La Vie en Verre | Stephanie Couturier [FREE SAMPLE of Issue 14 - Ode to Studios/North]
La Vie en Verre | Stephanie Couturier
A studio visit from the pages of CreatedHere Issue 14: Ode to Studios/North.
photos by hailley fayle
interview by allison green
Stephanie Couturier is the curious mind behind La Vie en Verre studio. She is a self-taught artist shattering the traditional rules of stained glass through her use of abstract shapes and adventurous soldering techniques. There is no question that she is awakening a new generation of glass enthusiasts. In the mountains outside Edmundston, her exquisite abode and shared studio sits perched in the trees, like a lightning rod for inspiration. Inside, we find a curated life of colour and glass.
“I've lived in this house for four years. When I was young I lived across the street. I used to sell raspberries to the people who lived here. Some people called it the spaceship or the tree house and when I was a kid I was really amazed with it. I didn't plan it to be this way, but I tried to live in town and I hated it. I just need to be in the mountains and out of the city. There is no 90 degrees in this house.”
“Usually when people come here, they are going to sit in the big round chair, and it's like they are at a therapist. They start telling me about their lives, and really things I wish I wouldn't know. There's something with that chair.”
“I'm really introverted. I live in the forest surrounded by trees. Then there’s this one house, there's nobody living there, but just that I can see it, it bothers me. I created glass panels that would hide the house, but not hide the light and the trees and the forest.”
“It helps a lot with the designs, when you teach yourself. I basically don't have rules. I'm self-taught. I just go and do stuff. Probably my designs would make a trained stained glass artist go crazy.”
“My iceberg sun catchers started with climate change awareness. The iceberg in the sun was a reminder that we need to do our part for climate change. Now, they are so much more than that, because people, I found out, have different meanings behind icebergs. There’s the success thing; the tip of the iceberg is like the success you see, and underneath it is all the tears and hard work and all the things you don't see when you look at somebody. I also have a lot of customers who call themselves introverts. They said that iceberg means that society just sees that part, but underneath there's so much more colours to the person.”
“I try to really start with my drawings and then make them into stained glass. I was really into continuous line drawings. I was doing a lot of them. They are good to do, because apparently they connect the left and the right brain. I can see why, because you need to think and not think too much. Then to make them into glass, that's where the rough edges came to life. And you usually don't see a lot of that with stained glass. I think it’s my trademark now.”
“What's really amazing [about this studio] is the sun rises there and goes to bed over there. And that's really important because working with glass, they change colour during the day. I see the sky all the time, I look at birds, I looks at the trees, how their branches change shapes. I do go into more soft colours this time of year than in the summer.”
“The way they make glass, it's sand, and to make colours they need to mix different metals. Pink is made with gold, so that's why the more pinkish one is more expensive. And the yellow is made with sulfur. So, you have the periodic table of the elements right here.”
“I like doing custom work because I think my customers are really different. They get the art and they are really excited. They really see the magic with the glass.”
“I always loved glass. I would see little things in gift shops and I would just love it. The light, the colour, it made me fall in love every time. To me, it's the best medium, with so many possibilities, and the reflection just makes me see the beauty of life.”
STEPHANIE COUTURIER
La Vie en Verre Studio
www.etsy.com/ca/shop/LaVieenVerreGlass
linktr.ee/lavieenverreglass
@lavieenverreglass
Get a gallery of northern NB art in your mailbox by ordering a copy of Issue 14 of CreatedHere Magazine. Ode to Studios, our annual winter theme, is less about long-form articles and more about large-scale, calming imagery with short-form, poetic writing and artist quotes. Think coffee table book.
This issue contains:
photographic tours of cozy artist studios and (COVID-mindful) gatherings of artists
stories of connecting through creative practice during pandemic times.
artwork, photography and musings that explore winter and the embrace of a seasonal lifestyle.
Better yet, discover new artists every season by subscribing here.
