What do you do?
Heather New, the creator of Art by Heather, is an artist that has recently moved to East Haven. She is originally from Florida, and there she built a 12 by 12-foot-stained glass house near Tampa. This later became the logo on her business cards, and the name on some of her Instagram accounts for the business. The stained-glass house took Heather an average of two months to have it completely intact, where all windows, walls, and entrances were fully installed. Now, people also can visit some of her work in the Bradford Art Gallery, which Heather joined in 2019. Heather works with stained glass, an awesome form of art that can be used to decorate many different spaces!
How did you begin your stained-glass art?
She claims that it all began when all other art methods got old, and she wanted to get back into a new artistic mindset. Instead of painting, Heather began to work with glass which, in her opinion, was a fantastic idea that she truly enjoys now. Heather taught herself all about the process, which can be very challenging, especially when learning how to cut all the glass into pieces that would match each other perfectly. For example, repairing was one step of the process that allowed Heather to reach where she is today. Now she can do awesome things with her ideas after she puts them into real world art. A perfect representation would be the stained-glass house she built back in Florida!
How did you make your passion a career?
After Heather was able to feel confident with glass, she decided to close her other businesses and focus on what she has liked since she was a child. Heather began by selling her art at markets, shows, and festivals. Soon after, she got an apprenticeship offer and once it ended, she says she was right where she belonged. This is where Heather considered her career to begin in terms of all the glass work she does.
How long can it take you to create a piece of art?
Heather begins by sketching everything before making any further moves. After a pattern has been thought up, she starts all the work. Heather works with glass pieces that have not been colored by her, which makes it very challenging considering that all the glass needs to be acquired and put together according to the pattern that is being followed. As Heather says, “There are different types of art that I can create, and some can take much longer than others”, it depends on the size of the glass and the project that is being achieved. Some projects can take a person 3 hours, while others can take up to a full day, and in some cases much longer than that. This is a wonderful form of art that is seen in many different places. It’s quite common to decorate homes with stained glass, which helps to make Heather’s art very popular.
Instagram: @artbyheathernew
Website: https://www.artbyheathernew.com