Sometimes ideas come from customers who have a special request. One customer collected dirt samples from the places she had traveled and came to Rusho to see if together they could come up with an attractive way to display the samples. In fusing the sand between two pieces of glass in the high temperature of the kiln, the heat killed all the organic matter, making it lose its unique color. The idea wasn't going to work for the customer, but the idea became a springboard for future pieces, including a piece Rusho demonstrated for the HGTV Show, "That's Clever."

Another idea for ornaments came from a woman who wanted her children to be able to have a piece of their childhood home, which was being sold. The windows were being replaced, so the owner brought them to Rusho. Rusho took the windows, broke them into pieces, ran them through "Chewy," a frit-making machine that breaks down 25 pounds of glass in 10 minutes, creating smaller pieces, and continued the multistep breakdown process. Finally, placing the resulting tiny glass pieces into a mold, Rusho placed the mold into the kiln she affectionately calls her "easy-bake oven." After hours of intense firing, Rusho pulled out a beautiful solid glass star ornament. A new idea was born.

Some ides become old. Coasters are the one thing Rusho won't make right now. She's tired of them.

"I despise coasters," said Rusho.

These days, Rusho fashions her glass into imaginative jewelry, functional ware and glass sculpture. Carefully stepping into the back room with small glass pieces crunching underfoot, Rusho offered a peek on her latest experiment with some 3-D pieces in her kiln. Cautiously she lifted the lid of her 900-degree-plus kiln showing off the partially fired pieces she was working on. It would take nearly six days to reach the 1,550 degrees needed to properly fuse the pieces. Rusho hates the waiting, but she has a shelf lined with bowls prematurely removed that serve as a reminder of the importance of waiting long enough and not peeking too often.

"I'm not good at waiting," admits Rusho. "It's a good thing I work at home because first thing in the morning I run downstairs in my pajamas and to check the oven."

Rusho enjoys trying new things and is excited about this 3-D technique. When asked about her favorite project, Rusho replied, "It's the one's that cooking."

Rusho's artwork is available at the following Salt Lake businesses: Evergreen Gallery, Utah Artist Hands, Blue Cockatoo and the Salt Lake City Farmers Market every Saturday.

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E-mail: dramsay@desnews.com