Barbara Eberhart

      Sophie and I were raised in a family of nine on a farm in eastern Washington State. We spent our early lives making things, lots of things. We learned the joy of creativity and artistry whether we were playing music or drawing pictures. Personally, I’ve always loved the concept of making something out of nothing whether it is a musical composition or a knitting pattern. Glass Path Arts is now an outlet for our creative endeavors. Our friends and fans are so warm and complimentary that we just keep making more things with new designs.
     Like many children, I began learning to play flute in the sixth grade. It wasn’t my first choice of instruments. I had picked up the saxophone that was kicking around the house, found the beginner’s book and started teaching myself to play. But my oldest sister, devastated when her band director told her that her lips were wrong for the flute (an incorrect assessment), came home and took away my saxophone. This left me with the flute which was the best thing that ever happened to me! Fifty years later, I can honestly say my career in music has been amazing and full of adventures. Flute performance has taken me around the world and given me the opportunity to meet and work with many wonderful people from students to professionals. Now I’m heading into retirement. I play for the fun of it and teach those few students who track me down asking for lessons.
        Now Glass Path Arts is keeping me very busy. It came about because of my backyard garden. I was looking for a way to finish the paths after ripping out the useless lawn and installing curved paths and raised beds. I didn’t want gravel for the paths and bark mulch is slug habitat so I chose...beach glass! This meant that I just had to buy a cement mixer and start saving glass bottles. I reverse-recycled (ie snitched) more from the recycling center, broke them up and ran them for eight to ten hours in the cement mixer with water and sand. It took 15 loads of 15 gallons each. Now my cottage garden sports a path of glass, full of light and color. It’s the perfect inspiration for Glass Path Arts.