Jan Kirchoff
Glass
|
"I have always been a crafty sort of person but did not begin my 'art' career until I was in my 40s, and then, it was by accident"...
A girlfriend wanted to take a class in stained glass but didn’t want to go alone, so I signed up too. Little did I know that six weeks later I would be hooked. There was so much to learn that I became an apprentice, and then took a job in a commercial glass studio. In the next five years I was fortunate to work on many varied and interesting projects as well as to teach classes. Now I work from my home studios in Parkland, Florida and Dahlonega, Georgia doing private commissions, as well as creating inventory for the shows I participate in each year. In addition to traditional stained glass in the lead and copper foil methods, I specialize in what is known as an “overlay” process. By creating a silhouette image from metal and affixing it to a piece of glass, I can attain a great deal of detail in a cost effective way.
The gourd art came about, again, by accident. While shopping in a home furnishing store I chanced upon what I thought was a beautiful rustic vase. It turned out to be a gourd. I bought it and after much contemplation I decided “well shoot, I can do this”. So I hunted down some gourds (not easy to find in south Florida) and began my journey. A lot of what I know about gourd art has come from books and trial and error. The finer techniques I have learned in workshops from artists involved in the Florida Gourd Society.
I am currently a member of the American, Florida, and Georgia Gourd Societies.