If Not for the Pink Sink...

Smash Glassworks owes its origins to, yes,  a pink sink.

In earlier days, my significant other and I believed ourselves incredibly fortunate to find a great apartment - great meaning cheap - in Toronto's Kensington Market.  Inspired by our bohemian surroundings, we set about deciding on colourful paint schemes and serviceable decor to spruce up our new digs in Shabby Urban Chic.  The building was over 100 years old, so the place was not lacking in character.  The only major obstacle in completing our vision was the pink sink in the bathroom.  The shade: something between Calamine lotion and Pepto-Bismol.  Frankly, we were unable to conceive of a paint colour that would compliment the sink without shuddering.

The best idea to solve this minor dilemma came from my mother, who suggested that a glass mosaic countertop, incorporating the horrific pink colour, but including some softer greens and purples mitigate the emphasis on the pink sink.  Although I had never worked with glass before,  I set about designing a mosaic using some flatter pieces of coloured beach glass.  While the finished product was decidedly amateurish, the concept worked and our pink sink no longer dominated the room as it had before.  The most significant result of this exercise in home decor rescue is that I discovered a passion for glass as a creative medium.

Although our days in Kensington Market (and of the pink sink) are behind us, but my glass work is not.  Since that first, clumsy mosaic project, I have attended classes and spent countless hours working with stained glass, learning to cut and a grind, grout, foil and solder.  Many cuts and abrasions later, I'm pleased to say that my ongoing efforts have produced substanially better results.

My approach to stained glass begins and ends with the desire to create not only striking objects, but objects with a purpose.  I prefer to see my work creating a natural focal point for a room, incorporated into a useful piece of furniture, or bathing a room in coloured light.  My goal is not to emulate 'granny's stained glass'.  While the traditional style has many merits, that is for someone else.  I go for bold colours, irregular shapes and occasionally, something that hasn't been done before.

I've begun this blog to serve as a showcase of the work I do, as well as a record-keeping exercise for myself.  (I have an out-of-sight-out-of-mind relationship with my work once it has left my possession.)  It seemed appropriate that my first entry pay homage to my first inspiration - that hideous pink sink!

-sg