Featured Artists

Think of it this way: you're attempting to capture something that doesn't actually exist. A mythical creature that can change shape, even meaning at any given time; and you're expected to do it, again and again, over and over, til the end of time. Sounds all kinds of easy, right? It's actually about as easy as it sounds. Creativity is the mythical creature, I'm the person that's supposed to capture it. That's my life as an artist. More specifically, a stained glass artist. My love of glass started at a very young age--the exact age doesn't matter--but I know I was short enough to be patted on the top of my curly head by hundreds of people while they called me small boy since I was too painfully shy to introduce myself. I was dragged through hundreds of cathedrals and museums here and abroad. I saw the works of the masters in every gallery but no Picasso or Giacometti or Degas ever related to me the way stained glass did. There was just something about the interaction of the windows with their environment and the way it played with light and its surroundings that made me fall in love. So, how does one capture creativity? Patience is a great starting point. Noticing eve

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 wood-backed panel and frame that has been pre-painted with acrylics and/or oil paints and sealed with five coates of varnish. Dichroic glass stones are sometimes added as accents to the finished piece. Pernicano lives and works in a small community in Northern Michigan, but his ar

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 in for the duration. I'm nothing if not determined. I began in 1999, and have learned so much since then! Happily, I finally made my first lampwork beads last year. Why glass? If you look around your home or office right now, I bet you'll see more glass things than you expect. Glass is everywhere around us, is critical to our lifestyles, and yet, for the most part, we are only marginally aware of it. Glass can be so many things, it can be gorgeous or dangerous, decorative or functional, frequently both. I find that fascinating

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. Ive always loved stained glass. I just had to wait until I grew up and could afford it. How have your other interests/hobbies/career influenced your glass designs? So many of my designs are nature based. I am a country boy at heart. I love the mountains, forests and flowers. What makes your work unique from everyone elses? I guess the thing that makes everyones work unique is that they are done with

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 town to Mexico. I used to body surf at the beach in the summer and ride horses to the Tijuana River Valley State Park all year round. I also love Native American Indian Art and jewelry. I also have Central American Indian heritage. You mention in your bio online that you enjoy experimenting with glass, how so? I enjoy using all kinds of rubber stamps while I travel. I use them with the Delphi liquid platinum gol

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 hisskills while studying abroad in Germany at Derix Glass Studio,at Pilchuck School of Glass in Washington, andwith 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, Stained glass . I knew nothing about it, so I learned how to make a window on our first commission. Why glass? My brother decided this for me, and my interest in the field has kept me on track. How have your other interests/hobbies/career influenced your glass designs? First of all my focus became glass, most other hobbies fell by the wayside. Now I don't fish

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. Im 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 , frits , metal or other inserts toslabs of glass toachieve an organic, but extraordinary design. I like to create pieces that are functional as well as decorative - bowls, platters and sculptures. They are fired to around 1500 F. The high temperatures melt the glass fragments incorporating them into a new form. In fus

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 the country, with the intention of making some nice jewellery for myself. Then I made some for friends, and then their friends. And it grew from there. I'm a natural rule breaker, and I was soon experimenting with glasses and kiln times and mixing things I shouldn't mix and getting up to all sorts of shenanigans

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 recognized in Craig a talent unmatched in the industry - the next great glass artist. Since then, Craig has become the darling of Delphi Glass, and is scheduled to appear in an upcoming catalog. Delphi Executive Director, Lisa Parks, caught up with Craig to ask him a few questions on his recent gallery opening and newfound fame. DG: You recently opened a new gallery in Okemos, MI. Tell us a little about the Gallery