Ginny Ruffner is one of the best-known glass artists in the United States. Her one-of-a-kind pieces are colorful, detailed and often humorous. Over the years, she became famous for a method called lamp working, also known as flame working. It involves using a torch to melt and shape the glass instead of blowing on it. Ginny Ruffner almost died in a three-car accident in 1991. No one thought the Seattle-based artist would ever walk or talk again. An award-winning  film documentary explores that period of her life. "It's scary when you can't talk, you can't do... all your life." said Ruffner. Ms. Ruffner was in a coma  for five weeks and a wheelchair for five years. But she overcame her injuries. And although she still has difficulty walking and talking, she has willed herself back to work. Now, she has a team that helps bring her dream to life. Her team recently finished an eight point five meter-high flowerpot made of steel and aluminum. It is now in downtown Seattle. Ms. Ruffner was recently honored in Washington, DC.  The Renwick Gallery presented a special showing of the film, "A Not So Still Life, the Ginny Ruffner Story." Ms. Ruffner says "it has been a long battle, but the hardest part has not been the physical problems. I hate being taken for granted, being ignored. The way I talk, people assume that I'm either really old, or kind of retarded , and that is so frustrating." But she is firm. She says "Fortunately I've done a lot of stuff in my life, so I know that the best thing is to be open to the mystery, who knows what great things will happen. I'm sure they're many more to come." Ginny Ruffner's art can be seen in more than forty museums around the world. Her work and her life continue to motivate people of all ages. Within five years after a car accident, Ginny Ruffner    _   .
was unconscious of everything had trouble walking and talking got over injuries completely went back to her work