Gilded Reflections of Loss and Growth

This vessel was made in memory of my dog, Mia. Losing her was incredibly difficult. She was a constant part of my life, and her absence left a silence I hadn’t expected.

The piece is a blown glass form, mirrored from within and gilded on the surface. The leaves were made at the torch and attached in the hotshop. They represent the fragility and resilience of memory—how moments we hold close can grow in meaning over time.

Grief is not something that disappears. It changes. What felt like emptiness becomes something we carry. This work reflects on that transformation—how we grow around the loss, how reflection becomes a kind of honouring.

The mirrored surface invites the viewer to see themselves in the work, to consider their memories of loss, and how those moments shape who we are becoming.

Blown, mirrored, and gilded glass with hot-attached lampworked leaves, 2024

Photo credit: Stuart Ramm, Eddy Maynard