Breaking Good: Improvisational Stained Glass 

with Devin Balara
$250 lab fee | July 13–25 | Skill–building

This class will provide a full overview of stained glass techniques. Using the copper foil method, students will learn to cut, grind, and solder colorful glass sheets and shards. Emphasis will be placed on experimentation, improvisation, and using what you find among existing scraps. We will explore three-dimensional form construction, template design, and strategies to use stained glass in your own practice. Those with previous stained glass experience will find space in this class to play and take risks, while beginners will come away confidently knowing the rules of glass—and how to break them!  We will engage in readings and ongoing discussions of color theory while considering artists who use color, light, and line, such as Hilma af Klint, Kerry James Marshall, Raúl de Nieves, and Wells Chandler. Assignments will invite students to find their way through a spectrum of glass pieces and arrange them with a focus on color harmony and intentional refraction of light. The class will culminate in a burst of site-specific installations throughout Ox-Bow’s campus.

SAIC students: This is a 3-credit course; use the course code SCULPTURE 693 001.

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Devin Balara (she/her) is an artist whose work has notably been exhibited at Atlanta Contemporary; Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn; Spring Break Art Show, New York; Roots & Culture, Chicago; the International Sculpture Center, Hamilton Township, NJ; and, most recently, Coco Hunday, Tampa, FL. She has worked for over a decade as a metal shop manager for various institutions, including eight years at Ox-Bow. She received a BFA in Sculpture from the University of North Florida in 2010 and an MFA in Sculpture from Indiana University in 2014. She currently works as a freelance stained glass artist and educator.