About Me

The Journey To Stained Glass

A long time ago in a borough far, far away, a small child in a high chair spent a lot of time nibbling grilled cheese sandwiches and toast into recognizable 2-dimensional art. Since then, I’ve stopped making art with my mouth involved, while exploring all the mediums I could dig my hands into including pottery, painting, silversmithing, and even blacksmithing.

My true passion, however, is with stained glass, which I became aware of as a medium during an eighth grade school field trip to Washington, DC. I was literally stopped in my tracks by a stained glass window with a piece of moon rock in it, located in the National Cathedral. I knew from that moment that stained glass was my medium. Fast forward to college when I finally had the chance to get my hands on said medium and I have never looked back.

Education

I studied Fine Arts at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, and also at the American University in London, England. Though my main focus throughout my university education was in the art of stained glass, I was the TA for the stained glass and pottery departments. Additionally during my time at Franklin Pierce, I worked as an underling/minion for Thomas Meyers at his fine art glass studio in Antrim, New Hampshire.

Experience

After college, I moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I worked for many years as a stained glass artist, designer, and painter for an established stained glass manufacturing and restoration studio. I worked on everything from restoring old church windows to making new windows, repairing stained glass lamps, and many other projects. After a few years I was offered a position with a different firm to work on high profile jobs including the restoration of many Tiffany windows, Heaton, Butler and Bayne windows, Rudy Brothers windows, and several other windows of historic significance.

M. Sotherden Art Glass

After several years of restoration work I was downsized in the recession of 2004 and I decided that I had what it took to open my own studio. My years of work provided me with the experience and confidence I needed to produce a broad spectrum of designs, ranging from jewelry and other small gifts to large windows for both residential and liturgical clients.

Community

Since stained glass is a medium that remains a bit mysterious to most folks, I make a concentrated effort to educate others on the value of quality craftsmanship. One of my studio's other foundational values is a strong belief in human rights and paying it forward, and I use some of the income from my full time glass art job to donate to organizations like RESCU, The Trevor Project, and local food shelters. And I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you, my fabulous customers!

Contact

You can reach me by email at MSotherdenArtGlass@gmail.com or by phone at 724.452.7932 If emailing, please put something relevant in the subject line so I know it's not spam! Snail mail address: M. Sotherden Art Glass, PO Box 26044, Dayton, OH 45426