Woman expands stained glass hobby

Creating stained glass masterpieces has been a hobby of Emily Hyatt’s for more than 25 years.
And while she has offered workshops and sells the products from her home in Barwick, she decided recently to expand her craft further by renting space at the Fine Line Art Gallery in Fort Frances.
“I sell to people throughout the district, but a significant number are from Fort Frances, so I thought I would do this and see what happens,” she explained.
Hyatt will have for sale there a wide range of coloured glass, lamp bases, mosaic frames, and the tools necessary for doing stained glass.
And she will be holding an open house there on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday so everyone to check out the new location.
“Anyone is welcome to stop in and check it out—they don’t have to be coming to buy something,” Hyatt stressed. “People can drop buy to ask questions, get advice on a project, or just to have a cup of coffee.”
Hyatt has some of her finished work available at the Fine Line Art Gallery, and people also are encouraged to look through the gallery at the new products and artists on display.
She also will have some specials for the open house, which will run Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Hyatt explained the new location will be open every Thursday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and by appointment.
“People have been calling to make appointments to come to my house anyway, so this wouldn’t be too different,” she said, noting she works in Fort Frances and easily would be able to make arrangements to stop there.
However, she noted she will continue to run her stained glass classes at her studio in Barwick since her rented space at the gallery doesn’t give her enough room to teach a class.
Most of the stained glass work Hyatt currently does is by commission, such as windows for churches. But she stressed it’s still a hobby she enjoys.
“There are a thousand things you can do with stained glass,” she enthused. “And it’s something you can enjoy at many levels. You can just learn some of the basics and do it, but there’s always new things to learn.
“I’m not sure you ever finish learning all the different techniques.”
Hyatt admitted while it might sound odd, working with stained glass was something she’d always wanted to do.
“I didn’t have any connection with it . . . but I went looking for a course one summer and got hooked,” she remarked.
Since then, Hyatt has instructed more than 100 people in the district on how to create stained glass pieces.
“I would say about 50 plus in the area have continued to do it. And there are some people out there who do some beautiful work,” she added, noting while some sell their work, others just do it for personal enjoyment.
She stressed she’s thrilled that people have taken advantage of the opportunity to learn stained glass from her over the years.
“I absolutely love teaching—half the fun is watching other people create,” she said. “Whether it’s a lamp or church window, I find it all fun.”
Hyatt calls working with stained glass a craft with an artistic element.
“Putting the colours together and knowing how they speak to each other, that’s where the artistic part comes in,” she indicated.
But she noted anyone can learn to cut glass—even though there’s a lot to learn, it’s not difficult.
She hopes those who already work with stained glass, as well as those who are interested in learning, stop by her open house at the Fine Line Art Gallery.
She also will have information there about her fall classes, which are scheduled to start up early next month.
For more information, Hyatt can be reached at 275-6615.