"The glass has its own story to tell, and sometimes you can't force it. You let it speak."

Erica DeMarco
‌IT Collaboration
UCSF IT

Erica's Sparkly Hidden Talent 

As part of the collaboration team in Information Technology (IT), I help roll out collaborative tools. I support Office 365 and some of the new tools we are in the process of licensing. A lot of people know me for my role in managing the UCSF listservs. I like solving problems and offering solutions.

I started stained glass art at Sharon Art Studio about 10 years ago. I've always been an artist. I make jewelry and do some beading along with paper crafting. But stained glass is the one I like the most because it’s sparkly. I go to school for it, at the Sharon Art Studio every Saturday morning, plus I have a small studio at my house.

Tell us about your artwork process.

As I've told my teammates, “I got a guy.” There are a couple of people we source glass from, and it either gets shipped or we pick it up in person. I usually go to Bullseye Glass in Emeryville and Cradle of the Sun in San Francisco for my supplies. 

The glass has its own story to tell, and sometimes you can't force it. You let it speak. You can recut glass to fit the pieces, but my process is to work with the glass in an organic manner looking at the way light creates the story and the movement. 

Right now, I’m working on a wine barrel frame series. Each top takes about 80 hours, and I work on them when I have time (see nautilus below, top right corner).

FAVORITE COOKIE JAR TREAT?
Lemon Madeleines 

Have a good story idea? Contact Kim LaPean. And sign up to receive the latest  One Good Thing !