Stained Glass Artistry with a Twist

By Jim Hansen

It was my pleasure to make the acquaintance of an artisan that creates artistic heirlooms constructed with hand cut stained glass. The person of whom I speak is Kathleen Barrett. With her unique talent she cuts and shapes pieces of glass that are placed one by one in patterns upon a plate, vase, or stepping-stone. This time intensive task creates a visual effect that is ever pleasing to the eye. When one looks upon this spectacular object made of shards of glass the light is gathered and is reflected becoming that of a kaleidoscope and tickles the imagination.

Kathleen has embraced this hobby that she discovered while acting as an aide at a local school and found herself participating in a project that incorporated the use of stained glass. It was this project that became the defining moment in her hobby life and she set out to acquire more knowledge and pursue the art adding her own personal creativity to this new endeavor of creating stained glass art.

As you might imagine it takes great patience and an eye for detail to excel in a hobby of this nature. The hours it takes to make a single plate is usually about 16 to 18 hours and a vase can run 20 hours or more.

To create such an object a suitable plate must be found, and then prepped by sanding away any rough spots that may make it uneven. Then one must select the pattern, and cut the glass. Kathleen prefers to cut triangles and rectangles rather than just having random broken pieces. As the process continues Kathleen then places the cut glass into the prepared pattern and secures it with special adhesives. This is just a sample of the preparation and perspiration that needs to be incorporated into what becomes the finished plate.

Kathleen prefers the patterns and shapes that are of grapes, grape vines, wine glasses and champagne flutes. Her mixture of these images has made for her most popular creations. However, occasionally she creates other specialty designs like the magnificent Starfish that she recently completed. One sure thing to be said is that no two plates are identical. Although these plates may be similar there is always some small nuance that makes them truly unique making each one of a kind. The work done to complete these plates can be tedious, painstaking and challenging but the journey for Kathleen is as much fun as the seeing the completion of the project. Maybe these plates have more than just the beauty expressed outwardly but also a good lesson for life. Enjoy the journey and the completion of the objective is just a bonus.