Like so many handcraft mediums I find myself enamored with, the art of stained glass has been around for centuries. From the small stained glass objects of ancient Rome and Egypt to the expansive, colorful windows in churches, monasteries, and cathedrals of the Middle Ages, stained glass has weathered the test of time and continues to thrive. Modern-day stained glass artists like Brooklyn-based Kelsie McNair are putting a contemporary spin on this craft, creating iridescent wall decor, tchotchkes, and housewares under her moniker Soft Shapes.
McNair isn’t keeping these skills to herself, either. She’s been teaching stained glass workshops in New York City since 2017, spreading her love of glass and its creative possibilities to the masses. I connected with McNair recently to learn more about her practice as a glass artist and educator and piece together what makes glass such a special material.
How did you first come to stained glass as a medium? What’s your origin story?
At 26, I was in Norfolk, VA, going through a crazy year— I closed down my vintage store of four years, ended a seven-year relationship, and went through a ton of intense personal growth. My fantastic friend and artist, Charlotte Potter, suggested I join in on a glass studio program she had developed. The assistantship program at the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio is a six-month residency mainly for undergrads looking to get better at glass processes and to learn how to keep a hot shop running smoothly.
…there was something so wonderful about the jingle of shards that I dug through to find my pieces. The colorful bits covered the table and begged to be arranged and handled again and again.
I walked into the program knowing very little about the glass world but was totally inspired by my peers (some of whom were five or six years younger than me) who all obsessively wanted to learn all they could about the material and processes. There were demo workshops on things from neon to bead making, glass blowing, and kiln casting. My favorite, and the least stressful, was stained glass! The process is slow and detailed, and no one was particularly good at it off the bat, but there was something so wonderful about the jingle of shards that I dug through to find my pieces. The colorful bits covered the table and begged to be arranged and handled again and again.
Fast-forward eight years, my desk is covered in the same shards of glass, filling out templates, in piles for exploring color, on a light box, and in my windows. I’ve been happily exploring and discovering glass as a medium ever since!
I learn more about its potential during every new project, constantly uncovering more of what glass can really do.
What does stained glass offer as a creative medium that others don’t?
Stained glass is inherently valuable before the first cut is made in the material. To create glass, soda ash, lime, and silica must be mixed at a tremendously high temperature, and then solvents, minerals, and other things are added to the mixture to produce color and texture. The glass is then poured onto a steel table to cool in sheets that eventually make their way to me so I can score, break, and grind them into the desired shape.
Glass is ancient, mystical, and magical. It can also be dangerous and change with the lighting of any given space. I learn more about its potential during every new project, constantly uncovering more of what glass can really do.
How would you describe your design aesthetic? How did that develop?
Getting into stained glass design can be challenging if you don’t feel comfortable with your drawing or illustration skills. I’ve tried many different styles, from using photos as inspiration to researching vintage wallpapers and zooming in to find small shapes for creating patterns.
Once I started making larger pieces, I finally found my way. I was inspired by the shapes I saw in the Bauhaus and Memphis design movements. I practiced drawing the shapes coming off of each other into other shapes until I finally got the hang of filling space equally. The exploration led me to a style that felt distinctly like my own.
Teaching is such a special process I am devoted to sharing while creating my own work and further exploring the material.
At what point did you start teaching the art of stained glass? What’s your favorite part about the teaching aspect of your practice?
I started teaching about one year after I devoted myself to working in stained glass. With the encouragement of my mentor and artist Rachel Rader, I pitched my first class, “Taking Shape,” an abstract 3D glass class, to UrbanGlass in Brooklyn. They loved it, and on January 4, 2017, I started my epic teaching journey.
Since then, I’ve taught hundreds of people how the process works and how to make an object in a day (or three or six weeks). I’ve taught glass processes to people of all ages: high schoolers, NYU students, elementary-age kids, and even a class of 18 kindergarteners! Sharing this art form has brought me immense joy because 99% of the people leave my workshops in awe that they, too, can create things with such magnificent material. Teaching is a special process I am devoted to sharing while creating my own work and further exploring the material.
Charlotte is a New England expat currently living in Los Angeles, CA with her cat, Joan Cusack. She is a power-clashing maximalist with an inordinate disdain for the color navy. When she's not writing about ad campaigns and colorways you can find her scouring estate sales or attempting to teach herself calligraphy.