Who is your inspiration?

A recently completed commission:

This a wedding invitation, sealed between two pieces of beveled and plate glass.  The edges are hand painted with a heat set paint (that was the fun part!).  Since I’ve run out of jump rings and keep forgetting to order more, I took the opportunity to experiment more with some bronze wire hangers.  Although my wire wrapping technique needs work, I think it lent itself well to the overall ‘old Celtic’ look of the project.  The customer agreed and loved the finished product, and that is what is most important, really.  That’s why I keep doing this.

Working on the layering did get me thinking, though.  One of  my favorite glass artists is Robert Oddy.  Like Louis Comfort Tiffany (also known in glass circles as “The Man”), Oddy pushes the envelope of stained glass with his multi-layer plating techniques.

Oddy’s art is made with several layers of glass which, put together, give his pieces a subtle but amazing amount of depth.  In addition, he works tree bark, stones, and other natural non glass objects into his work, creating even more texture.

Below is a piece created for children’s/fantasy author Bruce Coville’s home (Anyone else remember him?  Great books.).

Look close for the unicorn in the tree!

One of my favorite things about doing stained glass is the room I have for experimentation and development.  Each project has its own little problems to solve.  Its one part art, and one part engineering.  Studying artists like Oddy shows me just how much room I have to grow and even invent my own processes, and inspires me all over again.

In your chosen medium, who are the artists that inspire you to test the boundaries of your art?

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