M . J .: Yvette , where are you currently located and how did you get there ?
Yvette : I am currently located in East Vancouver British Columbia , Canada and it ’ s not far from where I was born . I ’ ve lived in B . C . all my life and moved into Vancouver about four years ago with my partner . We live in a very cool neighborhood called The Drive . Vancouver is very like Spokane . It has all the lakes , trees , and beauty . We ’ re so lucky !
M . J .: Yes we are . :) Did you go to school to learn art ; are you self-taught , or a blend of both ?
Yvette : I am completely self-taught and being creative comes very intuitively . I grew up surrounded by family . There were six of us kids and our parents who were hard-working , passionate , frugal , and very creative . They ( my parents ) were all selftaught , if anything broke down or needed repair , they figured out a way to make it last longer , and they passed that ability down to us kids .
M . J .: What got you started using glass as a medium ?
Yvette : I was picking up glass shelves for a client — I used to be an interior decorator — and my order wasn ’ t finished so I decided to walk around the building . I turned the corner and I couldn ’ t believe how much shattered glass there was on the ground and my first thought was “ what can I do with this stuff ?” All excited , I asked if I could take some and the owner laughed . He said , “ It ’ s like sand on the beach , take as much as you want !” I still didn ’ t know what I was going to do with it but I ran to my car , got all my grocery bags , and filled them with different thicknesses of shattered glass . I went home , washed all the glass , put it in a closet , and very soon started dreaming about what to do with it . That was 30 years ago and since then I haven ’ t stopped creating with glass . It ’ s just so unique and it has endless possibilities .
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