MOST Profile: Grand River Glassworks

On the wall of Laurie Spieker’s studio, Grand River Glassworks is her first attempt at stained glass art. It’s a sun-catcher, round, about the size of an open hand, of textured cranberry and deep blue-coloured glass. She points out that as a then-novice of the art, she made a significant mistake in putting it together.

“Two of the pieces I put in backward,“ she admits. “The right side of the glass faces the back and visa versa.“ Even so, Spieker feels a sense of pride in her work. “My little sun- catcher also shows that I’ve got a ‘good eye’, in the colours and in the textures of the glass I’ve selected.“ She adds that while technique can be learned, the artistic eye is inborn.
After fifteen years of melding the two variables, Laurie Spieker finds herself as one of the premier stained and fused glass artisans in the Waterloo Region.
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Artistic creativity runs deep in Spieker’s blood. Still she didn’t consider art as a potential career when she enrolled in an English program at the University of Waterloo. “All I knew was I didn’t want to be a teacher,“ she laughs. The route she took instead was marriage and motherhood. “And I was perfectly happy there too.“
As her kids grew, she took on the job of managing the office at the family business, Fritz Electric on Guelph Street in Kitchener. “But I still needed a creative outlet,“ she says. A neighbour was teaching an introductory course in stained glass, and Spieker decided to give it a try. She was immediately hooked.
“As a child, I’d loved looking at the stained glass windows in churches—the shapes, colours and textures.“ The fascination continued into her adult life. “There was just so much going on in every square inch of glass.“ The pride that she felt with the completion of her upside down sun- catcher just validated the attraction.

Finding her Niche
As Spieker gained knowledge of her chosen craft, she found out that working with stained glass was not complex to master, like fine carpentry or even knitting. “Once you learned the basic techniques—cutting, grinding and soldering the pieces of coloured glass into attractive patterns, it wasn’t that much of a mystery.“
After the neighbour’s classes ended, Spieker decided to work on her own at home. She claimed half of the large workbench in the family basement, and included on her Christmas list a solderer and a glass grinder. She followed commercial patterns and her skills grew from trial and error.
“Cutting a straight line was relatively simple; handling curves was more difficult.“ She also learned that not all manufacturers’ glass behaved the same way. “Some were very easy to cut and grind; others would shatter unless you knew exactly how to handle them.“   

The Art of Glass Fusing
In time Spieker added glass fusing to her skill set, and became proficient in this ancient art too. The fusing technique was kept secret by Glass Artisan Guilds during the Italian Renaissance, with the result that for centuries, its method was largely unknown. It was rediscovered in the 1960’s.  
Fused glass sees a variety of glass materials arranged in a pattern, then fired in a glass kiln to allow them to “tack“ or fuse. In the fusing process, the temperature of the glass kiln must be exact. “If the temperature is too high all the separate glass pieces will just melt together instead of retaining their shapes,“ Spieker says. Undertaken properly, the result of glass fusing is a colourful and multi-textured work, suitable for decoration or dishware.

Gaining New Skills
As she experimented on her own and took the various classes, Spieker’s work grew in complexity and quality. “My pieces were good enough to give people as gifts,“ she says.
But after four or five years on her own, Spieker decided that the time had come to take the next step in learning her craft. She took a weekend job making stained glass for retail sale in a St. Jacobs stained glass store.
Over the next six years there, she honed her skills and began creating her own stained glass patterns. In the process, Spieker  also developed her own signature style. “Flowing lines, often abstract, and thoughtful use of glass composition defines my work,“ she  says. Her subject matter is often inspired by nature – animals, weather and landscape.

On her Own
By 2006 Spieker was confident enough of her own abilities to strike out on her own. She claimed a space in the Fritz Electric building, and with help from family, built herself a studio, Grand River Glassworks.
Complete with work and light tables, grinding machines, glass-cutting and other tools of the trade, the brightly-lit studio would serve several purposes. Spieker would do her own glass work there, and it would serve as a classroom for students wishing to learn stained glass and fusing. The space would also serve as a stained glass retail store, open to the public.

Ah! the Exquisite Glass
Gradually Spieker began to build up her stock of glass for the studio. Most was imported from the U.S. although a few select manufacturers were French. Spieker has uncovered no Canadian glass manufacturers.
She buys most of her glass from several Toronto wholesalers, and a trip to the big city “glass store“ is for her, like a child’s visit to a candy shop. “I love glass from the French manufacturer Bariole,“ she says. “Bariole glass is often ‘mouth blown’ and is a riot of colour and texture.“
But at up to $80 a square Bariole is better suited to glass “pros“ than beginners Spieker advises. “Most of it cuts and grinds well but occasionally you’ll get a sheet that just shatters.“

Busy, Busy
Within months of opening, Grand River Glassworks was a beehive of activity. Spieker had been accepted into the art cooperative, “Art Bites“ (now UpTown Gallery Waterloo) running out of Waterloo Town Square. This offered her, and other member artists, opportunities to display and sell their works.
“Each member of the cooperative has a commitment to produce new works for display (and sale) every two months,“ she says, “so that keeps us always creating.“ Laurie Spieker’s work is also available in the gift shop of the Waterloo Clay and Glass Gallery. Spieker-designed glasswork suits every pocketbook, with prices ranging from $1 to $1000.
When she’s not in the Fritz Electric office or creating her own works of art, Spieker is teaching. Classes run two nights a week and on Saturdays for adults, mother-daughter duos, or children. Enrollment is split 50-50 between Stained Glass and Fused Glass, but she calls Fused Glass “hot“ right now.  
Grand River Glassworks also welcomes groups, both adult and children for single workshops on Stained or Fused Glass. Children’s birthday parties can be booked. Over a session, each child makes a simple glass product to take home. Spieker advises there is a minimum age for such parties.   
Considering her love of instructing and her dedication to helping her students achieve their best, Spieker laughs at her youthful anti-teacher mindset. “I’ve found out that I’m very good at teaching and I love it too.“
After fifteen years of Laurie Spieker’s love affair with glass, she contemplates her future as an artisan and teacher. “I’d like to publish a book of stained glass patterns,“ she says. I’ve developed so many of my own over the years, I’d like to share.“   n
For more information on Grand River Glassworks, including business hours and classes go to:
www.grandriverglassworks.com
UpTown Gallery Waterloo www.uptowngallery.com

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