My Profile

Old Oak Glass Art is a new name for my stained glass business. I had been operating as Glass Art by Acorn Services Inc, so you may be curious about the name change. Acorn is the name I selected for my consulting services company and my stained glass business was a tag along or, as I told my CPA, a division of the company. When I went in search of a domain name, variations of the Acorn name were already taken. I put on my thinking cap and came up with a number of options, none of which struck me as particularly good until I landed on Old Oak Glass Art. This name has a particular meaning to me hidden within it. If you reverse the order of the letters in the two words, the result is the initials of my two daughters (at least before they got married).

Now for some history about my adventures with stained glass.

Date

Event / Achievement

2003

Started taking classes in the copperfoil method of stained glass at The Stained Glass Window in Damascus, Maryland. Unfortunately for me, Dave eventually closed the Damascus shop and moved to Ada, Oklahoma, but by then I was hooked.

2004 - 2008

Lots of practice and classes as I developed my love for the art and craft of stained glass work using the copper foil method. During this time, I took a class on the lead came method of stained glass production from Fran Aspeck through a county leisure class program in Maryland. [Lead came is the traditional method of production for 'leaded glass' and has been used for centuries for windows in churches in Europe.] Fran's interesting designs helped me develop an appreciation for different ways of using lead came in stained glass fabrication.

October, 2008

Apprenticed at Vetrate Artistiche Toscane a stained glass studio in Siena, Italy. They have created stained glass windows with both religious and secular themes that are installed in locations around the world, including Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This month was filled with new experiences, learning the traditional methods of lead came production for stained glass windows and observing the owners of the studio, Massimo and Giannia Bracciali. I learned so much. Check the Useful Links page for more information and a link to their website.

2009

My stained glass workshop in the basement of our home in Berkeley Springs, WV is now set up, with windows that bring in natural light. My husband, Stan, built me a wonderful work table and two benches for my grinders and ring saw. I have a large sink for cleaning my work and applying patina. Plus lots of room for glass. Pictures of my stained glass workshop are posted in the Gallery.

30 May 2009

What an incredible experience! We arranged to visit Villanova University so Stan and I could see the windows created at Vetrate Artistiche Toscane. Along with our friend, Julie, we were able to see the windows in all three buildings (Villanova Monastery, Corr Chapel, and College of Nursing). The pictures we took do not do justice to the windows. When seen in person, there is such depth to the windows that they appear almost three dimensional. We were all truly impressed. To see our pictures from the trip, click Villanova pictures or navigate to the Glass Art Gallery.

If you have comments or questions, please contact me at Old Oak Glass Art.