The Pittsburgh Glass Center will soon be home to an 8-ft nest made of glass twigs. Artist Susan Taylor Glasgow’s “Absence of Body” exhibition, which will run October 3 through January 9, will feature “The Communal Nest,” the twigs for which were created by Glasgow or made and donated from artists around the world. “My work is the result of homemaking skills gone awry,” says Glasgow. “I have always embraced femininity and domesticity in spirit, but not in action. My life as an artist puts housekeeping last, while instead I cook, arrange, and sew glass. My work embraces the domestic act of sewing in an unexpected medium. I enjoy combining text with nostalgic imagery to create pieces that explore the complex dichotomy of women's roles within the household.

“The idea [for ‘The Communal Nest’] came from an existing series of my work about the 'Bluebird of Happiness.' In that series, I combined images of bluebirds and housewives and paid homage to the feminine nesting instinct. I wanted to explore that thought further and set that bird free with an installation representing growth and shelter.”

Glasgow’s website at www.taylorglasgow.com/CommunalNest.htm provides additional details, including step-by-step instructions for the making of glass twigs.