I was not raised to make art. To appreciate it, yes, but not to create it. My California childhood was full of love, intellectual enrichment and the expectation that I would one day sit on the United States Supreme Court. Artistic self-expression was  not a "thing" in my family; we were more about summer school, Scrabble and professional accomplishment. Accordingly, I began my working life investigating inmate complaints in Connecticut prisons, then went on to earn a law degree at Stanford and, over the course of my 34 year legal career, represent hundreds of clients in family matters in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

I was well into my thirties when I pulled off the Capital Beltway one day in search of a restroom, which I discovered in a fortuitously located art glass shop. (It was either that or a gas station.)  It was a beautiful sunny day, and I was  instantly mesmerized by the play of light on the richly colored and exotically textured sheets of glass. Lightning  struck. I signed up on the spot for an  introductory stained glass class, which excited a creative spark I am still eagerly pursuing some 25+years later. Among other art forms, I have focused on warm/fused glass, jewelry design, silversmithing, acrylic pouring and, most recently, mobile construction.

Making art has enriched my life beyond measure. I'm hoping it does, or will do, the same for you.

                                                                                                                     Rebecca Lippman, 2023