Have you ever had an inkling about something and just wanted to explore it? Like maybe you’ve always thought about painting with watercolors or taking an improv class. Here’s a story about why you should trust those impulses and follow your intuition. You truly never know where it might lead you.
Eight years ago, Jacki Cohen decided to learn about glass, fused glass. Now she’s running her own business, producing fabulous pieces of art for consumers around the globe and has just finished a major art installation for Congregation Beth Israel.
Cohen started her odyssey back in 2006 with a stained glass class at Scottsdale Community College. She fell in love with the medium but found the stained glass art form to be too con- straining and restrictive. Once she moved into the fused-glass classes, she knew she was onto something. “I immediately loved it,” explains Cohen. “I loved the medium and the creativity involved. It was challenging. But I just loved the feel of the glass and the results you could produce.”
Cohen enjoys every aspect of creating fused glass, from the long hours to the glass cutting to the power tools. Cohen officially started Jacki Cohen Glass Art Designs sever- al years ago, but she built her own art studio in North Scottsdale only recently. “You can’t really call yourself a glass artist until you have mastered the kiln,” explains Cohen. Her studio, done in cobalt blue, black and white, houses a shiny silver 1,800-degree powerhouse kiln that always offers new learning opportunities.
“There’s a huge learning curve,” Cohen tells me. She keeps de- tailed time and temperature logs to guide her artistic ventures. “Everything depends on how you fire it and the type of fuse you’re trying to create.” Some of her pieces need to stay in the kiln for up to 15 hours, and various pieces can require up to three separate firings. Cohen is excited and animated as she ex- plains how glass melts, shapes and reforms. Her one caveat: no matter how curious you might be about a piece in progress, “You absolutely cannot open the kiln until the temperature lowers to under 125 degrees. If you do, the glass could crack or shatter due to thermal shock.” But even a pro like Cohen confesses, “It’s re- ally hard not to look sometimes. You have to have discipline.”
Cohen creates everything from mezuzot and hamsahs to ab- stract sculptures, platters, bowls, cabinet pulls and knobs. Her vibrant colors and patterns are bold, modern and funky. Many of her creations are multidimensional. Cohen is an artist at the core and has always dabbled in various art forms. But she’s also a smart, practical, detail-oriented businesswoman. She holds a business marketing degree from ASU. “My schooling is actu- ally helping me,” she says. “A lot of artists have fine arts degrees that won’t necessarily be helpful in the real world. I know about branding and logos and social media, all the things you need to know to actually run your own business.”
Most of Cohen’s business comes from word of mouth. She’s been commissioned to make individual pieces for 80th birth- days, bat mitzvahs, and various other milestone and everyday occasions. She tries to learn as much as she can about a person before creating a piece of art for her or him. “That offers me the most satisfaction,” she says. “If I have a feeling for who someone is, I really get to put more of my heart and soul into creating something unique and special for them.”
This past summer she was asked by Congregation Beth Israel to create a huge installation to frame the endowment wall in their entry rotunda. She came up with the design, searched for the glass and took many months to create the outstanding 11-piece installation that reads in Hebrew “ובל ונבדי רשא” (for the love of the community).
“When I am in my studio working,” Cohen shares, “time stands still. I am focused and relaxed, almost like being in a meditative state.” Her husband, Lance, is her biggest supporter. “He’s so proud of me,” she says. “But he never wants me to sell anything I make. He gets attached and wants to keep every piece. It’s really adorable. He’s just so happy that I’m happy.” Cohen’s attention to detail is evident in each of her unique creations. Results are one-of-a-kind art pieces that evoke beauty, marvel and luminous energy. When I ask her about expansion and future plans, she says, “I just want to create art. As long as I sell enough to be able to buy more glass, I’m satisfied. I don’t need an empire.” But when I offer a doubting glance in her direction, she confesses, “Well, I’m open. We’ll see what happens.”
Contact Jack at jackicohenglassartdesigns.com or jacki@jackicohenglassartdesigns.com.
