Welcome to Four Winds.
Everything here is Handmade,
with Love.
Gallery
About the Artist
Artist Bio:
Kristin, creator and owner behind Four Winds Handmade, is based in Lexington, KY. Trained as both a Horticultural Therapist at the New York Botanical Garden and Art Teacher at Villanova University and Rosemont College, Kristin is a self-taught glass mosaic artist.
Inspired by her love of the outdoors and gardening, she crafts decorative and functional glass art that brings color and light to both indoor and outdoor spaces.
Kristin enjoys capturing these natural scenes and subjects both in focused realism and in soft impressionistic detail, all while being mindful of color, form, texture, and play of light that this medium lends itself to.
Kristin is a proud member of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, whose mission is to “establish art and craft as a vital influence by promoting excellence through education, collaboration, leadership, and service”. For more information, visit kentuckyguild.org.
Artist Statement:
I draw inspiration from nature in my own back yard gardens, and from the surrounding woodlands and open fields here in central Kentucky.
I use my own photographs, and translate them by hand on to a background, which will then be the base design on which the glass mosaics are created.
My original mosaic designs come to life using hand cut pieces of stained glass which are intentionally chosen for texture, color, and opacity. Much of the glass used is scrap collected from fellow stained glass artists that would otherwise be thrown away.
I shape the glass tesserae pieces by hand, and affix them to the mosaic base with a clear silicone adhesive. When the adhesive is cured, I grind the outer edges of the entire piece with a glass grinder to smooth and refine the finished shape. Then the entire piece is grouted with a sanded grout, cleaned, and hand polished to shine.
Some of my pieces are finished with a frame of wood or metal, depending on how they will be displayed. This gives them a polished, clean look. Other pieces are left unframed with a live edge, which gives them an organic, natural feel.