My name is Michelle Caron and I have been working with glass for over 20 years. My studio is in Kane'ohe, Hawaii, on the windward side of the island of Oahu. My journey with glass started during a year spent living in France. The kaleidoscope of vibrant colors that filled the Gothic cathedrals grabbed my imagination and never let go. Working with traditional stained glass led to using glass as mosaic tesserae and then to shaping the glass itself with kiln forming. Each project offers opportunities to develop techniques in order to meet new challenges. Curiosity, patience and persistence are key to exploring this multifaceted medium. Working with glass is my passion. It grows deeper with each new project, success and unintended opportunity:) I've been so fortunate to have a dedicated space for working with glass. Living in Hawaii, that's more of an issue than one might think. For nearly two decades, that space has been our garage / studio in Kane'ohe, Hawaii. We still park one car in the garage. That is mostly due to a dear neighbor who helped me maximize my work area while keeping it flexible and safe (he used to work for OSHA). My first big project, a church window that was comprised of 6 panels measuring 6' x 3' put my work area through its paces and it preformed admirably well. Though it's not the biggest space, having my studio right in the garage has allowed me to work whenever time allowed or inspiration struck. When our children were young, they could hang out with me (at a safe distance) and I could be part of their neighborhood gallivants. When they got older, they both spent time in the garage / studio as artists in their own right either painting, working with glass or any other medium that appealed. In Hawaii, the garage is often the main point of entry into someone's house. Having my studio there means that neighbors often stop by to see what I'm doing or just to chat. Several of my neighbors are also artists and the openness of the garage / studio gives our neighborhood a bit of an artist's colony feel that adds to my art. Some days it feels very small and hectic but usually a thorough putting-away-of-things moment restores the equilibrium that my garage / studio gives me. I love working there and my family always knows where to find me. I work with glass fusing, traditional stained glass and art glass mosaic, often combining elements with stone or metal to create unique works of art. Each process offers so many possibilities for expressing my voice.