Lynn Martin

Putting the pieces together

To make a stained glass piece you start by cutting one seemingly random piece of glass after another. The beauty of the art is not seen until all the pieces are put together.

Lynn Martin did not set out to become an exceptional stained glass artist. She simply took a craft class. This was the first “seemingly random piece” in Lynn’s career. She found she loved glass and took additional classes at a professional studio. That led to an apprenticeship. As an apprentice, she taught the in-house classes and learned about restoration, design and the many aspects of working with glass. After three years she set off on her own.

Lynn now teaches and makes beautiful stained glass in her North Kingstown Studio, a lovely and welcoming space she designed herself. It is housed in the summer kitchen or “keeping room” of her 300 year old farmhouse. She maintained the integrity of the space by keeping all the original wood. The floor is uneven, the door creaks and the light in the studio is perfect for working with glass.

The studio has seen many nights when Lynn was so engrossed in her work she neglected to go to bed. It has also sheltered many students who have come and gone over the years.

These students learn from a woman who loves her medium. Lynn describes her glass this way,  “It has an ever changing quality depending on its location, the time of day, the light level of a certain day, and the season of the year. The colors are spectacular. Some glass looks like a Monet painting, or a sunrise sky, or white waves on a clear blue ocean. I enjoy finding the right piece of glass, or an area of a large sheet of glass that gives the finished window a ‘painterly’ look.”

She also loves each aspect of the process. Because of the limitations glass presents the initial design can be tricky. ‘Break-lines’ are needed to make it possible to cut the glass into a shape. Lynn challenges herself to have flowing break-lines that are an integral part of the design. After many hours of designing and cutting, Lynn solders together the pieces. It is only then that she can hold the piece up to the light. Lynn says there is always an element of surprise in seeing the finished piece.

Lynn finds many correlations between creating stained glass and life. As she so eloquently stated, “Glass breaks, sometimes it shatters…sometimes life feels like it is shattering and will never be whole again. Glass reminds me that when things in life fall apart, I can still make something beautiful from the broken pieces. It has been my greatest teacher.”

The piece above, called “I Dream of Horses,” was created years ago when a young woman commissioned a stained glass window from Lynn. This woman had a dream she felt was significant. In her dream she was riding a magnificent horse with the wind in her hair. She felt more free, alive and more herself in that dream than she had ever felt. This woman asked Lynn to translate the dream into a stained glass window. Lynn, who always loved dream images and dream work, agreed. They worked together to create as close an image as possible to the dream. A year after the window was finished and installed, the woman called Lynn. She had bought a horse and was moving out west that very day, leaving everything else behind. Lynn believes that finding a way to bring that dream into a solid form allowed this woman the freedom to “follow her dream.”

If you have a dream of owning stained glass or doing it yourself email Lynn at seraphimstainedglass@gmail.com