The art of stained glass

A favorite pass time has started to turn into a part-time career.

When Malia Kertz lived in Flagstaff, Ariz., 20 years ago, a neighbor of hers talked her into taking a stained-art class and a metal class.

After taking those classes, Kertz realized just how passionate she was with the stained-glass art form and decided to continue to improve this skill, however she did not take anymore classes, she decided to teach herself.

"I just learn and then do it," she said.

Based on what she learned in the class, Kertz moved on from there. Daring to experiment and try new things with stained-glass art. It was a learning process. Some of the things she liked; and others she didn't.

"When we moved here 10 years ago, we built houses," Kertz said. "So all of the houses we built had entryways with stained-glass in them."

Kertz felt the stained-glass just added so much more character to the homes they built. It definitely set them apart from other new homes being constructed in Green River at that time.

The last house they built had 11 stained-glass panels, she said.

When her husband decided to change professions, Kertz' passion for creating stained-glass art continued, but she was no longer doing projects for new houses.

As the years passed, Kertz' stained-glass art projects expanded into other areas, including sun catchers, jewelry boxes, lamps and various holiday and Christmas items.

Some projects take one day, while other can take a week. It all depends on what Kertz is working on. A lot of the items Kertz makes are taken to craft and holiday shows.

"I like to take old window frames and put new glass on them," Kertz said. "A lot of time goes into it."

When working on a stained-glass piece, Kertz must determine what kind of technique to use -- copper foil or lead. The copper foil is wrapped into individual pieces, while the lead is stretched to fit into channels. Kertz prefers to use the antiqued lead, which is meant for outside.

Currently, Kertz is working on completing repairs on pieces the owner of Two Sisters Antiques has given her.

"The pieces are from an old church in England," she said.

She was working on getting the zinc to match the old stuff. It was hard getting a patina to match perfectly.

"I kind of hate it," she said. "I don't like repairing."

However, she did enjoy seeing the stained-glass from long ago getting repaired.

Kertz said what she enjoys the most is working on custom-order pieces. This is where a client comes in and selects everything they want including colors and the frame or design, but this doesn't always happen.

"I prefer to do custom work, that way it's their idea," she said.

When Kertz isn't working on custom orders, she is looking through stained-glass pattern magazines for her next project. Lately, she has started incorporating glass plates into her artwork either as a wind chime or as a giant sun catcher.

For Kertz' supplies she either makes a trip to Salt Lake City or Ogden, Utah. If she cannot find what she wants at those places she orders it online. One time she said she made the mistake of going to Denver and the prices were just way too high, but she purchased some glass anyway.

Kertz is always ready for another project; and she has a whole shelf of various kinds of stained glass in order of colors. Virtually every color of the rainbow can be seen in her personal stash.

For the frames, Kertz always has a pretty good stock on hand, but that doesn't stop her from looking for more. She loves making something out of something discarded or old, such as cabinet doors or old window frames.

"I kind of hoard them," she said.

Before choosing what pattern she is going to do, Kertz figures out what she would like the frame to look like.

"I like the rustic look," she said.

All of this she does as a hobby, but in order to keep the hobby alive, Kertz must sell most of the items to cover the costs of her purchases.

"I try to keep my costs down, but man everything is so expensive," she said. "I need to do craft shows so I can continue with my hobby."

"I make enough to replenish my glass because I definitely don't get paid for my time," she said.