People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. They should, however, consider owning other glass decors to enhance their homes.

Creative Oasis, 133 E. Beaver Ave., will feature an exhibit by Suzanne M. Bruening for the next two weeks containing fused glass jewelry, lamps, bowls, vases, and even handbags, which are all for sale at the show. Bruening said this is one of her first solo shows since high school.

"Originally, I was trying to work with things that could become functional, things for someone else to use," Bruening said. "It's been experimentation from there."

Bruening is a 2001 Penn State graduate, with a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture and a bachelor of science degree in art education. She is a prominent member of the art community, creating masterpieces as well as teaching classes. She said she learned her fused glass technique from taking a class at the Creative Oasis in 2003.

"It's like stained glass-- you layer it, put it in a kiln to 1600 degrees and it takes the shape that you cut it in," she said. "Fused glass has been more popular in the last five years. It started in the West and came to the East [in] the last five to seven years."

Stan Kranc is the chairman of the Creative Oasis, as well as an English professor at Penn State. His organization strives to give opportunities to local artists. Kranc works with glass himself, and points out that Bruening's work has a special flair.

"Suzanne does some things with glass that not a lot of artists locally do. Fused glass is a very unique vision," he said. "She brings a balance of symmetry and geometrics to an organic formulation of glass, which is rare in artists working in that medium."

She also fuses in decoupage techniques in creating pieces of art, working with various comic strips.

"When I graduated from college, I was on a low budget and didn't really believe in the whole 'starving artist' thing," she said.

That's when her comic strip creativity began. At that time she started using ketchup bottles and decorating them with comic strips.

Bruening said she shops for everyday objects at thrift stores and brightens them up with her own creative instincts. The comic strips add color and life to otherwise ordinary objects like purses and picture frames.

"I really like the Betty and Veronica strip for some reason," Bruening said.

She said she saves those for her favorite pieces, such as a vase shown at the exhibit.

Diana Brown, who visited the exhibit on opening night Friday, said she was impressed.

"It's kind of like an optical illusion," she said. "Each piece causes you to take a second look at it. Each time you look, the light hits it a different way."

Creative Oasis changes exhibits every few weeks, and will soon feature an entirely student-based exhibit. Bruening's exhibit is running during normal business hours and will continue until late September.