Featured Artists

Katalin Szabo completed a 9,000 piece jigsaw puzzle about a year ago, and found herself bored by completion. The puzzle lacked the creativity Szabo was seeking. Her husband suggested she learn the art of stained glass and now she's hooked! This was her first stained glass lampshade (we were impressed to say the least).

Szabo says she made all the mistakes possible in the process of making her lamp, but learned a lot in the process!

What did you learn in the process of making your first lamp? Tell us in the comments section below, and on Friday, May 11, we'll pick one person to receive Making Stained Glass Lamps book, complete with full-sized patterns!

 

Jo Kinnaly is a glass artist living in Northern Virginia. Happily retired from her government job, she spends much of her time playing with glass.  She has been creating glass art for a little over eight years, and finds that the more she learns, the more there is to learn.  Over the years, her work has evolved into animal portraits which she creates from photos, but she tries to find time for a wide variety of projects.
Kinnaly says she usually doesn't spend more than a few weeks on a project, but this lamp took her several months.  She made the "grapes" herself in her kiln. The shade is roughly 12” tall and 18” in diameter.
You can see more of Kinnaly's work on Etsy.

Over the weekend I attended the 23rd Annual Hyde Park Village Art Fair. The trendy area of Hyde Park, located in Tampa, FL, was the perfect setting for a show of its kind. The brick-paved streets were lined with booths showcasing high end art - everything from life-sized sculptures and paintings, to handcrafted sterling silver jewelry.

One of the exhibitors was world-renowned glass artist and Delphi customer Vincent Pernicano.

I recognized his work three booths away. There is something so captivating about his approach to mixed media.

Pernicano, who has won several awards for his work, including the 2009 Delphi Art Glass Festival Online Competition, uses layers of colored glass that have been cut into shapes and fused together with glass frit and fusible glass paints to create three-dimensional components.

The glass components are then backed with wood and attached to a canvas-covered woo ...

You may know Judi Rusho by the Epic Kiln Carving post we shared on Facebook last week, or by one of her many jewelry pieces floating around on Pinterest.

Jodi is a glass artist who is known for stacking, tacking, slumping, fusing and etching discarded glass items into tasteful, functional art.

How did you get started in glass?

I was originally interested in lampworking, bought a kiln and couldn't afford to buy glass or any more equipment.  Not being particularly patient, I promptly rounded up some bottles and started melting them.  I liked the recycled aspect, and when other artists told me that it couldn't be done, I was ...

We first noticed the work of Clayton Stang in Delphi's Artist Gallery. His glass shadowbox "Night Owl" received many comments in our gallery and on Facebook. Artists were asking, "how did he do that?"

We tracked him down for a short Q&A.

How did you get started in glass?

I was the baker at an adult summer camp 13 years ago. They were offering stained glass classes. I took to it immediately. Two years later, I became the stained glass instructor at the camp.

Why glass?

I was a color stylist in animation for years, so the colors of glass called out to me. Sometimes I just go into the glass store and look at glass for the thrill of it. I’ve always loved stained glass. I ju ...

How did you get started in glass? 

My husband Rich and his father used to have a custom stained glass window & door company in Santa Clara, CA, so one day he offered to teach me stained glass.

You also do beautiful beadwork, which came first, beading or warm glass?

The beading came first and then my husband signed us up for a fused glass lesson at Ocean Sky Beads & Glass in Oceanside, CA. I was so taken by it, that I asked him for a kiln for Christmas.

Who or what inspires you?

Discovering or making up new techniques inspire me the most, but I am also inspired by horses, animals and the sea.

You seem to be inspired by Southwestern culture and style, tell us more about that.

I grew up in Imperial Beach, CA, which is a border to ...

We recently asked our Facebook fans to send us photos of glass art from their gardens. We received some especially interesting photos from glass artist Mark Hall. Impressed as we were, we realized that Mark's talent goes far beyond the confines of his garden. He is self-taught and has mastered German leading techniques, hand beveling, mirroring and sandblasting among other techniques. He fine-tuned his skills while studying abroad in Germany at Derix Glass Studio, at Pilchuck School of Glass in Washington, and with The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. He and his wife, Leslie, now work together at Hallmark Glass.

How did you get started in glass?

In 1976 my brother informed me he'd started a business, and I was his partner. Surprised, I asked, "What's our business?" He responded, " ...

How did you get started in glass?

Glass is a fascinating medium. I was living as an ex-pat in Denmark in 2001 when I had the luck of finding a fusing glass course. I fell in love with the technique immediately. I pursued further classes and a masters since, trying to achieve more. I’m also a self learner, I love to study and work on my own. Since then I never stopped looking for ways to improve myself in this beautiful art. 

Why glass?

The first time I went to Murano, Italy, back in 1986 I had the chance to visit glass studios and was astonished by the way the artists worked with the powders and heat. Due to its unique properties, glass continues to be an intriguing material that can reflect, transmit or absorb light. It creates a surprise element which brings eclectic interest to a space without becoming overbearing. In fusing, I add powders, strings, ...

We found Mollie Barrow on Facebook in the midst of a discussion on Pot Melts. Mollie cooks up her incredible glass creations in a quiet eco-village in rural Ireland with her 10-year old son Elliot and cats Bonnie and Oscar. She is continually inspired by the Northern Lights, and the rich swirls of color in her pieces prove it. We were blown away by her magical melts, and we know you will be too.

How did you get started in glass?

I've been in love with glass art since I visited the Murano Glass Factory in Venice when I was 16. I was hypnotised by the skill and speed those guys had working with molten glass, and I would have loved to pursue glass seriously from then.  As is often the case, however, life had other plans and it wasn't until I was in my late 20s that I finally picked it up.  I took a 16-week fusing course at the only teaching studio in t ...

In the winter of 2005, Craig Mitchell Smith wandered into a class at Delphi Glass in Lansing, MI. Six years, and thousands of creations later, Craig has taken the world by storm with his artistic vision. He is not a newcomer to the art world (his background is in painting, interior design, landscape and floral design), but glass changed everything for him. And what started as a hobby has quickly become a full-time job. His sculptures, some enormous in scale, have been spotted on television, in museum shows, garden exhibitions and now in his very own public gallery. In 2010, his glass cardinal ornaments hung on the National Christmas Tree in Washingon, D.C.

When Dan Daniels, CEO of Delphi Glass, saw Craig's work for the first time he was speechless. He reco ...