Artist Statement

Nancy Conrad is enamored with glass! In 2002 she began exhibiting and selling handcrafted fused glass through galleries and juried shows. Nancy was juried into the Buyer’s Market of American Craft, the Rosen group wholesale show in Philadelphia. Her work was among 110 pieces selected for the prestigious Colorado Art Open, a biennial exhibit with over 2000 entries, juried by Ann Daley and Jan Mayer of the Denver Art Museum. Other juried shows include the annual exhibits of the Colorado Glass Artist Fellowship, and the Durango Arts Center annual juried exhibits. A Colorado native and a professional potter, she has embraced the medium of glass with fervor and passion. After more than twenty years experience in clay, her artistic explorations of the past seven years have led her to pursue a career in fused glass.

Educated in visual arts at Fort Lewis College in Durango, she worked primarily in thrown stoneware and porcelain for 22 years. While teaching children's art classes, she founded the thriving arts education program Arts Force in 1991, which led to the establishment of a full time art curriculum in the Durango schools in 1997. Her children’s-collaborative mosaics are permanently installed on the campus of six schools.

In pursuing her art career, Nancy's interest in arts education led her to be a strong advocate for arts education at all levels. As Executive Director of the Colorado Alliance for Arts Education from 1998-2001, a statewide not-for-profit organization, she directed programs for arts educators. Prior to that time, Nancy served as Education Director, Program Director and Associate Director of the Durango Arts Center where she administered arts education programs for adults and children.

Life changes seven years ago coincided with a new direction in Nancy's work. She continues to work with the unique process of kiln firing, but her understanding of color and the reflective, translucent, and transparent qualities of glass bring a new excitement to her art. The transformation that takes place in a kiln is unlike any other. By understanding and control of firing, Nancy teaches light to dance. The pattern and form are created within the piece, extend to the space around them, and into the viewers eye.