Jenny Blaze gets glass sparkling for Artisans in the Garden party
Glass whisperer Jenny Blaze hammers, shapes, and manipulates glass to create magnificent designs featured at this year’s Artisans in the Garden at Tallahassee Nurseries on Nov. 4.
Lighting the way
Natural light can enhance or distort any art form. It can change the hue of an acrylic stroke, add shadows to a sculpture never intended, and even illuminate the sounds of violin strings, but no art form plays with light more than stained glass.
Stained glass comes in varying degrees of clarity and transforms depending on its location. It takes an exceptional artist with a keen sense of the client's aesthetic and the power behind each element to capture the best possible reflections of light and color. Stained glass artist Jenny Blaze has both.
At a young age, Jenny Blaze found peace and serenity in an art workshop, watching her father create. Her family lived on a small farm in Illinois, where they ran a piano tuning and furniture refinishing business. Blaze, always at her father’s elbow, developed a love for building and shaping artistic pieces. “He taught me that you can find creative joy even in dull work,” says Blaze.
Thus, it is no surprise that Jenny Blaze is now the name and talent behind Jenny Blaze Glass, a custom stained glass studio inspired by Blaze’s love of nature. During the early 2000s, Blaze followed in yet another one of her father’s footsteps and became a park ranger in Carrabelle. She fell in love with Tallahassee’s rural feel and its engulfing greenery. Since then, she has made Tallahassee home and continues to fill it with light, glass, and laughs.
More than fragile
One fateful day decades in Blaze’s past, her mother purchased an old pub window at an auction for only $5. Since the window had a few cracked panels, she did not display it but instead, gave it to Blaze to do with it as she wished. A spark ignited.
“She gave the window to me thinking I might want to turn it into another art piece, and I decided to learn how to repair that single piece,” said Blaze. “My love for stained glass has grown from that day.”
Through trial and error and a lot of deep cuts, Blaze taught herself the art of stained glass. The method of assembling pieces of glass together with lead is a tricky, lengthy process that has been cultivated over thousands of years. First, one begins with a strong sketch and a precise scaled measurement called a cartoon that becomes the blueprint for the final piece.
Color and shape is next and a key element in the artistic design process. “I will often tell people, ‘Bring me something with a hole in it, and I'll put glass in,’” chuckles Blaze. “I've done all shapes of windows, driftwood holes, bicycle spokes, and even old pulleys with stained glass. It's seeing the empty space in my head and then letting the creative process color in the spaces like a mental coloring book.”
Lastly, the glass is patterned, cut, and fired so it can be glazed, soldered, and cemented.
Although glasswork may seem like a fragile medium, Blaze assures that glass is tougher than it looks. “I regularly manipulate the sheets of glass in the studio using hammers, pliers, and nails. Glass is an oddly contrary medium… as long as you respect and handle it properly,” shares Blaze. “Although, I will add that I have never had to cover my fingers in small bandages after working with clay.”
From pet portraits humbly paying homage to man’s best friend to glass-inspired freeform pieces, Blaze’s stained glass portfolio encompasses many things. She runs her studio from home and is always happy to take on new custom projects, stating that her favorite jobs are those with “unusual requests.”
Gardens of Art
Blaze is one of the featured artists in this year’s Artisans in the Garden event back for its 23rd year of gathering over 50 local artists, musicians, and foodies. “It is a wonderful event, set against a beautiful backdrop of natural Florida beauty at the nursery,” says Blaze.
“I will be showcasing plant-based stained glass as well as some larger pieces like a succulent greenhouse table lamp.” This event is sure to be a lovely day, surrounded by the natural light that inspires Blaze to cut and shape her glass pieces. Hosted by the Tallahassee Nurseries, it's the perfect place to surround yourself in art and music under the Tallahassee treetops.
If you go
What: Artisans in the Garden
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4
Where: At The Tallahassee Nurseries, 2911 Thomasville Road
Contact: 850-385-2162 | theexperts@tallahasseenurseries.com
Dr. Christy Rodriguez de Conte is the feature writer for the Council on Culture & Arts (COCA). COCA is the capital area’s umbrella agency for arts and culture (www.tallahasseearts.org).
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Jenny Blaze gets glass sparkling for Artisans in the Garden party
