Viewfinder: (James) Stone and Glass Artwork

Glass artist James Stone, who has a studio at the Bernardo Winery, is one of a dozen area artists whose work will be featured in the "Art Aquatic: Sea Life + Glassworks" exhibit at the Chula Vista Nature Center that opens this weekend and runs through September.

The glass art will be installed in and around fish tanks with tropical fish.

Stone calls his contribution "Ocean Symphony" because his colorful hand-blown glass creations remind him of instruments—horns and flutes—creating the sounds of the ocean.

"It sizzles," Stone said of the color palette for his exhibit, which is a mix of blues, oranges, reds and everything in between.

The horns are Stone's favorite, he said, and take about an hour to blow, then another few hours for the cold treatment portion of the process. The artist said he makes his own equipment—and has a half-dozen failed projects to show for it.

"I'm not afraid to roll the dice and make a mistake," Stone said as he showed a furnace he's made—the "grandchild" of a failed project. This furnace should last for years to come, he said.

Stone also is working on another project centered around the many sea creatures that are being fished to near extinction, he said. The project is titled, "Last Call Before We Eat Them All."

The event is $6-$11 for children aged 4 to adults. The nature center, at 1000 Gunpowder Point Dr. in Chula Vista, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Phone: 619-409-5900.