Debora Chatfield was once a little girl sitting in mass, mesmerized by the coloured light shining through the Catholic church's stained glass windows.
She had no idea at the time that one day she would also be creating beautiful works of art that would some day hang in a church for others to be amazed at. Life came full circle for her when, after having babies, she needed a creative outlet and her neighbour in rural Quick taught her the art of glass making.
Eventually she was commissioned to create an inspiring glass window for a church in Kitwanga.
"I first met Polly Threlkeld, who is doing stained glass and she was my original helper, my original mentor," Chatfield said. "There was a Mongolian yurt at the bottom of our property. And that was my glass studio. And then I met Pia, a farmer from Switzerland and she had learned how to paint on stained glass from from Swiss artists as part of her education, and so she taught me how to paint on glass for a church window."
Her glasswork now is inspired by wildfire and the natural landscape of the Telkwa River, where her home and studio sit. She said the epiphany of seeing light radiated through coloured glass began a journey of stained glass, painted glass, mosaic and fused glass.
Chatfield said her learning grew immensely during the pandemic.
"During COVID, everybody was trapped," she explained. "And there were stained glass and fused glass artists from all over the world who are hungry, couldn't go to a convention. So I joined a zoom group. And we met once a week.
"I'm still meeting with them. I have to say I got tens of thousands of dollars worth of education, just meeting with those people talking about their projects, talking about what their challenges that they faced, where to get materials, applying different practices."
She said one of the challenges of being a glass artist in northern B.C. is getting the supplies. Almost all the glass needs to be imported from Mexico or the United States and shipping costs are rising. Other supplies she uses have to be delivered from other parts of Canada, and those costs add up.
"I really love doing glass," she said. "I try to have enough business that it supports my glass passion."
It isn't always easy, she said. Creating glass is a lot of trial and error.
"Heating glass creates an intrinsic unpredictability," she said. "The interaction between artist, medium, time and temperature takes away control and adds the element of surprise."
She said you never know what things will look like when you pull them out of the kiln, although, she said every time she opens the kiln, it is like Christmas morning.
"Experimenting with hot dripping glass, slumping glass over shapes, painting and melting glass pieces together never ceases to surprise me in the glass shop."
Her next venture is helping grieving pet owners memorialize their pets by infusing cremains into fused glass pendants and pocket hearts.
Chatfield is once again participating in the upcoming annual artisan studio tour. Her stained glass windows, fused glass panels and functional art, glass sculptures, jewelry and mosaic art will be on display at her place, Rivers Edge Glass Studio.
The annual tour is scheduled for next weekend. Each summer, a group of artisans of the Bulkley Valley invite the public to visit their studios in and around Smithers and Telkwa.
People can explore the valley while enjoying the free self-guided tour.
Pottery, paintings, jewelry, stained glass, cards, fabric arts, baskets and more will be on display.
This year studios will be open on Friday July 19 from 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.; Saturday July 20 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday, July 21 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. A brochure and a map can be downloaded from the Tourism Smithers website.
"It gives me joy," Chatfield said. "That's the very first thing in my sphere of influence. All I want to do is create a joyful experience for me and the people I love. But when people come and they have an eye for it, and their eyes light up, I want to talk to that person."