March 2025 3-D Featured Artist Jan Butler

Glass artist Jan Butler describes herself as a lifelong art medium sampler. “I tried every painting class I found, acrylic, oil, watercolor, pastel, even silk scarf painting. Nothing felt exactly right, and honestly, I am not a good painter! When I moved on to pottery, I knew I found the art form for me. I literally liked getting my hands dirty and building something. Then, about 15 years into pottery, a group of pottery friends and I all heard about and tried fused glass. A few years into glass I knew I had to pick between pottery and glass, after all there are only so many hours in a day! I chose fused glass." 

 Her husband ordered a kiln for her as a surprise and said, while handing her a fire extinguisher, "Try not to burn the house down." “And truly, fused glass is as much science as it is art,” said Jan. “Heating glass to 1700 degrees to get it to do what you want is challenging. There are so many techniques to learn and grow from that for someone who is willing to keep learning and experimenting, there is no end to the journey.” 

Jan always brings something new to the gallery, and this year, in addition to fish and flowers, she is bringing abstract butterfly vases. She said they range from "It's a monarch!" to "I'm definitely going to need a clue." Always ready to surprise those who come to the gallery to see her art, she said, “We'll see what others think in March when they see my new experiment.”