Stan Breda had long admired the iconic style of the Tiffany glass lampshades: that rounded uniform shape.
Living on a police officer’s salary, Breda figured he couldn’t own a real Tiffany lamp, but as a person who has dabbled in stained glass art for 25 years, Breda thought he could definitely make a replica.
And so he did. And then he made a second one.
It’s the second one, with a peony pattern lampshade and an unusual adjustable base festooned with little feet, that maintains a place of prominence in Breda’s Camano Island living room.
“It’s right next to my chair, and I sit and read there, and it’s constantly in my sight,” Breda, 58, said. “It’s unique even when the light is not on. It’s really pretty.”
The timeless Tiffany lamps have been around for more than 100 years, but locally, students of the style have been making replicas for the past eight years in Everett.
On Sunday, Covenant Art Glass will graduate its latest class of Tiffany lamp workshop students.
Covenant is inviting visitors to admire the beauties these students have created in a public exhibition in which guests can ogle while voting for their favorite lamp.
Tami Bogdanoff and Nancy Alexander have taught the Tiffany lamp workshop since 2004. The workshop requires a commitment of five months and costs $525, which covers the Tiffany pattern and mold.
Also included in the workshop is a field trip to the Uroboros glass factory in Portland, Ore., to select hand-rolled glass that is similar to the glass Louis Comfort Tiffany used.
The students in the workshop learn why the name Tiffany reigns supreme in the world of the stained glass, and they can pick up the “Tiffany lamp language.”
The payoff to all this is the chance to create an heirloom-quality treasure that has the beauty and excellent craftsmanship reminiscent of the Tiffany Studios, Bogdanoff said.
“They are timeless because it’s something passed on from generation to generation,” Bogdanoff said.
She added that a person can create stained glass art in a home for an entry or as part of a window, but then that stays with the home.
“A lampshade is something you can take with you,” Bogdanoff said. “You’ll take your lamp, and you will carry it with you wherever you go. It’s an heirloom to be enjoyed for generations.”
Athena Hornsby keeps the magnolia-patterned lamp she created at her gift shop, Northwest Garden Bling in Concrete in Skagit County.
This was Hornsby’s second Tiffany lamp replica. Her first one had a dragonfly theme. For the magnolia lamp, Hornsby wanted to use “drapery glass” that is rippled and, when you buy it in sheets, looks like drapes because of the folds.
Tiffany used drapery glass quite often in his religious-themed windows and in his magnolia pattern lampshades to copy the coarseness of the petals.
“I love it,” said Hornsby, 54, of her magnolia lamp. “It is for sale, but I don’t know if I’ll ever sell it. It’s a showpiece, and it brings people into my shop.
“These lamps,” Hornsby continued, “I just think there’s nothing quite like them in the world.”
See the lamps
The Tiffany lamp class exhibition takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Covenant Art Glass, 3232 Broadway, Everett.
The festive, catered opening night marks the completion of the Tiffany reproduction lampshades created by 2012 graduating class. The public is invited to this free event to meet the artists, view their creations and vote for the People’s Choice Award. The exhibition will be up through May 25.
For more information about the Tiffany lamp workshop, call 425-252-4232 or go to www.covenantartglass.com.
Registration for the 2013 workshop is now open and spots are limited.
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
