MOUNT CARROLL – Char Behrens works well under fire.

She is the artist behind Charlotte Arvelle Glass, a working hot glass studio, where she fuses glass at more than 1400 degrees to create colorful, unique sculptures and other pieces.

Her work is a reflection of herself. It’s colorful, modern, and even edgy. It evokes happiness and zest.

“I use a lot of color, lots of shapes,” she said. “My work is just really happy. I’m a bright person. I’m optimistic. That’s who I am. I prefer to see and convey joy.”

Behrens, 59, was an ambulance driver until two accidents damaged her knees. She picked up a few pieces of stained glass and a book from a local craft store and tinkered around during her recovery.

Behrens is a completely self-taught glass artist. She worked for many years at a glass studio in Chicago; she and her former husband did stained glass windows and then fused glass work.

“We tried it. It worked. No one else was doing it at the time,” she said. “It worked so well that we were able to [teach others].”

Behrens makes mostly sculptures – tabletop-sized display pieces – but also smaller things, such as ornaments and jewelry. Her heart, she said, is in the sculptures.

She starts with large sheets of glass and cuts them into smaller pieces, which she then fuses with other pieces. She specializes in taking powdered glass and putting it on top of clear glass to create unique colors, patterns, and even stenciled shapes. She fires, or fuses, her pieces together in a kiln at about 1420 to 1440 degrees; her kiln can accommodate pieces up to 20-by-30 inches.

“Because of my skills, my techniques, and my larger kiln, I can do things that hobbyists cannot,” she said. “I can do it [smaller pieces, such as jewelry], but I figure why compete with everybody else?

Behrens sells most of her artwork at the annual American Made Show, which is put on by the Buyers Market of American Craft and brings together artists and retailers from the United States and Canada. Retailers see her work at the show and order pieces to carry in their galleries and shops. Her work, as a result, is available all over the country.

“That’s where we go to get our orders for the year,” she said.

Behrens, for the second time, is a finalist for a Niche Award, which celebrates excellence and innovation in fine arts and crafts and also is sponsored by the Buyers Market of American Craft. Her snowflake ornament, “Silver Fumed Snowflake,” is included in the holiday category.

“It’s like being nominated for a Tony or an Emmy in my line of work,” she said. “They get thousands of entries. It’s a big thing to be a finalist, even if you don’t win; the retailers and gallery owners like to see that on my resume and look for it at the show.”

Behrens also won a contest to create the fifth anniversary logo for American Craft Week 2014. The annual celebration spotlights handmade crafts in the United States.

Perhaps her most notable accomplishment, Behrens has two pieces on display in the Smithsonian. She was commissioned twice during the Clinton administration to create Christmas ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree in the White House. One is an angel and one is a snowflake.

Behrens has been working with glass for more than half of her life. She has no plans to slow down.

“My mentor, she was really cool. … I remember one time, she was in her 90s at the time, and I said to her, ‘Fran, don’t you ever get tired of the glass?’ And I remember, she looked at me, and she said, ‘Char, there’s still too much to do.’

“Every day, when I wake up, and I think, ‘I’ll just hang out today,’ then I hear her voice in my head: ‘There’s still too much to do.’

“It’s a wonderful curse to have her in my heard. It’s a driving force. I’m here. I have a lot to do.”

More information

Charlotte Arvelle Glass

118 W. Market St., Mount Carroll

815-244-3554

[ http://charlottearvelle.com ]