Our Staff and Regular Contributors

Maureen James – Publisher

Maureen has been involved in the glass industry as a publisher since 1985 when she became cofounder and managing editor of Glass Patterns Quarterly. This quality, tutorial-based periodical has an international readership in over eighteen countries. Maureen’s desire to provide a vital business resource for glass professionals later led to the birth of Profitable Glass Quarterly (later merged with Glass Art). She is currently publisher of Glass Patterns, Glass Art, and The Flow publications. She has also served on the board of the International Art Glass Suppliers Association and in 2012 received the Lifetime Achievement Award from this organization. Maureen also served as a board member of the KBW Educational Foundation. Maureen is an active and voting member of ISGB, GAS, SGAA, and ASGS. Until 2020 she and her staff managed the demonstration stage that runs throughout the Glass Craft & Bead Expo each year in Las Vegas, Nevada, and currently judges the Gallery of Excellence. She has been influential in bringing glass education to the masses and is thrilled to be working with the various organizations serving in this capacity. Maureen is also a co-host for the Glass Expert Webinars in which the best and most sought after instructors in the industry share their unique techniques to an audience all over the world via a live webinar.

Darlene Welch – Associate Editor

Darlene brings to Glass Art magazine many years of experience as a writer, editor, and proofreader for various book publishing companies. As a private school library teacher, she was also responsible for mentoring her students in the former annual “Young Author Awards” sponsored by the Courier-Journal newspaper. Darlene works to assure continuity and accuracy in the issues of Glass Art and also serves as one of the contributing writers for the magazine. Her easy yet professional style allows her to work with a multitude of glass artists, writers, and designers, assisting them in telling their stories and showing their techniques. She strives, first and foremost, to get it right while allowing writers who contribute to Glass Art the opportunity to be happy with the final results. Darlene has implemented a series of proofing stages to insure correctness in techniques and details by allowing the writers a final chance to look over their material before it goes to press. She also edits our staff letters and anything that is posted on our website and in our newsletters.

Kathy Gentry – Circulation Manager

Kathy has worked with the company since the inception of its sister publication, Glass Patterns Quarterly, and is the company's longest serving employee. Her experience and knowledge of the department allows Kathy to provide excellent customer service. She is responsible for maintaining the ever-increasing database of Glass Art magazine subscribers, distributors, and advertisers, and also manages monthly updates and reports for the publications.  In addition, she manages the renewal series in circulation, which includes both USPS and e-mail renewal efforts, and oversees all subscription efforts and new trials. Kathy also ensures that the paperwork and lists are at the printer and mailing house on schedule and has helped to bring a twenty-five year, on-time, non-interrupted record to the three titles that she manages.

Mark Waterbury – Art Director and Graphic Artist

Mark translates his vast talent and experience in the world of glass art into remarkable article and ad layouts for Glass Art magazine. He also lends his eye for color and light to Glass Patterns Quarterly as a stained glass design artist. His firsthand knowledge and insight into running a stained glass retail store was instrumental in the early years of GPQ. He creates most of the beautiful layouts that appear in our publications as well as on our website and has many original designs. In GPQ's early years, Mark designed and constructed most of the stained glass projects for Glass Patterns Quarterly. Mark’s honest and forthright assessment ability allows Mark to produce layouts that are clean and artful for articles and has allowed him to build successful ads for several advertisers of Glass Art magazine. If you need a fresh ad message, consider using Mark to design your next ad.

Dave Burnett - Production Manager and Graphic Artist

Dave enjoys watching the issues of Glass Art magazine come together as he works on laying out articles, advertisements, and the various sections devoted to new products. He likes to stay one step ahead of the schedule to ensure that we have materials that are adequate and on time. He keeps all of the stages of magazine production flowing before moving on to the website updates. These bi-monthly updates are a reflection of the current issue so they are changing. Dave has a methodical approach to his work and with all the various formats that need to be delivered, he is able to do the same thing, the same way every time. Dave was part owner of an art gallery where he was involved in various art shows, and he designed and has constructed stained glass projects for Glass Patterns Quarterly. Everyone who works with Dave loves and appreciates his easygoing style and positive attitude, and his jovial nature (including his butterfly and garden images) is definitely a stress reducer in a deadline-oriented workplace.

Rhonda Sewell – Accountant

Rhonda is involved in all aspects of accounting including accounts payable and receivable, tax records, and quarterly reports. Her ten years of experience with a CPA firm and nine years as an elementary school bookkeeper help her to further enhance the excellent customer service she provides to the clients of Glass Art magazine. She has been instrumental in bringing efficiency in the accounting offices at our headquarters, utilizing the latest software to streamline tasks. She has also led the implementation of the Safety and Privacy policy that exists at the publication's headquarters in the handling of customer and client information. Her professionalism and insight into accounting make Rhonda a valued asset for our publications. She makes accounting look so easy, and for those of you who talk to Rhonda, you'll always hear a soft, supportive voice to help you.

Marcie Davis - Glasscaster with Marcie Davis

Marcie Davis has been involved in glass art education since 1985. She began producing hot glass videos in 1997, after 15 years of flameworking in local schools. She's worked with Northstar Glass, Bethlehem Burners, and has written for many glass magazines. Currently she distributes Lauscha hand-pulled glass rods and imports handblown German Christmas ornaments. Her podcast series, Glasscaster, brings inspiring interviews to the glass community. You can listen to them at firelady.com and on iTunes. Marcie was instrumental in the development of our Glass Expert Webinar Series, which bring video and education full circle, so now art glass techniques are being shared, this time on a global scale. Visit www.glassartmagazine.com ~ Store ~ Glass Expert Webinars for LIVE events and Recorded Webinars. 

Vicki Schneider – Writer and Interviewer

Vicki Schneider follows the tradition of Venetian flameworking artists to produce decorative solid and blown glass art. Mainly working off-hand in COE 104 soft glass, she is inspired by her childhood spent on the Jersey shore. Her current bodies of work include Mama’s Garden, composed of lifelike blown and solid flowers, and Childhood, which depict vignettes celebrating the innocence of youth. In 2009, Schneider opened Expressive Glass, her teaching studio in Buffalo, New York, to share her passion for glass with novice and skilled glassworkers. Since 2006, the artist has introduced more than 500 students to the magic of glass art and has studied with and hosted many of the world’s most respected artists. Learn more about Vicki’s work and her studio at www.expressiveglass.com.

Dr. Julie Anne Denton

Dr. Julie Anne Denton received her doctorate in the combination of sand cast and flameworked glass for artists in 2017. She has been schooled in the Italian flameworking tradition and has worked alongside some of the best flameworking and sand casting artists of the day. Settled in Zurich, Switzerland, Julie runs her design firm, www.atelier315.ch, and virtual school, www.zurichglassschool.com, from the center of the city. She works with a small team beside her who all care deeply about quality. Julie creates work that resonates beauty, workmanship, and authenticity in her key themes—people folklore, nature, and counterculture—and has received worldwide recognition for her storytelling skills as an artist and her technical skills as a glassmaker.

Kathleen Elliot

Kathleen Elliot began working with glass in 1991, mainly with flameworking techniques, and has pursued a career as an artist since 2001. She attended Pilchuck Glass School in 2001, 2002, and 2003 before returning in 2013 as an instructor and teaches flameworking throughout the United States and internationally. Known for sculptures of flameworked botanical forms, she has expanded her practice into mixed-media and collage works that address the developed world’s problematic relationship with food and the industries that surround it. Kathleen’s art has been exhibited in museums, art centers, and galleries across the United States as well as China, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan, including 29 solo exhibitions and over 60 two-person and group exhibitions. Her work is in six permanent museum collections and has been featured in over 30 art and craft publications. Visit www.kathleenelliot.com for more information on Kathleen and her art.

Milon Townsend

Milon Townsend is a self-taught artist with over 50 years of experience in the field of glass artwork and education. He is known for his torch and kiln worked sculpture featuring the human form. The sequence of articles that have been presented in Glass Art over the past several years are excerpted from Milon’s upcoming book on the various aspects of creativity and include tips on how glass artists can use them to produce outstanding original designs in their glass art. Visit www.intuitiveglass.com or Google “Milon Townsend images” to view more of his work.

Sara Sally LaGrand

Sara Sally LaGrand, award-winning artist and author, started her journey in life as a broadcaster and journalism major. After a 30-year career in radio and newspaper, she began to wander into the creativity of the art world once she realized she could no longer be grounded by her mother for doing so. However, she has never lost her love for words. LaGrand has had the great fortune to study glass with many gifted teachers both in America and Italy and holds a BA in Glass Formation from Park University in Parkville, Missouri. She has been writing feature articles and interviewing her fellow artists for both The Flow and Glass Art magazines since 2014, making it the perfect combination for LaGrand of both reporting and art. 

Joe Samuelson III

Joe Samuelson III is a writer, flame worker, husband, and grateful father. Formerly an expat for the better part of the last two decades, Joe and his family now live in Buffalo NY. A Borosilicate lampworker for more than 20 years, he enjoys taking his own functional glass styles and collaborating with artists who have unique aesthetics. In addition to functional work, he produces a wide variety of both lampworked and fused glass. For more than a decade Joe has been an avid collector and creator in the murrine community. In addition to content and profile writing for Glass Art and The Flow magazines, Joe own’s Standard i’s LLC, an endeavor focused on writing policy for the legal Cannabis industry in New York State and across the country. 

John C. Emery, Sr. and Jerry Preston

For more than 45 years, Jerry Preston and John C. Emery, Sr. have operated Preston Studios, creating one-of-a-kind collectible stained glass art. Their work continues the uniquely American tradition of placing art glass in the home as a lifestyle element as they fashion many beautiful commissions, including designs for bathrooms and privacy screens, entryways, lamp shades, accent panels for cabinet doors, and pieces with religious themes. Preston and Emery have written two eBooks produced by Wardell Publications. Lamps for the 21st Century, an eBook in interactive PDF form, features 14 embedded videos showing Preston and Emery at work creating their lamps. Their most recent eBook, Windows for the 21st Century, includes the studio’s 2016 exhibit at the Foosaner Art Museum. Visit www.prestonstudios.com to learn more about the artists and their work.

Organizational News

Glass Art® is pleased to help glass art professionals and hobbyists keep up with the various upcoming events and educational opportunities from the many glass art organizations throughout the United States and the world. These regular contributors include the following organizations:

● American Glass Guild

● Chrysler Museum of Art

● Contemporary Glass Society

● Corning Museum of Glass

● Glass Art Society

● International Society of Glass Beadmakers 

● Stained Glass Art Association 

● Society of American Mosaic Artist