Artist Statement

Linda Polesnak Herrick

From childhood through adulthood I have spent many hours in graveyards wandering among the gravestones, looking at the carved images and reading epitaphs. I am inspired to present this gravestone art in a different medium. This is my creative goal. I wish the symbolism to transcend from a forgotten graveyard to the light of the present day. Each piece is based on an authentic hand rubbing from a 17^th, 18^th, or 19^th century gravestone. I transform these dense stone carvings into ethereal pieces by interacting a clear carved glass image and an array of tiny colored glass pieces with light. When mixed with sunlight, the carving and mosaics have a jewel-like quality. An integral part of a person’s life is reflected in the symbolic carving, while the light shining through seems to free them from the grave to the heavens.

I live and work in upstate New York.  Since 1998 Willow Studio has been producing etched glass, crystal and stone.