GlassDesert

I'm Alex. I’m the maker, owner, creator behind The Glass Desert. I have been working with glass in some form since 2004. Originally from CT, I moved to Tucson at the end of 2005 and never looked back. I love the artsy feel, the friendly folks, the laid back attitude, and of course, the weather. It took many more years for my appreciation of the desert plants to bubble up. In 2012 I left a job in the glass arts and felt I had to do something more meaningful for our planet. I began learning about our strange Sonoran Desert flora and all the unique things that grow here. In a few years, I learned how to grow food in our desert environment, became a Certified Master Gardener, and created a homestead called Blanton Plantin' with my wonderful husband, Ray. I continue to cultivate an interest in strange and wonderful cacti and succulents and incorporate them into our homestead. Translating them into glass was almost instinctual.
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I had been away from glass since 2012. When my friend’s father passed away a few years later, her mom asked me if I could finish a stained glass triptych he had been working on for their living room. He had completed two of the windows and passed away while working on the third. I completed and installed the last piece and in exchange their family graciously gave me his glass equipment. I finally got my studio set up in spring 2017 and have been creating unique stained glass cacti ever since.
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I consider my work to be Modern Stained Glass - mostly 3-D pieces that aren't your grandma's stained glass. Each piece evokes the personality of our desert environment and allows people to bring a small piece of that home with them. They are great for plant lovers with green or black thumbs - wonderful home decor for the modern desert dweller.