Each photograph from the Emerge series is “printed” entirely with fused glass. I find glass to be surprisingly strong while simultaneously fragile, a powerful metaphor of life. The process of creating each photographic glass piece is important to the underlying concept of the series. The most notable glass pieces are cut, often violently ground to dust, and ultimately exposed to tremendous heat before their life-giving beauty will emerge. Each piece in this series suggests struggle, loneliness, and redemptive beauty. The images are somewhat ambiguous; the portraits may either emerge from or disappear into the surrounding chaos, leaving both artist and viewer to decide his or her fate.