Stained glass is the only material I feel proficient about using right now. I plan on trying glass painting soon, but I have been struggling to find modern references.

While scrolling through endless images from cathedrals, I stumbled upon an incredibly unique and talented artist- local to Philadelphia PA nonetheless.

This piece opened up my world to the work of Judith Schaechter. Her attraction to stained glass as a raw material really resonates with me, she writes:

“I like to see what possibilities lie in mating difficult emotional ideas with sensuous but cruel materials. I like a lot of resistance. I like cold, hard, sharp, vicious stuff to fight with — I dislike compliance! Perhaps I want to punish it for being so pretty when I sometimes feel so ugly.”

Judith Schaechter

Her background in painting and her maximalist style create lush windows peering into the underbelly of the mind and the modern world. Her rich, complicated colors paired with the luminescent glass makes make it impossible unglue your eyes from hard to swallow imagery and ideas.

I am thrilled to continue to explore and learn from her work. I will surely be referencing and writing more about her soon as I continue to work with stained glass and try out painting techniques.