Artist: Paul Weiss

Craft Medium:  Glass Artist's Statement: I never expected to become a stained glass artist even when I began in 1979. Sometimes life opens new doors for you and you find yourself on an unexpected path and that is how I ended up in this rewarding career. I became fascinated when looking at a stained glass lamp that I saw in a store. Closer inspection show me that none of the pieces in the large curved lamp where actually curved. All the pieces that made up the lamp were flat. It was in that instant that I decided I needed to uncover exactly how this was created. Had I started with an easier piece I may have simply walked away from the art after accomplished my goal. Luckily, certain aspects of the process eluded me and I kept at it again and again until I was hooked. Slowly I worked with smaller pieces and more detail until reaching the point where I am today. I've learned that the craftsmanship and detail is the most important part of this medium. You can fit a round peg in a square hole if you make the peg small enough, but then you lose the aesthetic flow and the illusion is shattered.