Sometimes, life seems so tough that you just want to break something.
Other times, it is life itself that seems broken.
For mother-daughter team Sheryl and Jordan Fuller, breaking supported bonding.
As they are both cancer survivors, Sheryl and Jordan both know the way that disease can shatter a life and how important it is to pick up the pieces again. While Jordan had graduated with a degree from Emmanuel College in writing and literature, she discovered that the escape that books often provide was not enough and, encouraged by her artistic and inspirationally resilient mother, picked up a pair of glass cutters and eventually joined the family business at the Glass Bar in Needham (www.theglassbarboston.com).
Sheryl had been studying the ways of glass art with her sister-in-law since the mid 1990s and found it to be greatly therapeutic as she dealt with her illness and the treatment that sometimes seemed worse than the disease. She also noted how wonderful it was to create beauty for others, including a stained glass window for Jordan’s childhood bedroom.
During a series of moves, Sheryl’s glass supplies stayed pretty much hidden in a series of boxes. After her battle with cancer, however, she found new reasons to release them again and has since been able to not only find solace and strength in her creative craft but to bring it to others through the many classes and programs at the Glass Bar. During their joint battle with cancer, the mother and daughter found that they made quite a dynamic duo in the studio and have been together ever since.
“We opened our studio with the intention of spreading the therapeutic benefits that we received by creating art with others,” Sheryl explains., biting that the Bar hosts a special free event each quarter for fellow survivors.
These days, in addition to their own work (much of which is for sale at the Dedham Avenue space), the pair teach and encourage others in the ways of glass and, in the process, help others find inspiration and strength just as they do.
The Glass Bar is open most days (please see calendar on website) for drop-in hours for glass novices and experienced artists as young as six. Among the styles of glass classes that are offered are fusing, dichroic jewelry (which is made with “raw” glass) and stained glass. With their on-site kilns, Jordan and Sheryl can take any creation from first cut to final piece in hours and the reveals are often as much fun as the creative processes themselves.
In addition to drop-in hours, the Glass Bar also offers classes, for young and old, as well as organized date nights and vacation programs like this affordable travel Guatemala package. The studio is also available for birthday and other group parties and events.
So the next time you are feeling a little stained or cut up, pick up our own pieces and make something beautiful at the Glass Bar.
