Christine Kende’s Fine Arts degrees are in Music—she likes to think she has only changed her instrument.

“I paint with glass because it is my meditation,” she says. “I can get lost in the spaces . That’s probably why I choose impressionistic landscapes.” Kende has painted with watercolor and acrylic, but she found her voice in glass. The joy of viewing stained or painted glass is watching how light changes and how that affects the artwork—reflecting light, if the work is hung on the wall or transmitting light if it is hung in a window. She considers both locations in her designs.

In her process, multiple layers of crushed glass are applied, fusing after each layer, until the desired effect is achieved. Usually six to eight layers are applied. A lower temperature will give a textured look; higher temperatures give a glossy look. Repeated firings continue to change the glass as well. She enjoys the juxtaposition of art and science in learning what this medium can do. It is a joyful journey.

Kende lived in Santa Fe with painter parents. Her father studied with John Sloan, whose studio was Kende’s home while her father was a student. She learned art basics informally but learned the art of kiln working glass at the Bullseye Glass Research Center in Portland,Oregon.

Kende’s work is exhibited in Salt Lake City ,with the Glass Art Guild of Utah where she received numerous awards, including Best of Show, and in Longview Washington. She taught glass Art through Community Education in SLC and is now teaching at The Art Loft in Astoria Oregon.