I want to touch people with my art; to let them see the beauty I find in everything wherever I look. One of my earliest recollections from childhood was looking with wonder at stained glass windows and Tiffany paperweights; the effect of light moving through color is fascinating.
Born in 1950, I attended grade school and graduated from High School in 1968 in El Paso. In 1971, I earned a B.S. in Education at UTEP. That same year, I met and married Stan Bishop, who had grown up in Oregon, so that is where we moved 1973. Ten years later, we started our family with the births of our two children.
In the Willamette Valley, I was overwhelmed by the lush green landscape and abundant water. I fell in love with the natural beauty of Oregon, which was so unlike the desert, and set about to express my feelings through art. Having always been fascinated with light and color, I was immediately attracted to working with glass. In the late 1970's, I worked exclusively in that medium, and learned a great deal about working with glass. I loved the interplay of light and color, and wished there was a way to create beautiful pieces without soldering. In 1984, I concentrated my creative interests in drawing and painting, all the while retaining my focus on the interplay of light, color and water. In this time period I showed my work at several Northwest galleries and won numerous awards.
In the mid 1990's, I discovered the art of fused glass, (melting compatible glass together in a kiln), and I was hooked. This was a perfect medium to create the type of artwork to which I'd aspired. Once I had solved the technical difficulties of glass, I was free to begin creating. To begin my career in fused glass, I made many wall pocket vases, which are a wonderful to play around with an unlimited variety of techniques, colors, textures, shapes, and sizes. I currently show my glass pieces in several galleries from Hilo, HI to Jackson Hole, WY.
Currently my work includes non-functional art glass pieces as well as the vases. In addition to my artistic career, I am a full time third grade teacher in Toledo, Oregon, wife to my husband Stan of 36 years, and a mother to two college age children, Ken and Jennifer. I feel fortunate indeed to have such a full life, and I look forward with excitement and enthusiasm to retirement, when I will be able once again to devote my time to art on a full time basis.
Lynn Bishop. July 6, 2007.