A native of southern Oregon, Carole Perry works out of her desert studio in Cave Creek, Arizona. A number of years ago, Perry set aside a successful career in computers to pursue her passion for glass full time. “I ran after the executive brass ring for 20 years before admitting it could never hold the same sparkle as the art glass I’d been collecting for almost as many years. My idols were Chihuly, Marquis and Brock rather than lacocco or Watson.””While I enjoyed every day of my 20+ years with IBM and Xerox, nothing could prepare me for the sheer joy of creating a piece of glass sculpture. Finding my own way, without any set procedures, has felt like the equivalent of discovering the New World. Learning to live off my own feedback, with no measuring stick beyond my own personal standards, has been the most rewarding experience of my life. I would conform to any lifestyle necessary to continue this passion.”
Carole’s glass tapestries are the result of a life-long rebellion against the dreaded “DO NOT TOUCH” rules regarding glass. She encourages the viewer to feel her woven glass. Each of Carole’s tapestries begin with the cane (glass threads), cut and “woven” on the kiln shelf. More than 9,000 threads are required to complete one sculpture. The threads are heated slowly to near 1500˚ F in order to trigger “tack” melting of the glass. At this moment, the glass is briefly removed from the kiln, and hand manipulated into its final shape. The artist has no more than ten seconds to define the shape. After that, the glass begins to cool and returns to its breakable state.
Perry has served on the boards of the Desert Foothills Land Trust, the Sonoran Arts League, the Cave Creek Film and Arts Festival and the Arizona Glass Alliance. In 2001, she co-founded the Foothills Empty Bowls Project, an annual event benefitting the Foothills Food Bank and Resource Center.
