Just Say Know #2 - Erin Cartee - Shulgin Glass Collection

Glassworker Erin Cartee displays a unique piece in her Just Say Know Series, which transformed fragments of laboratory glass from Sasha Shulgin's laboratory.

Explore Cartee's JSK series.

Learn more about the project.

About JSK2

Says “Just Say Know” and has Sasha’s lab glass trapped behind the words. All of the blue coloration on the pendant is Sasha’s glass with a layer of silver. This piece has additional lab glass layered in a textured way on the outside of the pendant.

Dimensions: 2" x 1.5"

Weighs 1.7 oz.

About the Series

For these special pieces, I wanted to use a play on words of the “Just Say No” campaign that I grew up with, which inadvertently led to ignorance about the drugs that curious humans were going to experiment with anyway. That ignorance is responsible for many deaths, and much unnecessary suffering. Education is what people need, in order to make decisions for themselves. DanceSafe has always promoted education and safety, and I wholeheartedly applaud them for that. Just Say Know is a much better message!

Sasha and Ann Shulgin also believed in this message. They spent their entire lives learning and teaching others about their discoveries, from the chemical to the psychological to the mystical. Their pursuit of knowledge has been, and forever will be, of great benefit for humanity.

To distinguish Sasha’s clear glass from the other clear glass, I used thin layers of silver and 24k gold in between the different pieces of clear. All of the wisps of blueish, silver, and bronze/gold coloration in these pieces are Sasha’s glass that has essentially been outlined with the metals. Pure silver turns blue and white when melted onto or inside of glass. 24k gold ranges in color from bronze to gold to reds.

All of the coloration in these pieces are Sasha’s glass, coated in metals, except for the white writing, the black and white twisty cane that I used around the writing, and the black glass that I used for the background. Stay curious, and Just Say Know.

Each piece that I create is a reflection of the natural beauty that surrounds me—the colorful flora and fauna of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the shimmer of wild rivers, and the quiet magic of stargazing while reflecting on our journey through the cosmos. My work is more than glass; it’s an invitation to carry a piece of that magic with you.

About the Artist: Erin Cartee is an Asheville, NC-based glass artist who has been behind the torch full time since 1999. She’s a borosilicate flame worker, a mama, a wild food forager, a nature and animal lover, philosopher, and explorer. The Glass Portal Studio · @theglassportalstudio