Hannah Trahan
Glass

Hannah Trahan is a self taught glass artist from the heart of south Louisiana, Breaux Bridge that has been creating since 2021. Exploring different mediums all her life, art with glass was a big inspiration even as a child. Her mother worked with glass mosaics and eventually the scrap glass was calling to be made into something beautiful. Diving in head first, Hannah taught herself the Tiffany Copper Foil method of glasswork and the rest is history. She blends nostalgia and nature together in different ways to push the boundaries of traditional glasswork.

Laurie Mason
Glass, Mixed Media

MASoN ART

I create different kinds of art for the pure joy of creating. Art created in this manner has been sold in local markets and through private sales. I’ve been greatly influenced by my childhood in Europe, and I focus mainly on myth, legends, and my home, Louisiana. I was fortunate to have studied under the highly respected Louisiana artist Elmore Morgan, and I carry his wisdom and a bit of his soul with me always. I like to find and illuminate the uniqueness in everything and the quirkiness within individuality.

Born in Fairbanks Alaska, my life was shaped by the many places my family lived. My father, Ed Mason of New Orleans was sent far and wide in his job as a civil engineer attached to the military, and thus most of my growing up happened in the town of Geisen, Germany. Ed had studied engineering at Southwestern Louisiana Institute, now UL. My mother, Betsy, was a Mississippi belle and a highly self-educated free thinker who made sure I had a good grounding in adult literature and intellectual devotions long before I was an adult or an intellectual. She also encouraged artistic expression, and cared not a whit about the mess it made. She was a woman of great foresight. Further growing up happened in Lafayette, Louisiana, where I had the good fortune to take instruction from the great Louisiana artist and photographer Elemore Morgan Jr.

Inga Woods
Glass

Inga Woods Glass is a small glassblowing studio located in Pineville, LA. She makes glass jewelry, straws and sculptures for her business.

Dawn M. Savoy
Mixed Media, Glass

Throughout my life, I have worked in many mediums.  When I began working with stained-glass, I found my passion, my “joy”. I find the stained glass textures and colors, along with the infinite possibilities and opportunities to create beautiful artwork fascinating.  Through my art, my hope is to bring as much joy to others, as working in the craft brings me.

I am a Louisiana native now residing in Youngsville, and art has always been a part of my life.  Louisiana, rich in culture, the incredible wildlife and natural environment, and my faith have awed and inspired me along with my art.

In my studio I find peace creating artwork.  I truly enjoy every step and process involved in building a stained-glass work of art.  It has been my privilege to share my art with family and friends throughout the years, and with their encouragement and support I am now pursuing this craft full time through “Sunrise Glass Creations”.  Also, I have had the opportunity to be mentored and further inspired by two local stained-glass master craftsmen.  Meeting great people, bringing the joy of my art into their lives and working with a craft I love, are but a few of the many “gifts” and “blessings” the art of stained-glass has brought into my life.

Cecil LaVergne
Glass

I have been creating fused glass art using glass frit (crushed glass) for several years now. One would think that hanging around my wife, Jerilyn’s glass studio would make this inevitable but the truth is, I was famous for interrupting her by pacing the floor in her studio while she attempted to create. One day, Jerilyn suggested I find something productive to do instead of pacing the floor…like sweep the floor or do the dishes. Voila, an artist was born.

My fused glass art is made with frit which is crushed glass. I make it by placing pieces of glass into a stainless steel mortar and break it using a stainless steel pestle. I then sift it in a graduated sifter and store it in containers for later use.

Once I decide what I want to create, the fun begins. I use glass as one would use paint. Usually the work is fired once but occasionally twice. My work is tack fuse which leaves the final piece very textured.

The characters in my art are usually cut out on a band saw and embellished with frit or enamel paint. My work is labor intensive but extremely satisfying.

Jerilyn Guidry LaVergne
Glass

I am a fused glass artist inspired by my need to record my life’s experiences by creating art from the whimsical to the soulful.

Working in my Sunset, LA gallery & studio, I fuse brightly colored glass that includes, abstract wind chimes, mask wind chimes, masks, suns catchers, Bug-A-Boos (garden stakes), expressive fused glass art, etc. I also do special requests.

I grew up in Sunset and as a child, I always had a creative spirit, which was exhibited in the clothing that I designed and made, as well as in other aspects of my life. I got married in Lagos, Nigeria and our two children were born in West Africa. I spent seven years experiencing the West African culture which nourished my interest in all art forms. While overseas, I also lived in London & Paris. Upon returning to Sunset, my passion did not wane but took a detour—nursing school. Upon graduating from LSUE, I worked as a Registered Nurse at several area hospitals and at a local nursing home. I am now retired which frees up time for my passion, my art studio. I have painted, woven baskets and designed mosaic masks and portraits. Everything I view in my world is viewed with an eye for composition and artistic potential. My eagerness to experience many art forms eventually led me into fusing glass. Each piece I create always seems to have a story connected to my heart. There is also a bit of wit in some of my work. I make Bug-A-Boos to frighten bugs from your garden. (Try one, it may work)

Doug Stannard
Glass

His educational background in the visual and performing arts created a foundation for his love with all forms of glass and its soulmate, light. Stannard’s evolving passion for glass in all its forms has led him on a wonder filled journey of learning, understanding and sharing his manipulating the medium with any who will listen. With the exception of a weekend glass blowing class he took in the late ‘80s, he is self taught.

He has created panels of custom stained glass for an historic property; designed and fused over 100 custom transoms and decorative glass lighting fixtures for a local eatery; his comfort is in kiln-formed pieces; his enjoyment in air mobiles that allow him to toy deeper into dimension and the delicate and intricate sounds with tinkling strips and textured freeform shapes; his challenge in discovering new ways to melt and bend chunks and strips, noodles and stringers, colored with chemically treated mesmerizing coatings that are forever changing in their environment of visual enjoyment.

Doug Stannard is an Army brat and a preacher’s kid. He was born in Maine, but soon after traveled to Army bases in Germany and across the country. He lived in California, Georgia and Florida and after arriving in Louisiana in 1967 he considers Leesville his chosen home. Stannard joined the Guard for a six year stint. He received his MFA in Technical Theatre and a minor in art in 1975 from Northwestern State University and acquired hours toward his PhD from the University of New Orleans. In 1977, he joined the newly formed family business of opening a new radio station in Vernon Parish. He has worked in the broadcast field, and today the family business owns and operates three FM radio stations in West Central Louisiana.

Jerry Spehr
Glass

Jerry Spehr is a glass blower living in New Orleans. He has blown glass for 5 years, and is best known for his use of color, and creating pieces that have a sense of movement. His work is often influenced by nature, and more specifically, his love of the ocean.

He has completed many Intensive work/study courses with some of the world’s best glass blowers at, The Corning Museum of Glass, and The Pittsburgh Glass Center. He is quick to acknowledge and give thanks, for being allowed to work with these wonderful icons in the glass world, and everyone else, who has helped him become a better glass blower.

Jerry often says, “I came to the glass party late in life, but I’m going to make the most of it, now that I’m here”. His greatest satisfaction comes when one of his pieces brings a smile to someone’s face.

Christy Marchand
Glass

Christy likes to design and create freeform, colorful, whimsical glass art. She often embellishes her work with decorative soldering, beads, copper, gems and paint, and enjoys including upcycled items like silver plate flatware and vintage china in her designs. Her goal is to engage her clients with humor and encourage an updated appreciation for the medium of glass.

Roger Sturdivant
Glass

After enrolling in a stained glass course at the Craftsman Guild but was not really inspired by it. I saw a few fused glass pieces in Alaska. Then we went on a cruise to Canada and New England and saw a much larger number of fused glass pieces in several shops, and the bug to find out more bit me. I purchased the first kiln in 2009 and used it to learn, what not to do and some of what to do, by trial and error. I did a few local shows and made pieces for Christmas presents, etc., The praise and questions I received that year was enough to perk my interest in finding out more and trying different processes. It was not until 2011 that I purchase the large kiln allowing me to try larger pieces.

The artistic process may seem laborious to most, it is truly a labor of love for me and there are no two pieces identical. I love creating new designs and shapes, with every color in a finished piece a separate piece of glass. I hand cut all my glass and make my own frit. I only use my ring saw on very difficult angles and curves where there is danger of the glass breaking in the wrong place. I use two kilns, along with a grinder, and a propane torch to add a unique twists to thin strips of glass. The fusing step takes 12 hours in the kiln at 1450º, for the kiln to heat up and melt all the pieces together, then to slowly cool down for the annealing process. When I make small things like the night lights, flower designs, I tack fuse the glass together so that you have a three dimensional look to the piece. A pot melt is when the kiln heats the glass to 1700 º, and at that temperature the glass becomes liquefied and runs down through holds in the bottom of the pot and collects on the kiln shelf, and there is no way to control what happens, with the color or the pattern during the process. The pot melt usually has a minimum of 3 steps and sometimes 4 steps, to get a finished piece.

The finished pieces are bright, colorful, and functional, appealing to all age groups.