This Glassblower Heals Herself and Others Through Her Art

“If I wasn’t broken I wouldn’t be able to help other people to feel not broken.”

By Joy DiazNovember 21, 2016 12:39 pm,

Aptly named for the neighborhood in which it resides, Leigh Taylor Wyatt‘s East Side Glass Studio is a tribute to her personal story. Small shards of broken glass dot the floor of her creative space. She uses those broken pieces in her art. She says they add personality to her artwork.

Just as the fires of her furnace have smoothed out the impurities in the glass, she says her work has smoothed out the scars of her battles with breast cancer and addiction.

“I’m grateful that I had the cancer because if I wasn’t broken I wouldn’t be able to help other people to feel not broken,” Wyatt says.

Her studio doubles as a safe space for students to explore glassblowing just as she has done for over 20 years. She made sure to keep her studio open to the public so students can easily access and discover the art that she loves.

“I have a bunch of things that I am: I’m a woman, a recovering alcoholic, I don’t drink and I haven’t for 20 years,” Wyatt says.

But after coming through the fires, Wyatt says she’s one whole piece.

Post by George Economos.