About the artist

	Louise Mehaffey has been working with glass for over 25 years. Long ago, she enrolled in a stained glass class, intending to replace an ugly plastic sidelight in her home. Because her family moved not long after the class was over, she never got to finish the project, but the experience was enough to hook her. She opened the Glass Place studio and has been working in glass ever since. She has taken many workshops and seminars to expand her knowledge into fusing, sandblasting and painting on glass, and she used these techniques to achieve the effect she wanted in her work. Recently, she has been melting glass with an oxygen/propane torch creating lampworked glass beads, and this has become her focus today.
With a degree in art education, she has taught art from pre-school through adult education, in public and private schools and in private lessons. Her art background has enabled her to develop a style that is as unique as her view of the world.

Louise is a member of the Reading-Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, and has served in several positions as a board member for over 15 years. She is also a member of the Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild, the International Society of Glass Beadmakers, and has served as a board member for the Berks Arts Council.

Lampworked Glass Bead Recognition

*Her window bead was included in "The Bead Review", 2006.
*A necklace using her focal bead was featured in the Gallery of Bead Style Magazine, May 2006.
*Two articles were in Step by Step Beads July/August 2005, and her bracelet was pictured on the cover.
*Also in 2005, she was invited to participate in the Eternal Bead Exhibition at the Bead Museum, Washington, DC, and her eye bead became the focus of the exhibit and was pictured on the cover of the program.
*"The Complete Book of Lampworked Glass Beads" by Kimberly Adams, published in 2005, featured two of her beads.
*Crafts Report May 2004 featured her bead in the Insight section.
*Two of her beads were included in the book "1,000 Glass Beads" published by Lark in 2004.
*In 2002, two of her lampworked glass beads were included in the International Contemporary Torchwork Exhibit at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

Stained Glass Recognition

*For an unprecedented third time, in 2001 "Crabapples" was used as a post card by the Spectrum Glass Company to promote their stained glass.
*In 1999, Spectrum Glass Company chose a second design, "Ivy Fence II", to produce.
*Her "Magnolias" design was used in 1994 by Spectrum Glass Company as a post card.
*In 1993, she was commissioned by the Berks Arts Council to create the first Pagoda Award, given to a local individual who has benefited the arts.

Locally, she has appeared on "Your Berks Craftsmen" on BCTV to educate the public about fine crafts and glass in particular. She markets her work at shows along the east coast, and her beads are being used by a growing number of jewlery designers.

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