I’ve been fully immersing myself into artistic content for a while now, hoping to surround myself on social media with mosaic and stained glass artists. Being inundated with the art I love helps the creativity flow; it stokes the obsession, and it’s a great way to spread positivity. If I haven’t left at least ten positive comments on other artists’ reels in a day, I’m not awake.
And I’m learning so much as I’m observing and participating in the community. Something that artists generally tend to do that’s a really great life philosophy is to experiment with subject, process and style. I don’t think there’s any type of art out there that can be done only one way to achieve only one type of end goal. Everyone seems to do it a little uniquely, and glass art is no different. There’s no one way to make stained glass art, and there seems to always be something new to learn. “But that’s not how it’s done” isn’t typically a refrain you read in comments for glass art, at least not on the reels I see. The predominant comments are always “I’ve never tried that before!” or “I’ve tried it this other way and it worked, too!”
Experimenting can be difficult to do when you get into a little stubborn groove in life. If I stumble into what works and get comfortable there, I may never have TIME to try something new. Who has the stamina to experiment with different techniques when we already have one that kinda works okay? Usually, most of the time? And that’s why it’s awesome to be part of a community of artists who live to experiment and try new things.
One of my favorite experimenters on Instagram & YouTube is Grizzly Glass Art. He makes step by step tutorial videos about every part of the stained glass process, which I know beginners and even seasoned veterans are appreciating so much. It takes so much time (and sometimes so much money, when it comes to expensive hobbies like stained glass) to experiment and possibly fail. So Grizzly Glass does it for us. Thinking about experimenting with different brands of patina? He’s done side by side demonstrations. Worrying about how to incorporate hobby came or zinc came to your borders? He’s gathering advice from other artists and demonstrating multiple techniques. It’s really freeing to watch someone film themselves TRY, without fading to black and a perfect finished product. There are a lot of artists out there filming their process, including their experiments, to help the larger stained glass community. Not only do I (and the wider community) appreciate the effort, but it’s an ongoing reminder that we should never stop trying.
Sometimes the experiments fail, and that’s when we learn the most–another unfortunate but powerful life lesson. Observing other artists continue to try, continue to make changes and alter their methods, seeking not just to improve but to share that knowledge, it’s truly humbling.
In that spirit, I’m going to try a new method of patina application I’ve seen a few artists do on Instagram lately. Applying Kwik flux cleaner and patina together at the same time? Seems like a horrifying prospect, but I’ll never know until I try something new. So cheers to all the makers who are experimenting and sharing the journey! I hope to start adding to the community in my own way–maybe not with step by step videos, but perhaps with very intentional reinforcement and encouragement. How about a stained glass cheerleader, shouting to the sky about how cool y’all are? I can do that.
