Profiles In Business excellence:

Visions In Art, Maria Livrone

     A hidden treasure, “Visions in Art”, can be found in the lower level of the Downtown Arts building, in Wilkes-Barre. Known as the Potter’s Eye for 20 years, Maria Livrone has reinvented herself and her business to accommodate her longtime love of “kiln-formed”,or “fused” glass.

     A true artist, Maria lived in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury in the late 60s and early 70s in an attempt to qualify for free tuition to attend Berkeley, then given to area residents. Although she eventually graduated from Misericordia University, she attributes much of her inventive personality to her experiences living during that era in California.

     An avid gardener and fan of decorative grounds, Maria began creating pottery to fulfill a need for items she simply couldn’t find. With no concrete business plan, Maria began crafting and selling pottery, taught classes, and added equipment strictly on a need basis. Never throwing anything away, some of her most interesting pieces have evolved in her zero waste studio.

     Maria’s creations are made of compatible, fusible glass. Adding colorants to powdered glass or nuggets, she fires them for two days in a 1,500-degree kiln. The result? One-of-a-kind sheets of glass, ready to be molded into jewelry, clocks, bowls, etc. She can and will craft any custom design possible.

     With the dedication of her longtime boyfriend/assistant, Bill Zack, Maria’s pieces are now sold in more than 60 retail stores in the U.S. and Canada. She has recently been accepted into the Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show where, in 2011, she will present her residential and commercial displays. Maria recently taught herself to weld and makes frames for her larger pieces, as her ultimate dream is to install these creations in homes and businesses nationally. Maria also achieved the recent honor of attaining juried status with the PA Guild of Craftsmen.

     Maria’s constant positive attitude is infectious. Immediately, customers can feel that her art conveys the pure joy she feels when she creates it – hence her signature phrase, “from my hands to your heart.” When asked to name her favorite creation to date, she replied,“The best piece is yet to come.”