“Life’s like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.” Jim Henson (as quoted by Linda Billet)

In response yesterday’s post about stained glass motifs appearing in unexpected places, fellow blogger, Paula of Scorched Eyebrow Studio, sent me the link to Pennsylvania mosaic/fused glass artist Linda Billet. I am so glad Paula turned me on to her friend and fellow artist! I found myself immediately taken by Linda Billet’s work which is witty and whimsical and accessible and really, really fun. From her artist statement:

“If there is anything I want you to see in my work, it is the happiness that goes into it because I genuinely want you to get that back for yourself.”

That sounds a lot like why I blog. Maybe it’s her background as a postal employee that inspired her to go find her joy. I can tell you that having a largely joyless job can sometimes fuel the need to create something joyful and to share that joy with others. Linda’s first creative pursuits involved fabric, but when the impermanence of fabric art frustrated her, she found herself drawn to the more-permanent medium of glass. Glass has long been on the short list of media I want to try working with, and listening to her talk about it makes me even more determined to pursue it.

In addition to her great attitude about her art, she’s also very generous with her considerable knowledge. She’s made a number of videos illustrating how her work is created, and she has been involved in many local glass projects, as well.

Watching her work, I was really surprised by the steps that involved controlled destruction. I expected the video to be all about creation, and I certainly got plenty of that, but the stages where she cut or broke her pieces, then put them back together another way really spoke to me. It gave me a completely different view of her work, which then inspired me to go back and examine the pictures more closely for signs of breaking and reforming.

Linda Billet’s work and generosity are so powerful, they even inspired musical a fan tribute! She deserves it. I hope you enjoy this marvelous artist as much as I have!