Who I Am

I began making art at an early age. If you want to go way back, I used to draw on my dolls' faces. At some point I moved from dolls to painting and drawing on canvas and paper. After private art lessons came a formal art education at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, where I experienced many materials to create art.

Art became a way for me to express feelings and connect with the world through visual ideas.

Through an interest in collecting, I became aware of art glass. I shared this interest with my father, Delmo Tarsitano. We started a hot glass studio in 1975. Sadly, my father passed in 1991, sending me on an artistic exploration reinventing my work, my life, and myself.

Today I strive to create cast glass elements that can seamlessly be combined with oil painting to express an idea. The designs and motifs I create are staged on canvas covered wood boards. I am exploring ways to reinvent the oil painting using glass elements.

The jewelry you see on this site are small wearable studies for my cast glass sculptures. I feel they are just as important as the larger works. In time I hope they will become part of the historical record of the larger works. I like the idea of being able to wear small studies that relate to larger artworks; in this way collectors are able to share in an artwork's development.

I see limitless possibilities in combining the many materials and techniques I've mastered over the years. I want to use those techniques to create artwork that brings people together through truth. I am also committed to creating art that starts conversations. Art can be a vehicle for understanding and change, a universal language. I am interested in helping everyone find and enjoy Art-Instead.

Debbie Tarsitano