From a young age, Stacy O’Sullivan had all the right tools to become an artist.
“I grew up in Laguna Beach in southern California. It’s an art town and was really in full bloom when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s,” she recalls with a smile. Her father was a water-colorist and she felt fortunate to live in “a little bedroom community full of artists” and have a dad who encouraged their creativity by making sure Stacy and her siblings “always had access to clay, paint, and pens and ink — whatever we wanted to try.”
Her interest in glass art came about in an unusual way and at a surprisingly young age for that particular medium. “When I was 10 years old, I rushed home from school one day because I had heard about a summer camp that was going to include stained glass. For some reason, even though I knew nothing about glass, I was very excited about it.” She was so excited that her mother saved money especially to send Stacy to the camp.
The class program at camp was taught by a fourth grade teacher, Karol Kennedy, who was also a master artisan. “Part of her passion was pouring into kids and still, to this day, I credit and honor her by teaching middle school kids,” says Stacy adding, “One of my favorite things is to teach kids this particular medium and see what they will do. There just seems to be a magic about that age that connects well with this medium.”
Stacy is on the South Carolina roster of registered artists and she receives numerous requests to present special programs for students. She explains that schools typically get grant funds to use her services. She has taught all over Aiken County as well as in other parts of the state. Church and summer camp programs have also benefited from Stacy’s talent as a glass artist and teacher. One program that really stands out in her mind is one she taught in Belton, South Carolina. “It was their Standpipe Heritage Days, so everything was geared around what it would have been like in the 1800s. It was so much fun!”
For quite some time, Stacy was what she describes as a glass hobbyist. “I liked to make gifts and things for people, but I wasn’t really serious about it. And now, when I look at some of those things I made when I was in college, I just laugh as I realize I didn’t know anything!” she chuckles.
Stacy had a turning point when she moved to Aiken in 1989. “I was fortunate to meet a man who built and installed church windows. Everything I know about large panel construction I learned from Bill Robertson. He was a great mentor and taught me a lot about construction and design,” she explains. “The reason I have my own studio is because of Bill. He took the little pieces of experience that I had and helped me sew them into something. He gave me the confidence to believe that people would actually commission me to work for them.” To this day, Stacy remains close friends with Bill’s widow Hi, who still runs his shop in Columbia.
Through Art & Soul of Aiken, the gallery she co-owns with Kim Rising, Stacy has struck a balance between creating and teaching. “I have a passion for teaching and do teach a lot of adult classes at the gallery, but I still get huge enjoyment out of being an independent artist,” she explains. She has also earned an excellent reputation as a restoration artist. “I have restored some really old pieces and I’m currently working on three large panels from the 1920s for a family that recently moved to Aiken. They are a challenge, but they are going to be beautiful!” she enthuses.
Fortunately for Stacy, she loves teaching, creating, and restoring. “Income streams from various efforts keep my art sustainable. Part of the beauty with Art & Soul is that we wanted to find venues for independent artists to make their art sustainable for themselves. We are all creatives and together we do a lot.”
Art & Soul of Aiken has been in its current location “in the alley” for three and a half years. However, the artists’ co-op started a year and a half earlier, with just eight artists, in a small space off of Richland Avenue. “I am so proud to say, in addition to more exhibit space, we now have teaching space, and there are close to 60 of us represented in the gallery!”
While she is modest about her accomplishments, Stacy’s beautiful glass work has been recognized through several awards. She recently entered a piece in the Aiken Artists Guild member show; she did it predominantly to show support. “The subject is an African woman and it is on a large panel in a reclaimed Baroque frame,” she describes. “It was a huge investment to create and a real risk because I really did it for myself, not thinking anyone would want to buy it.” Much to her surprise, the piece won her the show’s top award for contemporary artist!
Stacy enjoys creating larger stained glass pieces like large panels and door installations. She describes some “bucket list” projects in that vein. She recently met the owner of Mellow Mushroom, who told her that his Evans location has six large panel windows in the front that get an enormous amount of sunlight. A designer suggested that he have some stained glass windows created to tone down the sunlight. “When he told me that, I all but begged him to let me do it! I have this vision of old school traditional windows, but adding Jimi Hendrix or Jerry Garcia in them,” Stacy describes.
“Another real desire comes from a recurring dream that I created a skylight in stained glass. I would sure love to sign my name on a project like that. I’d happily do it as a collaborative, but I want to do something large scale to that degree. If they had called me for Notre Dame I would have dropped everything and run over!” she insists.
While Stacy is probably best known for her stained glass expertise, she also creates and teaches classes in other glass arts including reverse glass painting, cured enamel glass painting, and glass mosaics.
Contact Art & Soul of Aiken at 803.645.9186 to inquire about upcoming classes. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes are offered regularly. Stacy believes, “It is fun because you are with artists of your same skill level. There’s a lot of cross-talk and discussion on theory and problem solving. I like that style of teaching. I have had students go on to do some magnificent work and several have their own studio space and branding.”
