Kristina Birkhans

Teaching has always been an important part of my life as it has been said that you cannot give what you do not have, but I also believe that you cannot keep what you have without giving it away. Together, teaching and learning are the soul of creativity.

My classes are much more than learning the basics of stained glass - cutting glass, soldering, grinding, foiling (which I will teach you). They are about bringing out the individual creativity in my students, helping them "notice and see", letting them play with materials, experiment with form and colour - it is about the wonder of creation.

"Creativity is a mystery, and for me, it is a process of surrender rather than force."

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be an artist. I consider myself fortunate to have studied with incredibly talented people during my five years at the acclaimed Academy of Art in Riga, Latvia. From this intensive study of art, sculpture and painting, I gained a deep understanding of form, colour and proportion - invaluable to my passion of creating "objects d'art" in stained glass.

Nature is my inspiration, and being near water brings me peace, strength and a passion for my work. To create contrast and depth, I love to experiment with mixed media - combining stained glass, painting and unusual materials, seeking to capture and expose the beauty that lies within. I have always believed that if there are two ideas from which to choose I prefer the one I haven't tried before.

I regard life experience as essential to the creative process. Music, travel, and spiritual people also inspire me and I believe trusting and following the energy I feel and giving way to my nature will lead my art to where I wish it to be and in return bring me everything I desire. Stained glass for me, is the expression of life and beauty.

As Checkov once said, "To work on your art, you have to work on your life".

Link to Biography

"Growth"
I like to use different materials in my work and nature is my strongest inspiration. This piece is a recycled piece of steel, that i found one of my rollerblading trips.

Stained glass residential window.

Stained glass shoe sculpture.