Light Holds Still: Carlyn Ray’s glass art transforms The Grace

By West Texas Tribune | June 3, 2026 |

Clay Landen Harris experiences the interactive station in the Carlyn Ray exhibit at The Grace Museum. (Photo by Annell Harris)

By Clay Landen Harris

At the Grace Museum in downtown Abilene, glass becomes meaning over material, bending light and thought into an experience both intimate and expansive. This is at the heart of the exhibition by Dallas artist Carlyn Ray, on display until Sept. 19.

“Glass is one of the few materials that holds light,” Ray said. “We have only scratched the surface of where we can really take glass.”

Featuring more than 20 large-scale glass installations, the exhibit blends sculptures, suspended elements, and immersive environments.

The show rewards viewers who change angles and closely observe. Every piece is accompanied by a small placard that reads “Please DO NOT TOUCH,” except for the first exhibit, the “Interactive Station” which encourages visitors to try out Ray’s glassmaking tools. Once seated on the bench, the participant can experience what it’s like to spin a glass piece.

In the exhibit’s first display room there are several sprawling, ethereal oyster, glass bowl pieces, each one a dazzling piece of luminescent art.

Carlyn Ray’s “Estuary”, 2026, glass.

Each piece is described:

“Estuary reflects a place shaped by motion and merging. Like water finding its way, the form carries shifting color and light, offering a sense of flow, balance, and quiet renewal.”
“Rhodonite: Created from sand, melted with fire, shaped with breath, all elements create this transformation, an upright presence serving as a connection between the ground and sky. A symbol of desires and dreams.”
“Embrace: The wrapped form holds the softness and nurturing feeling of being held in love.”
“The Great Sky River takes its name from ancient ways of understanding the night sky.”
“Papilio takes its name from the Latin word for butterfly. A quiet movement between stillness and flight, just before it rises.”
“Inner Voice: Stretched ribbons of glass rise in a spiraling gesture, carrying the energy of fire and flow. The form suggests a quiet vortex, where intuition gathers and knowing emerges beyond words.”
“Tropical Sunrise captures the moment when the day first exhales, when sunlight spills across the horizon, and jewel tones awaken in flowers, water, and earth itself.”
“Texas Sky reflects the vastness and quiet wonder of the Texas horizon. The oval bowl becomes a small landscape of color, echoing the shifting tones that stretch across the sky. Within its curved form, color gathers and holds both depth and light. The sky is held close, an intimate reflection of the wide, luminous spirit of the Texas landscape.”

Above Texas Sky is written the title of the exhibit: “Carlyn Ray Presents – Emergence – Transformation Through Glass and Light.”

There is an open journal in thats room with a sign next to it that prompts, “What feeling, mood, or thought does the artwork in this gallery evoke for you?” I recorded my thoughts on the open right page. On the open left page, a young lady named Joanne has written, “When I walk through this exhibit, I am reminded of such things as adventure, transformation, culture, history, the flow of life unpredictably, freedom, and independence, and identity. It is indescribably beautiful.”

In the next room the works move beyond objects of observation, into an entire ambience.

Carlyn Ray’s “Radiance”, 2026, glass, corten steel, LED lighting. (Photo by Clay Landen Harris)

“Prismatic Bamboo: As the bamboo glows and slowly shifts, the space begins to breathe, washed in light, imagination, and a quiet sense of magic. Color drifts through the air, turning atmosphere into something gently felt rather than fully seen.”
“In Radiance, the illuminated glass forms evoke growth and transformation. As colors shift and blend, they mirror the fluid emotions that connect us to the natural world.”
“The Light Within invites us to look beneath the surface. The piece reminds us that beauty and spirit often live deeper than first impressions.”
“Sophia Weaving is a meditation on creativity. The sculpture’s spiral reflects the dance between the conscious and the unconscious mind.”
“Kaleidoscope reflects the cycle of transformation. The cocoon represents a quiet in-between: a space of vulnerability, trust, an inner change.”
“Golden Ripple reflects the paths we trace through the world. Some paths are intentional, guided by an inner compass. Others are shaped by drifts, by moments when life carries us off course.”
“Convergence Weaving is a quiet meditation on compassion. Two complementary forms rise together: one fluid and wave-like, reflecting emotion and surrender; the other still and luminous, suggesting clarity and awakening.”
“Lala Land offers a pause. In a world that often asks us to stay tethered and alert, these clouds create space for lightness, guidance, wonder, and quiet reflection. The meaning lives not in the object itself, but in where it carries you.”
“Sacred Forest presents an inner landscape shaped by growth and stillness. Layers gather like trees, light filters softly, and time seems to slow.”
“Komorebi: There is a moment that happens when we pause beneath the trees and look up, when leaves dance and light plays. In Japanese, this phenomenon is called Komorebi: the interplay of sunlight and foliage.”
“Aura speaks to an unseen presence made visible through light. Silver and subtle gold tones reflect an inner glow, evoking purity, compassion, and devotion.”
“Becoming Weaving unfolds through a gradual shift from shadow into light. Woven glass strands move from darker tones to radiant colors, reflecting a transformation as a process of release and renewal. Through a private workshop, participants were invited to cut and inscribe strands of glass, an intimate act of letting go and reimagining the self. The work becomes both personal and collective, holding many stories at once.” Broken and set apart from this piece are these words written on black glass: Loneliness, Fear, Pressure, Suppressed, Betrayal, Tension, Expectations, Control, Criticism, Anger, Fractures.
“Ether represents pure potential. Invisible, weightless, and ever-present, it is the breath of wind, the pull of a current, the quiet force that carries without resistance. It cannot be held or fixed, only felt, an ever-moving reminder that we are always surrounded by possibility.”

“As I spent time in Abilene throughout this project, I was continually moved by the warmth, faith, and generosity of the community,” Ray said.

Her work can also be explored at the new Abilene Heritage Square. Speaking of “Gathering Light” there, she said, “One of the reasons I am drawn to glass is because it brings me into the light. It teaches me to listen to my inner voice and to what I believe is the presence of the Holy Spirit moving within us. As an artist, I have come to believe that some of the most meaningful forms of creation happen not in isolation, but together.”