Using a glass-cutting band saw, Sam Simms meticulously slices through rippling scarlets and deep cerulean panes of glass before fusing them together with molten copper. The stained-glass artist creates functional and wearable works of art in her studio, which teems with vibrant and eclectic pieces such as jewelry and hanging mosaics. Sam stocks more than 1,000 pieces of glass in her facility—as well as supplies for large and small undertakings—and offers custom commission work, stained-glass restorations, and mosaic-repair services.
Sam loves stained glass so much that she instructs others on how to create it in workshops introducing various methods. During lead-method classes, Sam teaches students the traditional way to make stained-glass pieces such as the ones commonly found on windows in churches and 1984 Plymouth Voyagers. The copper-foil-method classes teach students to wrap adhesive copper tape around precut pieces of glass and fuse them together to craft 3-D works of art.
