Thursday, May 27, 2010

Meet Linda of Stained Glass by Nonnie










Meet Linda of Stained Glass by Nonnie
You can visit her shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nonnie62

How many years have you worked with glass?
I have worked with glass for 5 years.

What triggers ideas for new projects?
Ideas come from nature, a song, a painting, especially the great masters. My favorite thing to do is find a portrait by the great masters and execute it in stained glass. My first glass portrait was "Girl with a Pearl Earrings" (Vermeer, Dutch 16th century), which I did for my daughter for Christmas. It's an 20" x 26" panel, which hangs from a custom-made stand, similar in design to a quilt rack.

When do ideas come to you? How often?
Ideas come to me all hours of the day, several times a week. Most of the time I'm at work and can't do anything about it, so I keep a journal where I write down the idea/thought and later go back and elaborate.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
I obsess about my art, and I think of it about 75% of the day. I even dream about it.

Do you create daily?
I create daily. I'm either thinking about a design, drafting a design, refining a design, making a pattern, or executing the design in stained glass.

How important is it for you to create art?
It is absolutely essential for me to create art. It's like breathing. It's necessary for me to live. when I'm not creating, I'm out of sorts, grumpy, and just generally miserable.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Choosing the artist's life has been a blessing, a calming influence, a stabilizing, energizing force. NOT a sacrifice.

Describe your studio:
My studio is two parts -- the creating part is my office, a big art table, good light, lots of pencils, pens, watercolors, chalk, sewing supplies, ribbon, craft supplies. My workshop is the physical place where I transform my ideas into stained glass. Here I have lots of glass stored in racks so I can just go to the inventory and pick something. I have my grinder, my polisher, my power tools (chop saw, mitre saw, router, sander), hand tools, glass-making supplies.

Tell me something about you:
I am a married mother of two grown children. I work full-time in the field of science, so my right/left brain conflicts all the time. I am a dreamer. I love challenges, and there isn't one challenge so far in my life I haven't met and exceeded. I plan to retire in a few months and do stained glass all the time as well as manage my two etsy shops. I live in central PA, but grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

No comments: