Broken can be beautiful in artist’s hands
Shiny, reflective surfaces have always been an inspiration for Vinessa Scherrer.
The Kamloops artist has for the last eight years been creating beautiful mosaics, using broken coloured glass on recycled windows and mirrors.
Her initial inspiration came from receiving some broken glass pieces that were a gift from a friend and some old storm windows her mother-in-law gave her.
Scherrer put the two together and discovered how wonderful they looked.
“ I began by choosing colours of glass that I believed looked great together and then got to work, cleaning the glass and the window and then randomly placing the pieces, letting my colour choices lead the way,” Scherrer said.
“Once the design was secured with the use of silicone, I held the window against the sunlight and was stunned by the beauty of the combination.”
Scherrer’s mosaics have a random fractured quality one does not see in a traditional stained-glass piece.
She works with the broken glass, sorting through different shapes, sizes and colour combinations.
Each tiny space in her mosaics is filled with glass shards, negating the need to grout the piece.
This methodology allows the light to shine through her windows, unencumbered by other extraneous materials.
Scherrer has a deep connection to creating beautiful art using recycled materials and found objects.
“I have a strong desire and drive to make something beautiful out of leftover, thrown-away material that would other wise go unnoticed,” she said.
“I believe in recycling, giving another life/use to material as we are such a disposable society and I support local secondhand-supply stores for a large portion of my material.”
Scherrer has branched out from her recycled-window designs to creating artistic mirror pieces that not only reflect the viewer’s image, but also shine with different textures of organically patterned glass.
She started a business, Broken is Beautiful — Coloured Glass Window Designs, a year ago and has been creating beautiful artwork for homes and businesses ever since.
Sherrer was one of the featured businesses at the Kamloops Spring Home Show this year and shows her work in many local venues, including The Art We Are, Black Creek Ranch, Karla Pearce Art Gallery, Classic Bookkeeping Services, Royal LePage Westwin Realty and KPA Printing.
One of her goals for the future is to expand her glass studio and move into creating artwork with hand-blown glass.
Scherrer can be reached by email at vcscherrer@hotmail.com.
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