Blowing Rock — In the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum’s new exhibit, artist Sarah Vaughn blends tactile exploration with personal reflection through her presentation of thousands of glass-blown rocks.

Initially a small-scale endeavor, the exhibit “Considerations: An Installation by Sarah Vaughn” showcases a stunning collection of 3,147 glass rocks that blur the line between nature and craftsmanship.

“Glass is really magical,” Vaughn said. “I really believe anything is possible with this material.”

Vaughn has been working with glass since 2004 and has been working on an ambitious and deeply personal project centered around the creation of large, intricate glass rocks for more than a decade.

For Vaughn, the exhibit represents not just the beauty of craftsmanship but also a journey through isolation, community, and the complex nature of memory and time. The first glass rocks Vaughn made were small, and their primary focus was to encourage people to touch them. She wanted to engage people’s senses and create a connection with the objects.

“The first ones, I wanted people to want to touch them and pick them up and feel them. It was more about the tactile quality of a stone and how people interacted with those objects,” Vaughn said.

Over the course of 10 years, the project grew in scale and complexity, mirroring Vaughn’s own personal growth and the changes she experienced. Vaughn crafted the early pieces with minimal equipment and no outside help, mirroring Vaughn’s personal struggle during a period of isolation.

“When I started this project, there were some events going on in my life that were making me feel very isolated,” Vaughn said. “I was feeling really ostracized, and I wasn’t feeling supported, and I was questioning a lot of stuff.”

However, as Vaughn began to reconcile with her circumstances, the work grew, both in scale and in communal involvement.

“As I started to come out of that and understand the reality of what had happened and what that situation was. The truth behind it was that I am part of this community. I do have friends; people are very supportive and wonderful,” Vaughn said. “Asking for help is one of the hardest things to do, even though the worst thing that can happen is people say no. But that rarely happens. People generally want to support and help.”

Exhibitions at BRAHM