About The Artist
I have always been interested in stained glass. I can remember playing in my Uncles yard, looking at his house and seeing the simplest stained glass window design, it was just one clear window, surrounded by squares of brightly colored glass, but those colors of bright red and cobalt blue grabbed my attention right from the start. As a teen, I looked for a stained glass shop in my area so I could take a class, however, lack of a car and money kept me from doing so. It wasn't until my mid 30's did I get a chance to find out what stained glass was all about.
I was working in Chicago at the time and found a Stained glass shop in Skokie, IL. I quickly signed up and loved it immediately. After moving back to Boston, I continued my corporate job, but took a second stained glass class, and continued to do it as a hobby in my basement for several years, creating my first transom for my own home. In late 2001, I moved to Baltimore, MD after being laid off and vowed to never work a corporate job again, and was determined to find work in glass. I researched the area before I moved, contacted a local shop and was hired before even moving. This is where I learned the lead method of stained glass window making and the business end of the craft.
After only 4 months, I left this position and struck out on my own, opening Atlantic Stained Glass in late 2002. Here my business took off and luckily for me the city was under going an unprecedented renovation and a renewed appreciation for stained glass. Baltimore is well known for its row homes and most were built with a transom over the front door. Over the years, stained glass was seen as "common" and generally not taken care of or appreciated for the works of art they really are. Many homes actually removed the windows and threw them away, covered them over with vinyl siding or replaced them with glass block. Not until recently have people begun to appreciate what has been lost. Many homeowners want to return their homes to their original condition. This allowed me to work on over 200 homes, in just 2 short years, repairing, restoring and recreating windows long gone. I was happy to see the city taking pride in what it once was and participating in helping to keep an important part of Baltimore's history intact and enjoyed for years to come.
After three and a half years in Baltimore, and the daily operation of a busy stained glass shop for 2 years, my partner and I decided we wanted a quieter pace of life and really wanted to return to New England and our families, prompting my move to Southern Vermont. It's been a long process of getting my home studio up and running again, and like any artisan, needed to take the next step in my craft.
The logical step in my mind was going from "cold glass" or stained
glass to "warm glass" also known as kiln-formed or fused glass.
While in Baltimore, I had taken a fusing class at the nationally know Vitrum
Studios in Maryland. There I learned the basics of glass fusing. I am now
refining my fusing skills and in the future hope to make my own fused glass
to incorporate into stained glass windows. I also plan to do fused plates,
bowls and other utilitarian items. My view on my craft as a craftsman is
not to make art that people have no use for…it's to create art that's
affordable and useful in peoples lives, whether it's a functional item or
one that hangs in some ones home and brings color and light into their daily
life, it brings me great satisfaction knowing that people are enjoying my
work, as much as I enjoy making it.