My Crazy Valentine

For the unconventional romantic - My Crazy Valentine. Fused glass and wire wrapped pendant by A.J. Trombetta

Heartfire & The Chalice Project Exhibition and Auction

Heartfire has been accepted into The Chalice Project Exhibition, and donated a glass chalice to benefit the project's charity auction! The Chalice Project is produced and hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Rosa, in partnership with The Arts Council. The exhibition runs January 15th through February 25th at the Glaser Center in Santa Rosa.

A charity auction and and party will be held on February 26, 2011 at 5:30 pm, at the Glaser Center! Proceeds from the Heartfire chalice will benefit the Unitarian Congregation and COTS, to support the lives of people in need. Jazz pianist, Roger Corman and musical group, Un Deux Trois, will be performing. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Copperfield's in Montgomery Village or on-line . Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Guests will have a chance to win a week of vacation lodging at the 300 year-old stone home of Carol Wantanabe in the medieval village of Soreze, in Southern France.

Thank you to Monica Boettcher and Patti Zimmer for thinking of Heartfire when The Chalice Project was announced.

The Glaser Center is located at 547 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa CA.
Telephone 707-568-5381

More Photos from Art on the Ridge, 2010

More photos from Art on the Ridge, 2010! We hope next year will be just as great!!

ARTrails

This will be the second weekend for ARTrails.  There are a few Bennett Ridge artists on my list to stop and see.  Colleen Cotton's kiln formed glass is at 2880 Bardy Rd. and Donna DeLaBriandais's visual art is at 2927 Old Bennett Ridge Rd.

I also hope to check out my former web instructor, Tim Fleming, and his large format photography at 1579 Anna Way in Petaluma.  I have to credit Tim for teaching me how to create a blog and website.  He teaches both website start-up and Photoshop.

Photos from Art on the Ridge

What a Great Time

Thanks to everyone who came out for Art on the Ridge! We hope everyone had a wonderful time!

A.J. Trombetta

I would admire the beautiful, Italian glass figurines on my Nonni’s fireplace mantel, as a young child, but I did not appreciate the potential of Venetian glass as jewelry until I traveled the Italian islands of Venice and Murano with my husband, in 2006. I was amazed by the craftsmanship of the Murano glass artisans, and by the way that the gold and silver foil, glass beads caught the light like gemstones.

commissioned for wedding party bridesmaids

I originally started making jewelry for myself. I was influenced by the modern simplicity of the designs of Los Angeles based, jewelry designer, Suzanne Felsen. I listened to friends lament that they could not easily find quality jewelry, within their budget, and so, I also began making custom, glass jewelry pieces for friends.

I strive to create original, modern designs with quality metals. I generally opt to use Venetian glass, instead of gemstones, due to its beauty, affordability and sustainability, and I recently began to incorporate the use of recycled glass. I am in the process of getting my own website up and running.

more about Venetian glass making....

My Background

I was fortunate enough to grow up on Bennett Ridge, and one of my childhood influences was my neighbor and late artist, Ruth Dicker. Her unique style of painting, and her modern home, with mobiles and African masks on display, captured my imagination forever. Her bold, creative energy will be missed. When I was a teen, my father encouraged me to study photography and ceramics classes at Santa Rosa Junior College, where I obtained my Associate in Arts degree in Humanities. I also studied pottery at the Mendocino Arts Center with local potter, Harald Nordvold.

I have recently moved back to the Bay Area, after spending the last 20 years in Southern California. I worked for the City of Los Angeles as a sworn, legal policy researcher and writer for the Los Angeles Police Department, after obtaining my Bachelor in Arts degree from San Diego State University, in political science and journalism. My hobbies include photography, writing, hiking and going to the beach with our dogs, urban animal rescue, and anti-dogfighting awareness.