Amy Keith is a stained glass artist from North Carolina. Visit her Etsy store at http://aekeith.etsy.com.

When did you first become interested in glass?

I first became interested in glass over fifteen years ago when my parents decided to teach themselves. They had owned a hardware store for 20 years and then Wal-mart and Lowes moved into our area and they choose to close while they were ahead. I was ten years old at the time and learned stained glass right along side of them.

I remember the first sheets of glass that they ordered because they were all primary colors and then brown. I remember thinking to myself how in the world are they going to sell anything with all primary colors and brown? It is very funny looking back at it now because without them taking the step to learn something new I am not sure where I would be as an artist.

What do you like best about what you do? I love the beauty of glass, the freedom it allows, the endless possibilities and the time that I get to explore and create. There is nothing like turning up my music and creating away in my studio! Is there a pattern in the way you select materials? In the way you use color, texture or light? I love to mix and match all sorts of colors together. I love hand-blown glass, metals and incorporating found things into my works of art. I am constantly challenging myself to new ideas and I try and stay out of the trends that just anyone can do. I would rather put time and effort into making a true original glass piece than mass producing for numbers or money.

A pink stained glass butterfly from Amy Keith's Butterflies collection.

I am inspired by nature, graphic patterns, abstract design, lines, shapes and found objects. I pick up my pencil and just start drawing ideas and they form glass pieces. I am not sure how it works but it happens like magic! I have about four sketch books that I keep around the house so that I can just pick one up and start drawing when and idea hits me. I am inspired from everything that surrounds me from the places I visit, the people I meet, dreams and things that just hit me out of no where.

How much time is spent creating your pieces? I work in my studio at nights after I get home from my regular job (Web Administrator for a public library system). I love to just get in my studio and work. It is a stress-reliever for me and a way to express myself after being at work behind a computer all day. Sometimes I work too much and my husband has to drag me out! What do you find most challenging about your work in the glass arts? Finding time to create everything that I dream up is one of the most challenging things for me! My journals of sketches guide me along the way, keep me organized and help to replenish my thoughts after being bogged down from my 9 to 6. Another challenging thing is finding space to put all of my things! Luckily, I have been able to take over one of our bedrooms as my studio!

Amy Keith's stained glass panels include a nickel plated chain for easy installation.

I found Etsy through Flickr. A lot of my contacts had accounts and one day I decided to take my business online. I am so happy I found Etsy and I can't image my business without it! The thing that I like most about Etsy is the small community of artists. It is so rare to find so many wonderful thriving artists all together in one place! I love it!