This story is, at its core, a love story – to community and humanity and the ethereal, fragile strands that connect us all together. And of course, the story revolves around glass – the inspirational material tying together all the threads: inspiration, beauty and extraordinary objects, community, accessibility, and resources.

Click the link to watch a short video of Misha Nalepa using a graphite stamp to create the “Hand Hold” glass medallions.

The idea of creating a small object to share with others came from the delight I still feel from a gift I received from an artist in Cadiz, KY that I often carry in my pocket: a small cast glass heart she made from Stephen Rolfe Powell murrini. This talisman is smooth, shiny, beautiful, and connects me to a Kentucky glass heritage and wider arts community. In a time and place that can feel challenging for artists and all who might think differently, I appreciate its grounding properties.

Providing the TMA and Glass Pavilion visitors with a gift was also inspired by Beth Lipman’s site specific sculptural installation ReGift, now on view in the TMA, created during a 2022 GAPP residency.

Through this transcendental work, Lipman presents the TMA community with her own unique gift that honors the museum's collection and its founders. She emphasizes the importance of remembering their original contribution and, in this act of celebration, effectively re-gifts the museum and its collection to the Toledo community once more.

The method for creating the Hand Hold talisman is intrinsically related to the process and democratizing ethos of the glass press and pressed glass, popularized by Libbey Glass.

Working in collaboration with Protostamps, a company that makes stamps and molds for glassblowers, we created a handheld glass stamp-mold-press, which the Glass Pavilion hot shop team used to “mass produce” the glass talismans.

The story of Hand Hold also has origins with all of us, as curious beings and collectors of things. Whether we are attracted to objects we happen upon as we traverse our daily lives, intentionally seek out, or see as ‘investments’; whether we have high, low, or no price points – nearly everyone collects.

The shell represented in the glass medallion is traced from an image of a shell collected on the shores of Lake Erie. I was inspired to pick it up by a group of women a generation older than me, who shared that they had come to the Magee Marsh State Park for the purpose of gathering shells for their grandkids. At first I thought: these are not fancy. I have millions of shells at home. But by the time we left the park, my husband and I had pockets full. And – we had a delightful conversation with strangers.

The central medallion spiral is connected to my own personal history and place.

My story includes growing up in Virginia with a fiber artist / physical therapist mother and an educator father. My mom spun, dyed, and wove her own material. In a neighboring state, my husband grew up on an East Tennessee tobacco farm, and was one of the first to leave the farm to make a living. Now we live in Kentucky, where hemp is attempting to make a comeback as a product that could sustain a farmer’s living, and provide a fiber alternative more sustainable than the sources we use now.

The spiral is made from handmade hemp string, from hemp I processed via a DIY method based on childhood memory and YouTube videos. The hemp is sourced from the WKU Farm – the working research farm at the University where I teach.

See a 1-minute video of that process here (click on the above image).

When I first visited the TMA Glass Pavilion, I was introduced to the glass press, a device and method popularized by the Libbey Glass Company. It was designed to efficiently and affordably create glassware that resembled the company's renowned fine cut glass. The use of the press enabled ‘everyday people’ to own glass objects which previously only the wealthy could afford.

The overall layout of the Hand Hold medallion references a popular Libbey Glass pattern used in both their cut and pressed glassware, the Hobstar pattern, which is still available today.

The exterior ring of the glass medallion also references the Hobstar and is directly based on the bottom of a pressed glass I discovered in my own kitchen cabinet.

From individual objects and personal collections, the story behind Hand Hold expands to the museum as a point of cultural preservation and knowledge. Of course, Museums are not Neutral, and importantly, the foundation of the TMA has always been to embrace and collaborate with its community, believing their collection should be accessible to and shared with everyone.

Providing access to art and the collection was foundational for the TMA: educational outreach is baked into its mission, and admission has always been free. See more information about the museum, its foundation and values here. See the collection in person, and online.

The story relies heavily upon Edward Drummond Libbey and Florence Scott Libbey, and on Libbey Glass, whose connection to Toledo and its community were foundational for the TMA: it was on their fortunes and personal collections that the TMA was built. Read more about the Libbeys and their importance to the birth and continued sustainability of the TMA here. To learn more about the 200 year history of Libbey Glass, read the book by Robert Zollweg, Creative Director at Libbey Glass.

The number of people involved to make this work happen, by providing support and assistance, is long - and helps to illustrate the work, brains, and hands it takes to realize most visions.

The following were instrumental in making this project happen:

The TMA Glass Pavilion Hot Shop Team

Charles Hurst, aka Lickskillet Lab

Shane Spickard, aka Sweaty Glass

Sam Meketon and Protostamps

The WKU Farm, including Graduate Student Robert Anderson who grew the hemp for his thesis research, and his graduate advisor Dr. Todd Willian

Carol Arnold - my mom, and Melia Arnold - my sister!

A giant thanks to all of them.

This 1-minute walkthrough video of the work includes the sound element.

This 5-minute video describes the concepts and process behind “Every Word That Starts With F”

Incubate; Permanent installation for WKU Ogden Hall, Ogden College of Science and Engineering, Bowling Green, KY; flameworked borosilicate glass, thermoformed Plexiglas, MDF, stainless steel; 120” x 192” x 24”; 2018

Cast glass, vinyl, ribbons, stitching, screws; 30" x 30" x 4"

Cast glass, cast sugar, wood, brass; 60" x 60" x 18"

cast glass, yarn, kiln fired photo transfer, wood; 60" x 72" x 14"

Cast glass contraceptive packs, an apple, a nest, and a late 19th-century engraving illustrating a medical drawing of a pregnant woman’s uterus (with the subject identified in the medical literature by description only, not by name), are displayed on the wall as specimens or museum objects. A pink wool string loops around the apple, crocheting itself into the female reproductive system, suspended by truncated cast glass arms extending from the wall and creating a Cat’s Cradle hand-to-hand. The yarn trails to the floor before reaching the nest and, still wound into a ball, lies pregnant with potential of the next act. A lavender-grey silhouette painted on the wall at head-height ‘reflects’ and engages the viewer directly. Since the beginning of recorded time, women have struggled to claim their space in the world. Despite political and medical advances, women’s bodies still are treated in many ways as specimens lacking in agency. How will women ultimately write their own ending?

cast glass, yarn, kiln fired photo transfer, wood

Collaborative work with Austin Lundeby

Flameworked borosilicate glass, LEDs, powered by Arduino board and custom printed circuit boards; 16’ x 4’ x 12”

Video illustrating Neuron Cloud in action

River Campus Gallery, SEMO, Cape Girardeau, MO; recycled plastic and glass, string, mylar, Astroturf, tape, sand, wire, 20' x 40' x 8'

Hanover College, Hanover, IN; recycled water bottles, mylar, thread, Astroturf, plaster, fake flowers, painters' tape; 15' x 25' x 8'

Berea College, Roger’s Gallery, Berea, KY; recycled plastic, blown glass, steel, live grass, Astroturf, fencing, paint, vinyl; 20' x 30' x 8'

Twist Gallery, Nashville, TN; recycled plastic, blown glass, steel, live wild flowers, Astroturf, fencing, paint, vinyl; multiple rooms

view of installation looking in through the wildflowers and hummingbirds installed in the gallery windows

Capitol Arts Center, Bowling Green, KY; recycled plastic, packing peanuts, shredded bills, yarn, cat litter, cardboard; 16' x 20' x 8'

Lexington Art League, Project Space, Lexington, KY; recycled plastic, packing peanuts, Astroturf, yarn, cat litter, spraypaint, wood; 16' x 20' x 8'

The Renaissance Center, Dickson, TN; grocery bags, yarn, cardboard, string, nails, sound loop, speakers, spraypaint; 80 linear feet (entire work not pictured)

The Dairy Barn, Athens, OH

Surrogate, multiple installation views; Blown and flameworked glass, cast sugar, brass, Plexiglas, nylon, hummingbird syrup; dimensions variable

Drip; Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN; Slumped glass, vinyl, thread, pins; 120” x 96” x 8"; 2005

Beautiful Tumors; Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN; cast glass, string; dimensions variable; 2005

Welcome Home; Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery, Nashville, TN; yarn, bubble wrap, curtain, Plexiglas, cast candy, maps, glass, vinyl, crates, water balloons; 240” x 360” x 144”; 2005

Eyedrum, Atlanta, GA; Plexiglas, plastic, Astroturf, yarn, dirt, daisies, plaster, plastic flowers, paint, chair; 12' x 14' x 10'

Ewing Gallery, Knoxville, TN; Plexiglas, satin, stitching, sequins, latex, vinyl; 15' x 15' x 15'

Capitol Arts Center, Bowling Green, KY; Plexiglas, nylon, bubble wrap, latex, satin, stitching, sequins, yarn; 16' x 20' x 8'

Ruby Green, Nashville, TN; Plexiglas, sound loop, speakers, fake fur, canvas, fibers, wax, latex, paint; 16' x 16' x 8'

Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN; Plexiglas, vinyl, fibers, wax, latex; 16' x 20' x 8'

Artlab, University of Memphis; Plexiglas, fake fur, paint, vinyl, satin, latex, stitching, sequins; 16' x 20' x 8'

Municipal Gallery, Bratislava, Slovak Republic; Plexiglas, string, plaster, sugar; 12' x 18' x 7'

Gallery 1010, Knoxville, TN; Plexiglas, canvas, paint, fibers, wax, latex, sound loop; 16' x 16' x 8'

before entering installation.

fake fur, clear acrylic, glitter, wire; 16' x 6' x 8"

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN; 15 gallons of pink paint, acrylic craft paint, glitter, rhinestones, studio, furniture; 16' x 20' x 8'

Nashville Airport, Nashville, TN; Plexiglas, yarn, latex, wax, glitter; 30' x 9' x 2'

Public call for participants to bring objects for exhibition in the Pop-Up Museum of Social Change.

April 2017, Bloomington, Indiana

Community curators assist participants with categorizing and installing their objects.

Object processing and documentation

Photographs courtesy of Clinton Lewis, Claire Casey and Scott Gilbert

An interdisciplinary ensemble of WKU and invited faculty, along with their students, invite you to join them in an active story-telling experience.

You are encouraged to explore the entire museum building, both inside and out. 

Performers and audience blur the lines between music halls and the museum walls; between observing and creating.

We begin with the Kentucky Museum exhibits. Moving through the space, we ask the audience to have conversations with the voices that exist both within and on the walls. We ask: What stories are being told? Conversely, what stories have not yet been heard? How do we reach across time – into the past and the future – to ensure all our stories are spoken?

The audience is encouraged to move freely within a choreographed space and immerse themselves in the exhibit with permission to experience and interact with installations and performers. Pictured: Jade Primicias, dancer

Performers: Jade Primicias, dancer; Cast: Rachel Bravenic, Jacob Carr, Taylor Dent, Ellen Emerson, Emily Keith, Katie Knight, Paige McCord, Carrie Moscoe, Deanna Oglesby, Alex Reeves, Hadley Rouse, Patricia Valone, Troy Wethington, Abigail White, Sean Whittighill. Guitar: John Martin