The intricate patterns and colors of stained glass have held sway over viewers for hundreds of years. For some, it creates a mystical atmosphere, often evoking spiritual contemplation, while for others like Abby K of AK Stained Glass, a local artist who makes 2D glass art, it’s the puzzles and meticulous work required in stained glass that draw her in. 

    “Designing the pieces to fit just right is always a fun challenge for my creativity,” she says. She makes pieces full of whimsy, like her flower head pieces made to look like people with flowers for faces, or her Art Deco inspired girls with cracked faces signifying the fractured existence of modern life.

    Abby got her start in glass very young. She recalls sitting with her mother in their family’s musty basement, watching her make lead-stained-glass windows. Though Abby would spend much of her life with music and writing as her chosen creative outlet, by her early 20s, she felt the urge to create something more tangible. “I was never good at drawing or painting, but then my mom reminded me that she still had all of her old glass and tools, and I should take them and try to learn stained glass.” She then taught herself through YouTube videos and an instructional guidebook from her mom. “It was incredibly challenging at first, but my other artistic friends encouraged me to keep at it,” she says. 

    Abby has been making dazzling stained glass art for nine years now. But her excitement for the work hasn’t faded. Anytime she goes to the glass shop she says she feels like a kid in a candy store. “There are endless colors and textures and finishes, and I imagine it’s how painters feel about selecting their paint,” she explains. 

    Meanwhile, her knowledge and skills in stained glass have only grown and blossomed. “It’s always fun to look back at pictures of some of my earlier work and see the progress I’ve made just through experience. Stained glass is definitely a live-and-learn art form,” she says. 

    As if coming full circle with her work, Abby recently made an intricate stained glass panel for her mom’s lake house that features a deer amongst towering birch trees. Her mom even joined her at Preston Art Glass to pick out the perfect colors, reminding Abby of those early days in the family basement together toiling away on stained glass art.

    When not creating her usual pieces, Abby enjoys taking on commissions. “It challenges me to make things I might not normally try and forces me to be a lot more creative so that my customer is as happy as possible with their piece,” she says. On November 23rd, she will attend the Schlafly Sundaze event and plans on doing more Sundaze in 2026. She also intends to return to their big Art Outside event in September 2026. Those interested in her work can follow her on Instagram where she regularly posts her latest creations.  

Find her at: https://www.akstainedglass.com/ 

Instagram: @ak_stainedglass