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Apr 27, 2023

Meet stained glass maker Lindsay DiDio; St. Albans artist to teach summer classes

Lindsay DiDio in her home studio in St. Albans. Next to her, sheets of glass are

Lindsay DiDio in her home studio in St. Albans. Next to her, sheets of glass are organized by color.

ST. ALBANS CITY — In her home studio, Lindsay DiDio's artwork adorns the walls and colored glass sparkles in the sunlight.

On a work table: her soldering iron, rolls of copper foil and pencil sketches. When she comes home from a day of teaching at Missisquoi Valley Union, it's the first place she goes.

"I’ve made things all my life, but nothing hits like stained glass," she said. "It feels like an extension of myself."

DiDio's interest in stained glass goes way back, to when she was a college student studying abroad in England. She loved visiting the churches there and admiring their windows.

But it wasn't until a colleague was retiring at MVU that she learned the art form herself.

"She taught stained glass in her class, but none of the rest of us knew how to do it and the students loved it, so I wanted to find a place where I could learn it so we could keep it as part of the curriculum," DiDio said.

After attending a workshop at River Arts in Morrisville, she was hooked.

To get the necessary supplies, she visited the studio of acclaimed stained glass maker Lawrence Ribbecke in Burlington's South End. His advice and material further inspired her.

Flash forward eight years later, and DiDio is now teaching others the trade.

The hops students will make in an upcoming workshop with DiDio. She lays out the steps with easy to follow instructions.

Held in her backyard barn, her stained glass classes are three hours and tailored to both first-time students and those with some experience.

Students get to choose from a selection of art glass and will learn the art of cutting, grinding, copper foiling and soldering.

The projects are all nature-based, including mountains, lotus flowers, honeycombs and pressed flower chains that utilize dried flowers from Phloem Flower Farm in Swanton.

"I like making things that are reflective of nature, because so much of what makes stained glass come alive is the sun," DiDio said.

A student works on their project during a class last summer in DiDio's barn.

The one downside to working with the medium is that there can be a lot of waste. After cutting out a shape, she's got leftover pieces that are too small to use and won't biodegrade in a landfill.

To solve the problem, DiDio has started making mosaics with the leftovers, and recently attended a four-day workshop on the subject with the Snow Farm New England Craft Program.

Watch out, she said, next year, there could be some mosaic classes on her calendar.

Originally from Pennsylvania, DiDio started her professional career in graphic design before getting her graduate degree in art education. She moved to Vermont in 2012 to take an open art teacher position at MVU.

There, she gets what she said is the "best of both worlds."

"My classroom is a lab filled with iMac computers, and then the other half has easels and drawing horses and everything's everywhere; it's just a lot of fun," she said.

DiDio's daisy sun catcher's sit almost finished on her work table.

This year, four of the seven stained glass classes she's holding at her home are sold out. DiDio attributes that to a demand for art education in the region, both for amateurs and professionals alike.

What she’d really love to do is open an arts collective in Franklin County, where artists of different mediums could teach classes and work side-by-side.

"We have a lot of wonderful artists in this area," she said. "I just wish there was a community space where we could create together. Making art with other people is so invigorating."

June 20: Hops Sun Catcher

July 9: Pressed Flower Chain

Aug. 6: Pressed Flower Chain (fundraiser of Artist in Residence Gallery)

Cost: $100

More information and registration at: www.blueheronartstudio.com

Written By

Managing Editor

she/her | Bridget is the Messenger's managing editor. She oversees the newsroom and covers the Maple Run and Franklin West school districts and pays attention to recreation, food and the arts. She's also an avid cyclist and skier.

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