The genre of stained glass was immediately seductive- trying to bend glass to your will and overcoming the frustration when it breaks you instead.  I bleed with every project, and my spirit is strengthened each time a shard sneaks into a finger.  The splinters are a constant reminder that we can all shatter, but even in our smallest forms we are capable of powerfully impacting the world in which we find ourselves.

 

My current focus seems to be drawing me to larger scale pieces, and the projects in my studio are growing to match that aim.   I believe creativity, evolution, and change are the primary meanings of life, and stained glass has provided me an ever-expanding outlet to voice that value within the realms of love and human connection. 

​

I discovered a passion of transcribing photographs into stained glass panels, which allows the recipient to display favorite memories in a semi-permanent way that uniquely resonates.   Art applies to everyone, but glass art tends to be cost prohibitive, particularly for my peer group.  I’ve enjoyed “stalking” the social media pages of friends and family, and then surprising individuals with personal pieces based upon their shared photos.  The shock that comes when I deliver the finished products is uniformly vibrant- caught somewhere between the unexpected awe of being singly recognized and valued, and the personal thrill at seeing themselves (or those they love) represented through the eyes of art.  I imagine the pieces outliving me- outliving the subject themselves- ultimately passed down to spark memory in the spirit of future generations.  

​

Leigh Lafosse