Glass artist Susan Zarit started taking stained glass classes almost 20 years ago, and fell in love with the craft. Creating stained glass is a detail-oriented and time intensive process with multiple steps before reaching the finished product:

Zarit begins by making a pattern, then cuts each individual piece of glass to fit the pattern. The individual pieces of glass are then foiled and soldered together. But the story of Zarit Glass Works begins before Susan was ever introduced to the craft of stained glass art.

“I have always had a passion for helping others,” Zarit tells me.

She has worked with many charities over the years, helping with legislation and fundraising efforts. When she discovered her talent for glass art, she immediately saw the potential to help charities by selling her artwork in fundraising auctions.

“It is hard to explain, but art is healing,” Zarit says. “A piece of art speaks differently to every person who looks at it.”

Zarit became so involved with her art that finally her husband Steve encouraged her to start a business to help pay for the accumulating expenses. Susan agreed, with one requisite: 20 percent of every sale she makes is donated to a charity every month.

Now you can find Susan and Steve Zarit at the Sequim Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and you can see the evolution of her artwork as she continues to master new techniques.

A few years ago she began to learn the art of fused glass, which she says is “breaking the rules of stained glass, so to speak.” Her fused glass pieces get fired in a kiln up to 1480 degrees, depending on the texture she wants on the finished product. She is the only local glass artist learned in the methods of powder printing, which is the process of printing images on glass, with glass.

“It’s a bit of a process, but it is fun and I enjoy it,” she says modestly.

When you visit Zarit Glass Works on the Civic Center Plaza, you will find a colorful assortment of her work, varying in detail, size, and function, from ornamental window hangings to soap dishes you would use every day. She has also done a number of commissions for homes and businesses.

“I don’t run away from a challenge,” she says. “When someone comes up with an idea for a commission piece, I work with the client every step of the way.”

For the children

This Saturday is Kid’s Day at the Sequim Farmers Market! Visit the Kid’s Day Activity Booth to receive a $2 coupon which can be used to purchase fruits and vegetables from any farm vendor at the market. Coupons are available while supplies last. Kid’s Days at the Sequim Farmers Market are made possible with generous support from WSU Clallam County Extension, and Olympic View Community Foundation.

This month the Kid’s Day Activity Booth will feature activities to learn about how growing some of your own food can be a fun and healthy experience, with the opportunity to learn how to plant and grow seeds, among other farm and nutrition focused projects.

Enjoy our summer live music series with Brian Ernst performing this week from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

A special thanks to Bell & Davis Law, Brokers Group Real Estate, and First Federal Savings & Loan.

Elli Rose is the Sequim Farmers Market manager. Contact her at manager@sequimmarket.com or 360-582-6218, or see www.sequimmarket.com.