February 2026 3-D Featured Artist Nicholea Blanchard

Nicholae’s journey to being a working artist is an interesting one.  When asked if she was always artistic, as many artists were, she replies “NO!  I never did well in grade school art, and I really wasn’t called to art.”   In fact, she came by her art through necessity, not through a calling.  

Her husband always bought her a glass fish when they visited Key West.  Unfortunately, the artist stopped making them, but she needed two more to complete her collection.  So she took her first lessons in Cape Coral – she says she’s still trying to perfect the fish!

But, she fell in love with fused glass.  She loves imagining something and bringing it to life.  She loves when something turns out better than she hoped, and hates it when a beautiful piece crack after firing for no apparent reason….  Her absolute favorite part of the process is the anticipation of pulling pieces out of the kiln.  

Like many Florida artists, she is inspired by coastal life – waves, fish, turtles, and flamingos.