SHOP THIS LOOKIN’ GLASSY
Three Morgantown artisans express their creative sides in this lustrous medium. written by holly leleux - thubron
➼ MORGANTOWN HAS A LONG HISTORY etched in glass. Its roots run back to 1896, when Ohio-based Seneca Glass Company moved into a facility along the Monongahela River now known as the Seneca Center. The glass factory employed more than 250 in its heyday and produced some of the finest decorative stemware made anywhere in the world. More than 400 glass factories called the Mountain State home at one point or another, and a legacy of working with glass remains, especially for three residents who dabble daily in the medium, creating stained glass pieces with stunning effect.
Aldona Bird Aldona Bird’s interest in stained glass was piqued years ago when she purchased a stained glass window hanging at the New Deal Festival in Ar- thurdale. She met the maker that day, and their conversation motivated her to learn the craft. Bird draws inspiration from glass itself, the colors and textures and the ways it manipulates light. She most enjoys creating lifelike things like 3D flowers. Her favorite piece so far is the largest and most complex one she’s completed. It’s a depiction of the solar system meant to hang in a window, where it can reflect and refract light throughout the day. She used opaque black glass for space, a variety of colored glass for the planets, white glass gems for moons, and clear gems to show the asteroid belt. The piece was a gift for an astrophysicist friend, and Bird says the asteroids glow in a certain light. Bird is currently working on glass insects, like 3D cicadas, and jewelry and ornaments for the upcoming holiday season. Pictured is one of her charming glass orchids. You can find Bird’s smaller pieces at Hoot and Howl in Morgantown. She also welcomes commissions. @downinthehollow on Facebook
Eric Palfrey Eric Palfrey says he’s always admired stained glass. When he stopped guiding whitewater rafting groups full-time in 2018 and found himself with time on his hands, he bought a few tools and some glass and hit the internet to learn from YouTube. “After lots of trial and error, a few broken pieces of glass, and a ton of remaking pieces to fit better, I think I’m getting the hang of it,” he says. Palfrey’s inspiration is usually an outdoor setting that’s left a mark on him, more often than not water-related. His favorite piece so far was inspired by memories of times when, floating down the New River on a raft, a sum- mertime thunderstorm would roll in and pour sheets of warm rain straight down. The sun beamed from behind the dark clouds, and the rain shattered the dark water. Those moments felt intimate to him, experiences to savor rath- er than run for shelter. Palfrey enjoys commissions, with creative license. “I try to stay away from making things that are supposed to look like some- thing specifically,” he says. “Like any other creative outlet, it’s more stressful when you don’t just let it flow.” @glassholewv on Facebook
Penelyn VanOrange When you think about the art in Morgantown, you’d be remiss if Penelyn VanOrange’s name didn’t pop into your head. She is the fairy godmother of artisans, selling her own and others’ creations in the shop that she co-owns— Appalachian Gallery—with Laurie Nugent. VanOrange has amassed a lifetime of experience creating her own art and in fine art custom framing. She began working in stained glass six years ago and creates one masterpiece after the next. She learned by reading, watching YouTube videos, and experimenting. Inspiration isn’t something VanOrange has to look for. “It really is just language. A dialogue between the object and viewer, and another between artists and their art.” She says she’s always been an artist. “It used to mean dragging my coloring book and crayons under the magic light of the Christmas tree. Now it means drawing, painting, drafting patterns for puppets, or creating beautiful stained glass.” VanOrange says choosing a favorite piece is impossible—every piece she works on becomes her most prized in that moment. She considers commission work, and you can find her pieces @appgallery on Facebook.
18 MORGANTOWN • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020
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