ABOUT ME

Hi Ladies and Gentlemen! I really wanted to write one of those pompous biography where I talk about myself at the third person, but… well… guess what.. I’m not good at it. So, here is how I see it:

1- My name is Patricia Christine O’Neill.

2- With such a name, you would believe that I am American… or Irish… None of the above. I am French! So, don’t be surprised if my English is not perfect and if I speak with a funny accent.

3- Since 2000, I am the owner of an art studio specialized into glass, and I am also the studio artist. The name of my studio is O’Neill Glass Art. It is located in Phoenix, Arizona where I live since 1998.

4- Although I have some (little) help, I am deeply involved in all the aspects of my business. I like to see myself not like an artist who owns a business, but like an entrepreneur who happens to be an artist.

5- About my work… it is made of glass that I melt and shape using the heat of a kiln, thus the name kiln-formed glass given to this process. Please, do not call it “fused glass”, because I hate it!

6- Since as far as I can remember, I have always had a strong attraction for the metaphysical world as well as lost and ancient civilizations. Maybe because I have always felt that I was connected with something more than I already was…

7- I practice Tai Chi, collect quartz crystal skulls and study Feng Shui as a hobby. Everything related to energy flow, healing, balance and harmony is a great source of inspiration for me.

8- I would describe my word as a combination of elements of nature, anthropology, archeology, symbolism and spirituality. And that’s about as much as “artist speak” you will hear from me.

Want to know more about me?
Check for posts in my “about me” category.
Or scroll down the page for my story.

What will you be talking about? Why should I trust anything you have to say?

These are the many questions that I ask myself when I visit a blog. I want to know who is the person behind the words, what are their qualifications and why should I trust anything they have to say. And I guess that you are wondering the same thing about me… so here it is…

As I have a background in computer technology, I always felt comfortable with everything techie. I will even go as far as saying that I enjoy it very much.
Since the beginning, I have had a web site that I have redesigned so many times to follow the trends… I started with Frontpage 2000, then with Microsoft Expression Web which gave me headaches. This, combined with a growing pain of working on my PC, caused me to take a bit of a distance from the Internet.

Then, in May 2008, I could not take it anymore, tossed my old Windows machine to the wind (lots of wind this day LOL) and purchased a brand new Macbook Pro. You know what they say… when you go Mac, you don’t go back. Not only I got rid of my headaches, but I found out that it was possible to work better and faster. I was back on the Internet and directly into Web 2.0!

I wanted to blog, and although I felt self-conscious about my funny French accent, I wanted to make audios and videos. And most of all I wanted to learn about social networking. Anyway, better later than never, here I am!

That’s an easy one. I am going to talk about what I love and what I know: glass, working with glass and the business of glass.

But I won’t have the arrogance of placing myself as a teacher or a guru. I am not here to give lessons. I am here to share experience about my journey into the world of glass and wish that my readers will enjoy it and maybe benefit from it.

What I’d like to talk about will range from my inspirations for being an artist and the story behind my work to how-to glass projects and business products that I use everyday.

Also, what I am not going to talk about: boring details like my broken washer, dryer, fridge… what’s for dinner and photos of my husband on the beach.
However, I will allow myself to stray and post “off topic” every now and them. I love working with glass, and I love working on my business. But I also love to get out of the studio sometimes. And I will also talk about what I do when I am not doing what I do (euh, does it make sense?).
Well… you must know that during all those years, I have tried so many things… both into the area of glass working and into running a business of promoting and selling my work. I’ve had successes and failures, but I learned from each one of them. Failures are only failures when you do not learn form them… I see them as speed bumps. They just slowed me down a little bit but never changed my direction.

I enjoy reading about other people’s experiences and reviews and I wish that you will enjoy reading about mine. I also encourage people to leave comments or questions on my posts. I am very much interested into what you have to say and I will reply to each of them.

See you online!
Patricia

I was born in Paris, where the romantic idea of bohemian artistic lifestyle is bound with the way of life. From a grandfather glassblower, a grandmother lace maker and a father photographer, I have inherited the love of working with my hands. As I grew up, I loved to draw, paint, knit and sew outfits for my teddy bear.

As a teenager, I wanted to be an artist. But my mother did not see it this way. You must know that my Dad was my hero. I was 7 when he passed away in an accident and my mother raised me by herself. She had a strong influence on me and everything had to be done her way. So, when she decided that the best for me would be to embrace a career in technology, I had not much of a choice. This is how after getting a Mathematics and IT diploma from Paris University, I started working as a designer for a mainframe computers manufacturer.

Years later, while visiting friends in the South of France, I met a Navy sailor whose ship was anchored in the bay of Nice. We stayed in touch and travelled back and forth between France and US to see each other. Needless to say that my mother was not thrilled…
More than a year later, my boyfriend flew to Paris with the intention of asking me to marry him. Exactly one week before his arrival, my mother died in her sleep. The Universe was setting me free!

In 1998, we got married and I left everything behind to follow him to the United States. At the time, I just took a leap of faith and had no clue that I was going to realize my childhood dream. After living in different places, we settled down in Phoenix, Arizona.

And this is when I stumbled upon a store in my neighborhood who was proposing classes in stained glass. From the hours spent playing with the paperweights made by my grand father, I had kept a fascinating attraction with the colors and the softness of glass. And I had always admired the effects of the light going through the stained glass windows of Notre Dame and the Sainte Chapelle. Therefore, I thought it would be fun to learn.
What started as a new hobby became very fast a new passion. After exploring several aspects of glass working, I found myself passionate with the kiln-formed glass process.

A simple comment from a friend visiting our house triggered my memory. It all came back to me. My old dream of becoming an artist that was buried deep down in me since so many years, came back to the surface.
At the same time, I also realized that the true meaning of the saying “America, land of opportunity” is that there is no excuse for not achieving your dreams. Leaving behind a successful career in computer technology was not easy. But moving away from home and from my friends to live in a new country, speak a new language and integrate into a new culture was even more difficult. And doing well with it made me aware of my potential to achieve anything I wanted. It gave me the courage and the confidence to take a new plunge. With the full support of my husband, I decided (for myself this time) that not only I was going to be an artist, but I was going to be a professional artist!

At the same time I was perfecting my glass techniques and designs, I was also learning about the business aspect of owning and running an art studio. And in 2000, with the determination of a true Taurus who is not afraid to work hard to reach their goals, I officially opened O’Neill Glass Art.

After doing all the possible mistakes and learning from each one of them, I know today that awards and recognitions are not the motivation that drives me. It is the need to strive to be the best I can be, to find my voice and to let it heard by all who will listen through their eyes.