photos by Chris Gustin
B Skinner Fused Glass Artist
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~by Bob Gustin
he way Beverly (or B) Skinner sees it, there’s a little love affair going on in each of her fused glass creations, be they little bluebirds on a branch, presents under a Christmas tree, a flower garden in bloom, or one of the many other scenes. “Light loves glass and glass loves light,” she said. “It’s a true love story.” And you can add another element to the story. B loves creating with glass. ”Playing with my grandkids: That’s the only thing that’s better,” she said. Though she has exhibited in Brown County for years now, she set up residence here only a few months ago, moving from Battle Ground, Indiana, in the Lafayette area.
36 Our Brown County • Sept./Oct. 2019
She grew up in Indianapolis, the daughter of a signmaker, and attended Ben Davis High School, where she studied metalsmithing and auto mechanics, among other things, always making things with her hands. After high school, she worked in retail settings until she met and married Bill Skinner, a potter. They moved to Kansas City, Missouri, then to Baraboo, Wisconsin, where they both worked on handmade pottery. He built the pots and B did glaze formulations and fired kilns. “It introduced me to the chemistry behind glass,” she said. When Bill died unexpectedly 24 years ago, she was left as a single parent to three children, then aged
