She calls them "alien bugs." They're not really aliens. They're not really bugs.
They are the result of Joy Prendergast's first efforts to make art from fused glass. Her work can be seen at Rainbow Library's gallery and showcase, at 3150 N. Buffalo Blvd.
"About five years ago, I started fooling around with fused glass, just making crazy little things," Prendergast, 67, said. "At first I made these little pieces -- my alien bugs -- then I became mesmerized. Now I have little bugs all over my patio."
While the exhibit carries a couple of the curious critters, most of the pieces on display are far advanced from the artist's modest beginning. There are bowls with fluted edges in a collage of color. There are tiles in shades of aqua and a candy cane-like design in a combed piece. Her Ancients section includes an arrowhead design and a kachina figure. She even uses fused glass in a series of 3-D children's faces.
Prendergast opted to include one painting in the exhibit to ensure visitors realize her talents extend to more than glass. It replicates a cave painting with a horse dominating the piece.
Roberta Shulman of Painted Desert makes a point of checking out the library's gallery.
"My husband collects glass," she said. "Some of this -- the technique, the open pieces -- they're exquisite. You don't usually see things like this."
Notes in the guest book were equally flattering.
"Absolutely exquisite and visually astounding," Victor Kelsey wrote. "I have not seen this type of art in a long time."
Always artistic, Prendergast earned a fine arts degree and made a career out of art. She also works in clay and paints and had a one-woman show in Ohio, annual exhibits in Maryland and has had eight exhibits locally since moving to Las Vegas in 1989.
Although the alien bugs taught Prendergast a lot about the properties of glass and how it reacts in a kiln, it took larger projects to become adept at the art. Big, complicated pieces can require multiple firings and gain depth as layers are added.
It takes her a full day to think through a new piece, and up to five days to complete one. Another day is needed just to fire it.
Prendergast thinks through pieces before she begins, but her initial designs aren't set in stone.
"I let the glass tell me when to stop," she said.
The Rainbow Library exhibit is on display until July 31.
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