New Hampshire Home [NHH]: What made
you decide on paperweights as your artistic focus? Melissa Ayotte (MA): As a second-generation
glass artist, I was inspired by my father’s passion and talent. That is where I started, and where I eventually landed, working at his side for many years. As a
Melissa Ayotte imagines her particular affection
for flowers may be due in part to their all-too-brief appearance during New Hampshire’s short growing season.
medium, it is very challenging to take a three-inch, round glass dome and encase your life’s work inside of it. NHH: Paperweights have had sort of
a renaissance, haven’t they? MA: Yes, in the 1960s and 1970s, a
number of artists started to look at antique paperweights from Europe. From there, they expanded upon—and to some extent, created—a new genre. Some emulated the antique form, while others stepped out, challenging themselves with the interior content. My father was part of that renaissance period. NHH: And you grew up with all that
glass work going on around you? MA: Yes, but as it is going on, you don’t
think much about it. Your father is over there doing his thing in the fire. I was slowly drawn to the flame. NHH: What got you interested in
working with glass? MA: It started as a part-time job while
I was in graduate school, working in the psychology field and needing to earn a little extra money. Assisting my father just seemed natural, and the torch and glass were a nice way to be centered and process material from my life’s experiences. NHH: And that’s when you became
hooked? MA: Yes. As soon as I sat down with the
torch, it was like: “I’ve got to do this.” The thing about glass is that you have to be present, working very much in the moment. Handling 2000°F molten nhhomemagazine.com
Melissa’s more recent work plays with traditional forms of the paperweight, like this example from her Circulus series, which features a mid-century-modern-inspired rim encircling multi-colored roses. New Hampshire Home | 45