My name is Ned Souder. I’ve always been captivated by stained glass windows in churches and historic buildings. After learning about Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848 - 1933), I was able to locate several of his highly-regarded windows. It was a photograph of the very large (16’ x 50’) glass mosaic mural that left a lasting impression on me. This piece was designed by Maxfield Frederick Parrish (1870 - 1966) and completed by Tiffany Studios in 1916. This “Dream Garden Mural” inspired me to explore approaches for “glass paintings,” and with stained glass that I had in my studio, I began to create for smaller scales. Glass itself is amazing: transparent through every degree to becoming opaque; textured from smooth to formed; and natural in its colors. Most importantly, glass feeds on light, and as light changes, so does the mood and the focus point of glass works. There exists a visual strength in each of my glass works, which can be viewed satisfactorily close-up and from extended distances.

My shattered glass works bring together two loves of mine: light-filled stained glass windows and strong classic oil paintings. These new glass works have some strong characteristics and are often mistaken for paintings. I use historic glass – some 100 years old, often from unrepairable liturgical windows, many containing detailing like kiln-dried painting and washes and other mostly forgotten techniques. I also use new glass of all types if it interests me. Not wanting to use square glass tiles, I proceeded to shatter the stained glass to get natural free-form shapes, and have begun creating “paintings in glass.” This shattered glass technique literally breaks sheets of glass down to the size I want to use, even to powder. Using freeform pieces instead of mosaic squares provides a visually more organic realism to the works.

Perhaps some day I’ll do a large commission, but until then, I’m pleased to present beautiful, personally-sized glass works. Each heart-set image reflects its own dream garden, and each work is one-of-a-kind piece and unreproducible.

I welcome your inquiries and interest in purchase. Please contact me if I can provide any additional information about my shattered glass paintings.