Contestant Data
Name: Randi Peshkin
Hometown: Irvine, CA

I lived a normal storybook childhood, moving around the country with my family. Before I hit college we'd crossed the country twice and touched 44 states in our travels. These experiences left me with a lust for adventure and a restless wandering spirit, which I hope will never be quenched.

My mother subscribed to the macaroni and glitter art movement. I grew up weaving baskets in North Carolina, throwing pottery in Kentucky, wood carving in Pennsylvania, and candlemaking in Tennessee. Craft shows and artist's studios were always on the agenda. I developed a love for art and tried my hand at every opportunity.

Spending college years in Kentucky I had the opportunity to learn folk art first hand from my friends and neighbors. Already starving (as a student) I bypassed opportunities in the art world and ran off to play with technology. Following the love of my life through six more moves, I changed careers to suit the location. From computer programmer, to event coordinator, to paramedic, but no matter what I was doing as a career I was always working on my art.

In 1990 I discovered glass. Taking a class at a local college took me from suncatchers to cathedral-sized stained glass windows. I loved the way the medium worked and the colors in the sun just made my pieces sing. I added fused glass to my glass pallette when I moved to California four years ago. The colors I loved combined with the ability to create three-dimensional pieces allowed me to finally find my place in the world of art. I began developing a unique style of stained and fused functional pieces that lead me to open Black Cat Art Glass in 1997. Running a company of 1 (just me) has kept me on my toes. I enjoy the challenge of creating new designs and experimenting with and including glass in all its forms.

After 38 years, ten moves, five careers, six cats, one dog, and a loving husband. I've found peace. Happily settled into southern California I've built my studio and my life. I've still got that wanderlust and I see many explorations in my future but now I travel knowing I'll return home to translate the colors of the world into pieces of my own.

Artist Statement
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I have a gypsy's soul. It courses through my depths doing a whirling dervish of bright colors and tinkling bells. Like those before me I dream of dancing for no reason but joy, swirling to and fro while bright ribbons stream gracefully from the flowers in my hair. As I twirl into your path you're enchanted with a stream of color so joyful you can't help but join in the dance. As I spin away all that is left is a wonderful warm feeling and the graceful floating ribbons of color I've set free from my hair.

I experience joy every day finding it in even the most common of objects. My pieces are designed to bring that swirling colorful joyous light to everyday life. I want my art to be used, enjoyed, treasured for the memories that come even after the plates are emptied and the guests are gone. Full, they contain the happiness of sharing, once emptied, they continue to hold those memories in a depth and color so boundless it calls to be picked up from the table and danced around the room.

I have always been fascinated by glass. As a medium it's an enigma. Solid, yet liquid, fragile, and yet incredibly strong. Translucent or transparent the boundaries of my work are limited only by the laws of physics. I'm pushing those limits in stained and kiln fired glass with my use of depth, color, and texture. I work in layers, often combining pieces from multiple firings to achieve the depth without losing the dimensional surface that calls out to be caressed. Layer upon layer interact together to form the full picture, it's not intended to be two-dimensional. There's a hidden life in each piece, found as light wanders across the surface.

I want my pieces to be used and enjoyed, functional pieces of art that bring a little more joy into life with every use.