MELODY SPENCE
Visions in Stained Glass
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My grandmother was the "true" artisan in our family. She was a graphic artist for Lady Lillian, a make-up company which was eventually bought out by Revlon. I took a different route on my career path. I went to college and received a B.S. in marketing. I worked several business jobs and did stained glass as a "hobby.” I made a great friend and together we opened up a business called Artist’s Choice, Inc. We taught different art classes, summer camps, and gave private lessons. We ended up selling that business and started Visions in Stained Glass, Inc. I did a lot of work for Walt Disney World, and worked with a designer on multi-million dollar homes. I also did custom work, and have a piece that is currently in the Morse Museum. During this time, I also started doing art shows. Fast forward to the present: I needed molds for fused-glass butterflies, and a friend suggested I make them myself. She took me to the City of Orlando Pottery Studio, and I was hooked. Not only have I made molds and many other things, but now I am combining glass and pottery together. It's been a really fun ride.
In December 2017, just after beginning my pottery journey a month before, I found out that the person leading the pottery festival in the past could no longer run it. Since nobody stepped forward, I thought I would volunteer. I moved the annual December show to a larger location and changed it to a two-day festival, and I added the one-day spring show--all in order to provide more exposure for the artists. - Melody Spence |
