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Wild expressions: Wildlife comes to life through glass and vibrant colors that warm the soul and the home. PHOTO COURTESY OF KAY O’NEIL[/caption]
O’Neil Rocky Mountain Art is owned by Kay O’Neil, an established Colorado stained glass artist, designer, and painter who loves storytelling through stained glass. Stained glass, however, wasn’t her original forte.
O’Neil earned her BAfrom Southeast Missouri State (SMSU), where she studied printing, leatherwork, and screen printing. Skilled at painting, sketching, and graphics inspired O’Neil to try her hand at stained glass after graduating from SMSU. The rest, as they say, is history.
O’Neil can work from a photograph or sketch. She begins breaking down the image, isolating the features. For large projects, taking measurements becomes part of the process. “What I do is Art, in Glass. I have done windows in commercial locations and private homes, and glass as gifts in custom work,” O’Neil has shared.
Tools are a vital part of creating stained glass art. These include a glass cutter with oil, 100-watt soldering iron, 60/40 solder, solder flux with a brush, breaking/grozing pliers, 7/32nd copper foil, a fid for working to secure the copper foil to the glass, 2 x 3-foot piece of plywood board, 100 horse nails, copper or black patina, and a grinder, to name a few.
Stained glass work is a delicate process that isn’t as easy as simply fitting together various colored puzzle pieces of glass, creating a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork. Everything from the type of glass you use to its shape will impact the result.
Being a highly skilled stained glass artist, O’Neil can bring to life whatever you can think of or take a photo of. She says, “A photograph gives one a representation of a real object. Photography is all about composition,” also finding inspiration from the Colorado landscape.
O’Neil enjoys working with architects, builders, and homeowners, creating personal glasswork for offices, homes, and everything in between. “I can do etching as well as colored glass panel work.”
From decorative pieces to hanging decor and stained windows to kitchen cabinets, O’Neil Rocky Mountain Art is your one-stop shop for all things stained glass.
O’Neil Rocky Mountain Art is located at 20 Lakeview Drive, Nederland. You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050507325424 or you can give her a call at 303-717-5794.
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