August, 2011 Featured Artists - Vicki Day & Nola Cabral of The Stained Glass Shop...
Meet featured artists Vicki Day and Nola Cabral of The Stained Glass Shop in Glendale, Arizona.
Vicki and Nola bought the shop in 1986, which had sold traditional leaded glass supplies, finished goods and held classes from a suburban strip mall since 1971.
Warm glass was incorporated into traditional stained glass, and the Shop’s classes, virtually from the beginning. Shortly after purchasing the shop, Vicki and Nola went to their first trade show, took their first fusing class and bought their first kiln. Vicki then traveled to Los Angeles and took a class from Gil Reynolds and her fusing career took off. Originally, Gil traveled to Glendale to teach fusing classes for the shop; then Vicki assumed that role and Gil visited to teach only specialty fusing techniques. Vicki’s expertise and continuing education has allowed her to become The Stained Glass Shop’s professional when it comes to fused glass.
In 2001, The Stained Glass Shop moved into a space designed and built to their specifications to enable them to provide more warm glass classes.
Although the shop is just across the street from the old location, they have more retail space as well as a better-designed teaching area. They also have the capacity to run three - 220V kilns and six - 8” kilns all at the same time! When teaching some techniques they need all that fire power!
Their fused glass mosaic technique has been developed over time with the help of two special people: Diane Sepanski, who had the original idea, and Mary Beth Maddox, who helped define the new process. Vicki & Nola love using No Days ThinFuse Adhesive in their Fused Glass Mosaic Classes because it eliminates a firing and cuts back on the amount of time it takes to finish a project. Prior to the advent of No Days Thin Fuse Adhesive, the colored tile pieces would be laid on the background glass, then the piece would be tack-fused. Now the pieces can be heat set with the adhesive, allowed to cool, and finished with frit glass grout all before being kiln fired.
The Stained Glass Shop is a full-service retail store. The shop provides glass, supplies and a large variety of classes in both traditional lead and copper foil stained glass techniques, beginning fusing and specialty fusing, mosaics, precious metal clay, wire working, silver jewelry techniques and much more.
Visit Vicki and Nola at www.stainedglass-shop.com to learn more!
