We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Jenkins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.

Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I have always been enchanted by the beauty of stained glass art – how light dances on glass, solder lines create movement, and the saturation of glass panels change as the sun shifts throughout the day. And it was also a great mystery to me, an art medium I admired from afar but not something I thought I could actually make on my own. When looking at stunning cathedral glass windows, I knew they were created by artists, but the how behind it seemed too complicated, or too sacred or special, to understand.

Last year, during a casual conversation with a coworker about our backgrounds in learning and teaching art, it occurred to me, simply and suddenly, that I could take the practical steps to learn more about the techniques of making stained glass art. That these skills weren’t unattainable or only for other artists or too challenging – I just needed to gather up the courage, humility, and patience to learn.

So I went to the library, checked out an armful of books, and spent an afternoon reading about different types of glass and the basic tools and techniques. A quick online search and phone call later, and I found myself signed up for a beginner’s class on Saturday mornings at a small stained glass store north of my home in Kansas City.

The class met each Saturday morning in June, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. As a group of five students with various levels of previous experience with glass, our instructor led us step-by-step through the entire process of creating a stained glass sun catcher, from the first step of choosing a design until the final step of hanging our finished pieces. I immediately fell in love with the whole process. I love how many different steps there are, how it requires attention to detail and precision but there is also plenty of room for choices and variation. How it is a linear process with clear steps, but once you have a basic understanding of working with glass, you can also break the rules and try out new ideas.

The more I lean into my identity as an artist, the more I experience how creative growth cannot be hurried and follows a circular rather than linear progression. It returns to and builds upon previous interests and experiments. No creative acts are wasted time. They are all valuable steps in the process of growing as an artist. So while working in the medium of stained glass is fairly new for me, it also isn’t, because it feels like a new expression of my previous work in other mediums.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Sarah Jenkins and I am a mosaic and stained glass artist creating from my home studio in Kansas City, Missouri.

As a Christian visual artist, I am deeply interested in theology and the ways in which art has has historically as well as currently communicates our beliefs about God, others, and our experiences of being human.

Making and viewing art actively heals, confronts, soothes, protests, reveals, and transforms. It is an act of prayer that invites us to ask hard questions and to cultivate the patience to not settle for simple, incomplete, or false answers.

As a community-minded creative, I love engaging in the physical work of making beautiful art objects and am passionate about the ways in which art enriches our lives and facilitates meaningful conversations.

Through making art, I am looking for small glimmers and surprising bursts of hope in the joy and grief of our ordinary days. And I also just really love the beauty of light shining through stained glass.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I believe that one of the best ways we can support artists is through invitations to be in healthy community with other artists. Being an artist is often a lonely pursuit that requires immense courage – Courage to maintain the discipline of showing up regularly to practice and improve your craft and to share your art with others. Even the seemingly simple but actually quite vulnerable and brave act of naming yourself as an artist becomes possible through encouragement from others that believe in you and affirm the importance of what you have to offer.

Over four years in college, I was a part of a theater ensemble that met twice weekly to produce three plays each year. Through spending so much time together building sets, sewing costumes. rehearsing lines, and writing our own scripts, we cultivated deep trust with each other. This trust allowed us to encourage each others’ creativity, both as theater artists and in other areas of our lives, in really specific and meaningful ways. Here in Kansas City, I am a part of a multidisciplinary artist group that meets regularly to give feedback about projects we are working on and discuss art and religion within our current culture. Within this group, we generously share the hard-earned wisdom we have learned from our creative habits and careers and inspire one another to continue making art. The friendships I have formed within these artist communities have been so formative in developing my confidence as an artist and my own authentic creative voice.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes! Several resources come to mind that have been especially influential for me in my creative journey.

Firstly, Art as Therapy by Alain Botton and John Armstrong is a groundwork book on the therapeutic functions of viewing and creating art and has been foundational in forming my values as an artist. I have also journaled my way through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron many times – a classic workbook on recovering and nurturing your confidence as an artist. Finally, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle offers thoughtful essays on the relationship between Christian faith and art, and is one of my comfort books that I return to regularly.

Recently I have also been listening to podcasts while working in the studio. “Cracked with Chevonne Ariss” is my current favorite! Chevonne interviews glass artists from all over the world at various stages in their careers, and while the podcast specifically features glass artists, I think the interviews would be interesting and helpful for entrepreneurial artists of any medium. I also have enjoyed listening to “Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert.” She offers wisdom and advice for working through creative blocks, and I love how she follows up with the artists to see how their perspective has changed since their initial interview.

Contact Info:

• Website: sarahjenkinsart.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/sarahjenkinsart
• Etsy: sarahjenkinsart.etsy.com