Saturday, January 14, 2012

An Adventure in Glass

My husband started a blog several months ago and has been writing in it regularly. It is exciting to watch him process and write about theology and God, and it's exciting to listen to others' responses to his writing. I was never tempted to join him...really!

Of course there's a "But..." to that statement because here I am! Jumping into a world of writing that I barely visit, let alone participate in. So the question is: Why? Partly because I have a friend who asked for a link to my artist's blog (which didn't exist until now). Partly because I have watched my husband working with such purpose and joy. Partly because I love to write. Partly because I'm curious. Partly because I'm about to venture into the world of "real" business; for me, that's selling art that I create.

It took me almost a decade to claim "artist" as my own. I actually started my first piece of stained glass at the age of 17. I loved the process, but before I could finish, I graduated from high school! So the pieces sat in a box for several years until I finally threw them out to make room for my children's keepsakes. Many years went by; my children grew; my husband went to jail and I divorced him; and eventually I needed something positive to occupy my time. That's when I saw an advertisement for a stained glass class at a local glass store.

I attended the class, made a few "canned" pieces, then was seized by a vision of a piece in its entirety. It was, for me, a completely unexpected event. I had picked up an old window frame from a friend. It was from a 105 year old barn, and it oozed character. In contemplating what to do with it, I considered painting it, using it to frame a painting, hanging pictures of my then-teenage children in it... and then, in a moment, I knew it had to frame a stained glass piece. And not just any piece, a piece titled, "God's Garden" that took me many weeks to design and build. From that inspiration to now, my art has been self-designed, frequently framed in found window frames, and 100% inspired by God.

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