An artist’s one-of-a-kind, nature-inspired items brighten up properties and gardens

As somebody who has all the time been fascinated by glass, Kristin Quackenbush knew she wished to work with it in some capability.

All through each her schooling and her life, she’s experimented with completely different mediums, however glass was essentially the most intriguing. When she moved again to Wisconsin after going to highschool in South Dakota to get licensed to show artwork (she earned her undergraduate diploma on the College of Wisconsin–Madison), she began by taking a glass bead-making course in Racine.

That was her first true introduction to the medium, however it wasn’t till she moved to Solar Prairie that she took a glass-fusing class on the now-closed The Vinery Stained Glass Studio. Now she has been fusing glass for about 17 years.

Not like glass blowing, which entails a furnace and molten glass, glass fusing entails “chilly” glass that will get fired in a kiln.

“It’s one thing manageable in a house versus needing to have a furnace facility for blown glass,” Quackenbush says.

Most items begin with a base of clear glass that acts like a canvas. From there, Quackenbush makes use of items of glass which have been lower with mosaic nippers together with frit (ground-up glass) to create a design. Utilizing glass glue, she secures the items and can add extra layers of clear sheet glass and extra items of frit and glass. After the design is about, it goes into the kiln, the place all of the layers soften collectively to type one unified piece of artwork.

Picture by Nikki Hansen

Quackenbush compares the method to creating panini: clear glass acts just like the bread on the underside and prime with colourful glass and frit appearing like filling and garnishes, then the complete creation is baked. All of the processes are carried out in her residence, and she or he has a kiln in her storage. Previous to proudly owning her personal kiln, she would put every little thing collectively at residence and transport it to The Vinery to fuse.

“I get to play with transparency and opacity inside layers of glass, in addition to with damaged bits of glass that needs to be harmful however, when dealt with appropriately, will not be,” Quackenbush says.

Whereas she might attempt to do sure items equally, no two glass items will look completely equivalent due to modifications within the design or firing processes. No matter what number of of her hottest sunflower items she places collectively, every one finally ends up distinctive.

“Folks usually ask how lengthy it takes to make a chunk, and there’s not a simple reply,” Quackenbush says.

Quackenbush is impressed by nature, and it may be present in virtually all of her creations, primarily within the type of bushes, flowers and landscapes. It’s additionally a becoming theme, as she makes items for the house and backyard, together with backyard stakes — her mother, mother’s pal and sister will assist create the copper frames for these initiatives. Along with nature, Quackenbush can be impressed by symmetry in design.

She loves creating issues that individuals will show of their properties, as she feels honored folks select to spend money on her artwork that they’ll see day by day. For her, glass is the right medium for vivid colours, since they’ll by no means fade.

“There are some moments when folks come into my sales space at an artwork honest with their mouths hanging open,” Quackenbush says. “I’ll all the time ask them in the event that they love coloration, too, and so they all the time say, ‘Sure!’ I feel colourful glass artwork attracts them in prefer it does to me as a result of it brings us pleasure.”

As an artist who primarily sells at artwork gala’s, Quackenbush has had many experiences at native gala’s, however final yr’s Artwork Truthful off the Sq. — the annual July occasion on Martin Luther King Boulevard —was an anomaly. It was the primary artwork honest in over a yr within the Madison space, and issues acquired busy. She offered greater than ever earlier than and wanted to make much more merchandise for her following summer time reveals.

It was at certainly one of these artwork reveals that she met the director of College of the Wisconsin–Whitewater’s scholar heart who helped her safe a solo showcase. Subsequently, the director provided Quackenbush the chance to design a 25- to 30-foot-long piece for the college. Quackenbush in the end labored with two different artists (one specializing in watercolors and the opposite blended media/collage) and an artist collective, Pastel Society, to share the duty of making a everlasting piece on campus.

“That’s a type of issues that I feel most artists would really feel like [is] a very nice lifetime achievement, to have one thing on everlasting show someplace,” Quackenbush says.

Discover KristinQGlassArt: kristinqglassart.com, @KristinQglassart

Maija Inveiss is an affiliate editor of Madison Journal.