In 2004 at Vetri International Glass in Seattle, Portland artist Carmen Vetter presented a show of her wall-mounted, kiln-formed glass panels that was a riot of color. There were blushing reds, glowing greens, lush yellows and muted blues arranged in zig-zags, waves and circles that looked like mandalas made of candy sprinkles. Vetter reveled in the brilliance of her colors.

Five years later, however, much of the color has drained out of Vetter’s palette. The medium is the same and the geometric patterns remain, but Vetter’s glass wall panels now take the viewer into the sobering realm of black and white and the gray scale that lies between those two poles.

It is the middle grayness that is at the center of Vetter’s newest show, “Fading Gray: Patterns on Polarization,” at Tacoma’s William Traver Gallery.

“Fading Gray” is Vetter’s exploration of the Chinese concept of Yin-Yang. She has become interested in the juxtaposition of opposites and the exploration of the possibility of unity amidst stark contrast. The series presented in the show began as “an expression of frustration over social and political polarization,” states Vetter. She set out to explore what unites rather than what divides opposite poles (black and white). Hence, her emphasis is on the gradients and values of gray by which the two poles approach each other, communicate with each other and blend into one another.

The venue for this drama are square glass panels (21 inches is the standard size unit but there is some variation in this) upon which Vetter builds her naturalistic and geometric patterns by adding layer upon layer of frit and powdered glass. Each layer of glass granules is fired in the kiln where they fuse together and are ready to receive the next layer. In this way, Vetter gives her designs three dimensionality. The surface texture of the pieces is as grainy as a sandy beach.

In a triptych entitled “Circumlocation,” Vetter presents three panels with the same pattern of ripples emanating from an eye-shaped center. The two end panels are diametric opposites - one is black as carbon in the center and white toward the edges while the other is white as gypsum in the center and black at the edges. The center panel is a state of synthesis between these two poles, thus illustrating Vetter’s agenda of exploring that vital middle ground between extremes.

Vetter explains “Fading Gray” as “an investigation of the beauty in the paradoxical. In the end,” she continues, “this is much more about what unites rather than divides.”

The show is not entirely an exploration of the gray zones (which we get plenty of by looking at the sky or contemplating the current state of the economy). There are a few brilliant color notes sprinkled here and there.

“Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” for example, is a beautiful, fiery thing incorporating the orange tones of hot lava spilling out of the mouth of a volcano. “Ripple,” on the other hand, is a meditative blue mandala composed of concentric circles.

“Hot and Cold,” a four-panel composition, is a combination of Vetter’s most velvety black with a livid red center. This piece brings together the colorful flare of the artist’s earlier work and the starkness of her current infatuation with the basics of black and white.

“Fading Gray” is on view at William Traver Gallery at 1821 Dock St. #100. For further information visit www.travergallery.com or call (253) 383-3685.