Biography

Originally a painter, Veruska Vagen spent years living in the Southwest where she maintained a studio and worked in oil, watercolor and mixed media. The course of Vagen's life changed when her glass enamel work brought her to the renowned Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Vagen moved to Stanwood in 1993 and served 12 years with the William Morris Studio, during which time she developed a unique mosaic technique called dot de verre.

In the rich tradition of ancient mosaics, Vagen's current work focuses on the portrait in a contemporary kiln-fired glass format. Inspired by art history, an intriguing visage or compelling character, she sees the individual countenance as offering a timeless form of communication and relationship. Vagen states: "The emotional vocabulary of faces remains unchanging over time, a shared language that gives a gift of enabling us to recognize ourselves in each other."

Vagen's work is found in many notable private collections in the US and abroad. In 2003, a retrospective exhibition of her portraits, "Fabulous Faces," was held at the Century Square in Seattle, Washington.