Stained Glass Artist Spotlights
the Wonders of WRITTEN BY WENDY HOBDAY HAUGH | PHOTOS PROVIDED Carolyn Wilcox’s “Funky Trees.”
"Luna" Stained glass artist Carolyn Wilcox at work in her home studio.
"Access," a springtime landscape.
Nature
Carolyn Wilcox, artist and owner of Silver Maple Stained Glass in Hope, is passionate about infusing the wonders of the natural world into her original stained glass designs. After retiring from a 21-year technical career in the Air Force in 2006, Wilcox knew she wanted to find another government job. But in the meantime, she began dabbling in various craft forms. Having done a lot of watercolors in her early twenties, Wilcox was eager to find a challenging new medium to rekindle her artistic side. While living near Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, she engaged in a series of lessons in stained glass making. “Immediately, I became hooked on the art form,” she recalls. “Eventually, I quit my job to pursue stained glass making full-time.” In creating her artwork, Wilcox uses the copper foil, or Tiffany, method. First, the edges of each piece of glass are wrapped in a thin copper foil. Then, the entire lengths of joints where pieces of glass meet are soldered together. Unlike the traditional lead came technique commonly seen in flat stained glass church windows, the copper foil method enables artisans to work with much smaller pieces of glass, create the stunning curves of Tiffany’s renowned Art Nouveau shades, and attain a sturdier, more flexible unit. When Carolyn Wilcox first began working with stained glass, she used patterns created by other designers. But all that changed when she returned to her hometown in 2014. “Moving back to Hope really seemed to bring out my artistic side. Inspired by the wildlife and woodland flowers and plants surrounding my home, I began drawing my own designs. I have found my niche,” she muses. “I make what I like—and am happily surprised that others seem to appreciate my originality. The artist enjoys working with glass of varying shapes, sizes, colors, and thicknesses. “Glass with mottled thickness and density is trickier to cut,” she points out. “But the ‘snap’ of a piece of glass cut cleanly is the best sound in the world. Learning to make new, more intricate designs takes time and patience as well as courage and the willingness to fail as you perfect each new technique.”
40 | SIMPLY SARATOGA | HOME & GARDEN 2022
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