(LEFT) - Local artist Chuck Peters has made stained glass creations for people all over the world.By SUMMER KELLEY
(LEFT) - Local artist Chuck Peters has made stained glass creations for people all over the world.
When people use the phrase “looking through rose-colored glasses”, it generally means that they are seeing things better than they really are, but one Dade County man truly sees things through rose-colored glasses – well, rose-colored stained glass, anyway.
Chuck Peters came to Dade County 12 years ago when he bought a farm in Cloudland on Lookout Mountain. There he started a 50–acre organic farm and his stained glass studio, Cloudland Stained Glass. What was once a hobby for Peters has become a source of income and pride.
“(Stained glass) is challenging, but very rewarding when you do something people love,” Peters said.
The stained glass art, done by Peters can be found in churches and homes as close as Ft. Payne and Mentone and as far away as England.
His most difficult piece, and what he currently considers to be his greatest masterpiece, is a commissioned three-dimensional stained glass piece. The masterpiece took three months for Peters to complete and features a life-size three-dimensional eagle and dove suspended in front of a round stained glass panel.
Creativity has always been a part of Peters’ life. He graduated from Florida State University in Tallahassee with a degree in Visual Communications. It was while Peters was working as an illustrator for the National Science Foundation in Florida that friends convinced him to take a stained art class.
Peters ended up taking a couple of stained glass classes and then began teaching himself. The variety of textures, designs, glass, patterns, transparencies and colors make the art of stained glass challenging and interesting for Peters.
When he moved to Ft. Payne, Ala., from Atlanta where he had been working in advertising, Peters took a job with a stained glass studio that did windows for churches. Besides stained glass, Peters also does video production, workshop and promotional videos, and documentation of Native Americans.
Prices of Peters’ stained glass pieces depend on the size, amount of detail, and types of glass used. In general, Peters said his pieces run between $55 and $85 per square foot, with an average piece costing $75.
Most of Peters’ glass comes from a warehouse in northeast Georgia and he uses a copper foil method to join the glass pieces together.
The copper foil method, according to Peters, is cleaner, more durable and allows different finishes on the copper. Peters does glass etching in addition to the stained glass pieces. He said he enjoys glass etching because it is like sculpting in glass.
Currently, Peters said he is usually working on three or four stained glass pieces at a time. Peters also shows work at the In Town Gallery in Chattanooga and the Foothills Gallery in LaFayette. Peters hopes to have some pieces at the Bill Shores Gallery in the future as well. There are portfolios of Peters’ work available at the galleries whenever there are none of his pieces on display.
For those interested in viewing Peters’ work or considering commissioning a piece for their home, business or church, they can visit the galleries.
Peters also has a website, cloudlandstainedglass.com, where he has posted pictures of his work. As far as seeing Peters at an arts or crafts show, Peters said it really isn’t his thing right now, but that he is looking at a couple of shows in the future.
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