Los Cerritos News
July 29, 2022
AAUW La Palma-Cerritos Member Joan Flax to exhibit Dichroic Glass Art and Cabochons at Muzeo Museum in Anaheim
by Edna Ethington
The public is invited to come to Muzeo, an Art and Historical Museum and Cultural Center, located at 241 S. Anaheim Boulevard in Anaheim, CA, on January 22, 2022, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. to honor Cerritos resident Joan Flax at her Solo Exhibition of her original Dichroic Glass Art and Cabochons. The exhibition will highlight her work in framed fused glass pictures of skylines, water, flowers, and abstract designs. It will also include examples of her fused glass and wire wrapped cabochon pendants.
Joan uses dichroic glass, which is glass coated with metal in a vacuum chamber, to add sparkle and depth to her creations. The reflectivity of the metal adds more life to the pieces. The framed pictures are composed of hand-cut glass which are fired in a kiln multiple times. A layer is added with each firing at 1350 degrees for about 11 hours, in what is called a tack fuse. This keeps the relief of the pictures intact and adds depth and texture to the artwork. The art is then hand-matted, framed and ready to be displayed.
Joan’s cabochons are small pendants which are fired in a kiln at a full fuse of 1485 degrees for 11-12 hours to give the glass a shiny, smooth finish. Each piece is fired several more times, each time addingmore glass. The cabochons are gently wrapped by hand to accentuate the glass design and to create abail for hanging.
It is amazing to see the beautiful Dichroic Glass Art and Cabochons that Joan created as a new art form which she learned after she retired from her teaching career in 2004. Joan utilized her personal artistic skills and experience with other art forms before working with glass art. Joan has always been interested in different kinds of art and used art as a tool for teaching during her academic career. She enjoyed painting nature scenes with oil and acrylic paints, drawing and calligraphy. Her calligraphy career and working with other forms came to an abrupt end when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1998. With MS, she was unable to draw a straight line, but she was able to transition and use her artistic skills with glass art. In glass art, the kiln fused glass forms and creates its own straight and curved edges depending on the temperature.
Joan is an inspiration to all who know her because, even though she has Multiple Sclerosis, Joan keeps active by being a member since 1976 of the La Palma-Cerritos American Association of University Women (AAUW) since 1976, and currently serves as Membership Co-Vice President. She also is a member of the Soroptimist International Artesia-Cerritos, Hadassah, two Book Clubs, an Investment Club, a MS Support Group, and still takes Fused Glass and Wire-wrapped Jewelry Classes at ABCUSD Adult School.