ROCK - When Alysa Diebolt of Rock exhibits her fused glass creations at the Waterfront Art Festival on Saturday, it's certain that every piece - whether it be a bowl, vase or jewelry - will be unique and one-of-a-kind.
The youthful artisan works from a shop she shares with her father, Jeff Diebolt, who specializes in stained glass. The shop, located in the St. Nicholas area of Rock, is named Northern Art Glass. Diebolt, 21, was inspired to work with glass after her father learned the art of stained glass 12 years ago and began plying his wares at a variety of art shows in the area, including the Waterfront Art Festival.
"After he started to get good at it, my mother told him, 'Do you remember those obnoxious craft sales I dragged you to? Now you're going to be them yourself.' He does really nice work."
But when Diebolt was 13 years old, the family visited Washington State where they toured the Spectrum Glass factory in Woodinville.
After speaking with a tour guide who worked with fused glass art, Diebolt became very interested in learning the process.
"Actually fused glass is different from stained glass," she said. "I had tried stained glass but really didn't have the patience for it. After I listened to the tour guide, I bought a book about fused glass but I was frustrated with it because I really didn't care about the technical part of fused glass. About all I did was look at the pictures."
But the undaunted artist set out to teach herself the process. Because the number of local artists who work with fused glass is limited, Diebolt sought the help of at least one - Beth Cox - who offered the young artisan a great deal of advise and encouragement. With help from her parents, she purchased the supplies, including a kiln, that she needed for her craft.
"We already had a lot of the tools and grinders, but we bought all new glass just for me," she said.
One shipment of glass, she explained, can weigh as much as 800 pounds so whenever she has the chance, she makes a trip to Chicago for a load of glass.
"Otherwise, if I have it shipped, we're fortunate to have a nice neighbor with a fork lift," she said with a grin.
In addition to the regular sheets of glass that Diebolt uses for her craft, she occasionally includes pieces made out of dichronic glass.
"The glass was developed by NASA," she explained. "It's glittery and very expensive. It costs about $100 for a square foot. I like to use it in specialty items and jewelry."
Even though she has become quite skilled in her craft, Diebolt said she has experienced more than her share of mishaps.
"I'm self-taught and there's lots of trial and error - with a whole lot of error," she said. "There's nothing worse than working on a piece and when you open the kiln, you find it's cracked or bubbled. I just want to cry."
But there isn't much of anything that goes to waste in Diebolt's shop.
"If I have mistakes or something gets broken, I turn it into patchwork glass," she said as she showed a box of broken bits of glass in a wide assortment of shapes and colors. Diebolt also uses "mistakes" to create small fluted bowls.
"I make a ton of those and usually sell a lot," she said. "They're only $10 and you can use them as a jewelry holder at your bedside, a soap dish or even an ashtray."
Although Diebolt loves making unique creations, she does not particularly enjoy making jewelry.
"There's no certainty that when you set out making a square piece of jewelry that it rounds out and becomes a circle in the kiln. Then it might become a pendant instead," she said. "I usually make 100 or 200 at a time so I don't have to do them every day."
Cuts and slivers are a way of life for Diebolt.
"I once sliced my finger and had to make a trip to the ER to get stitches on Thanksgiving morning," she said. "Otherwise it's not too bad."
A senior at Northern Michigan University where she is studying marketing, Diebolt is a member of NMU's American Marketing Association, Students in Free Enterprise and the Dean's Student Advisory Council. In addition, she has already been able to use her art skills as a marketing ploy. In a New Business Venture competition held at the school about a year ago, Diebolt earned a total of $5,000 in awards.
She earned $500 for a trade fair display and an additional $500 for a Sixty Second Elevator Pitch.
"The premise is that you might only have 60 seconds in an elevator to tell someone you're interested in marketing to about your product," she explained. The remainder of her winnings was for the best overall business plan.
Smiling at the memory of her achievement, she said, "It was very exciting, but a very exhausting day."
