The Stained Glass Art of Patience Rohde

One of the things I had hoped to do with this space was to introduce outsiders (and locals as well) to some of the artistic talent in the area. High on my list is stained glass artist Patience Rohde. In the hands of most, stained glass is considered a lackluster art form... often featuring coloring book type images (fat-ray sunrises, balloonish landscapes and rainbows abound) inside the usual stilted fixed frame.

Rohde’s work defies these standards, seeming to morph from the inside-out often in free or loosely-defined forms. The occasional use of mirrors also adds a new dimension, incorporating the surroundings of into the light and aesthetic of the piece. Her imagery is sometimes representational, sometimes symbolic, often playful and at other times just wondrously abstract. Items like her lampshades challenge the accepted norms of viewing stained-glass as flat one-dimensional image. These lamps must be completely orbited by the viewer to be fully appreciated.

Her relatively new website features photos of a small sampling of her work. Check it out.