A Local Artist’s House of Glass Treasures
By Eleanor Gomolinski-Lally
The opening of the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton has brought to the forefront a number of talented local artists whose work has heretofore been produced in home studios. The public can now visit these artists in their Workhouse studios, where a large variety of artwork is on display. Besides studios featuring all styles of painting, there are some large areas of studios where one type of art is pursued. Glass artists occupy one such area. Several of these artists teach classes and workshops.
Elizabeth Mears, who has a Workhouse studio and is also an instructor, began working with stained glass in the early 1970s, continuing through the 1990s. When her son was born, she purchased some sun catchers to hang over his crib. Having always been a do-it-yourself type of person, she decided to make her own. This led to creating larger forms of stained glass. Her husband helped her learn to cut glass and solder. As they moved frequently because he was a Navy test pilot and instructor, she continued to hone her skill. Local examples of her stained glass can be seen in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Burke and St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Springfield.
During the 1990s, there were few torches made for flameworking and limited choices for colored glass rods used to create glass art. Now there is a much larger selection of torches and colors of glass rods. There will probably be many more advances in the future.
Elizabeth has taken many flameworking workshops. After attending Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, she taught there and wrote a highly acclaimed book on flameworking. The Penland Book of Glass, which will be published in 2009, will include a chapter by her. She attended workshops at the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle, WA; Wheaton Arts in Millville, NJ; and Corning Studio in Corning, NY. She has taught at Jacksonville Center for Arts in Floyd, VA, the Smithsonian Institution and the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. In 2000, she was elected to the Board of Renwick Alliance. She has exhibited many places and has won numerous awards and scholarships.
In December she will host a tour for Smithsonian Resident Associate members. It will begin at the Renwick Gallery in Washington at an exhibit of master glass blower Lino Tagliapietra’s works, travel to the Workhouse Arts Center to view glass artists at work and conclude at her home, where she will show them the many examples of glass art that fill the house.
Tour participants will have the opportunity to marvel at more than beautiful glass art in the Mears home. The house itself is a work of art. Elizabeth and Michael Mears built their home almost entirely by themselves. They were living in Springfield in 1981 when they started preparations. Michael had a degree in mechanical engineering and, like his wife, is the type of person who enjoys figuring out things out for himself. He read books about building houses, laid out all the architectural plans and constructed a model of how the house would look. Elizabeth took an adult education class on electrical wiring and got advice from her instructor and county government offices. They worked on weekends and evenings. Michael cut down trees on the property to use for lumber. Three high school students were hired to help with the rough framing. They found doors from old houses in Alexandria and flooring from a schoolhouse, which Elizabeth sanded during the day while Michael was at work. She went through the process of learning about building codes, acquiring building permits and inspections, which were passed within one year. Once that was accomplished, they were able to move into the house. It was finished within four years. Now they are adding on another room, making changes in the kitchen. They will add a lower deck and install propane gas heating to replace wood-burning stoves. Elizabeth says that after all these years there are very few changes they would have made in their original plans. Walking through the house is like visiting a museum, which at the same time is very livable. The beauty of nature that surrounds the outside of her home has inspired the works of art she has created.
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