning to let go of control. I am finding beauty in the
imperfections. It is very satisfying.”
Claire’s work has an organic kind of vibrancy, and
she is learning what the glass needs from her. “I love
a flow, a continuity. It is freedom to me. Also it is
necessary to help the glass glow to its best potential.
I started creating more sculptural pieces, art pieces,
just letting the emotions flow from my hands and
heart.”
She is compiling pieces and hopes for her first
independent show this year. She now shows at One
Flower One Leaf Gallery in Gibsons.
WORDS ONE FLOWER | NANCY ONE PINCOMBE LEAF GALLERY IS LOCATED IMAGE AT | 436 ROGER MARINE HANDLING DRIVE
IN GIBSONS LANDING.
spring 2019 17