Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona
Orignally Published: 03.27.2008

Creative couple in demand
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This weekend, the Vaughns will be among more than 150 professional artists at the Comcast Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Festival, a two-day event that organizers expect to draw between 20,000 and 30,000 people.  It will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Pima Community College's Northwest Campus, 7600 N. Shannon Road.

Under the name Tortolita Creations, Brian and Pauline Vaughn make functional fused- glass pieces such as bowls, spoon rests, wall vases, bathroom sets, dinnerware sets and wall panels. Prices range from $12 for a barrette to around $129 to $139 for larger art pieces.

Having always been artistic, Pauline Vaughn, 46, picked up the craft in August 2005 by taking a class at a now-defunct stained-glass studio through Pima Community College's extension program.  "I took the class and knew right away that I was really going to like it," she said. Within a couple of weeks, she ordered her first kiln and a month later the Vaughns were gearing up to do some shows.

Her husband Brian, 42, began making fused glass, too. He was finishing their straw-bale house in southern Pinal County, north of Marana, but put that on hold a year ago to make fused-glass pieces full time, he said. Previously, he had his own business salvaging plants from mine sites. That move enabled them to increase the quality and speed of finished works, he said. Pauline Vaughn works part time at the business, and also works for Healthy Families Arizona, a child-abuse prevention program.
 
Their business, Tortolita Creations, has been taking off, the Vaughns said. They average two art shows a month — sometimes three — and three Arizona galleries display their work, including Jane Hamilton Fine Art, 1825 E. River Road. "Right now, we're not taking on any more galleries; we can't handle it, so we've had opportunities and we're just declining," Brian Vaughn said. That's because they're getting a lot more custom jobs, which are time-consuming, Pauline Vaughn said.
 
They do shows throughout Arizona and in other states, including Utah, Colorado, California and New Mexico. A weekend prior to the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Festival, they sold their work at an art festival in St. George, Utah. Before they left for Utah, the Vaughns took a moment to answer a few questions about their art, while working in their home-based studio.