Story and photos by Megan Schiffres
You may think window art looks hard, but it’s really not as much of a pane in the glass as you would think!
Window artist Lisa Pittman of Lancaster has been decorating windows for at least five years, and says it’s a much more accessible art form than most people realize.
“It’s basically just busting up glass, taking the pieces, putting it together,” Pittman said.
About seven years ago, Pittman was inspired by the window artwork of Kilmarnock artist and current mayor Mae Umphlett, and decided to try her hand at this unusual medium. Encouraged by Umphlett, who showed her a few tricks of the trade, Pittman transformed a plain window into a glittering mosaic for the first time.
“She’s really talented,” said Pittman. “Basically a friend of mine gave me some windows and I’m like what am I going to do with the windows? And then I thought of Mae and what she had done. And so I asked her some questions and she told me a few things.”
Her first piece utilized blue wine bottles to depict a brilliant and slightly translucent crab, and after years of working on commissioned window art, it is still the most popular of her designs.
“Friends and family help out, they’ll save wine bottles and give them to me. That’s what I use to make crabs, and the crabs are the most popular because that’s what the people are asking for,” said Pittman.
To find the materials for her sparkling handiwork, Pittman scavenges for windows at yard sales and flea markets. To add color and textured to her windows, Pittman scours thrift shops and yard sales for old glassware. Like making a puzzle of her own design, she smashes these found objects into bits before reforming them into images.
“I do buy clear glass that has texture on it because I like to give it texture when I fill it in,” Pittman said.
Although she is known for her portrayals of crustaceans, Pittman says she is interested in expanding her artistic horizons and has enjoyed working with diverse subjects such as dolphins, cats, and butterflies.
“I like doing other stuff. I don’t like being just singular,” said Pittman. “I don’t know that I can say I have a style. All I can say is, I present my work as being mosaic.”
Pittman’s window art has been displayed at The Rivah and the Kilmarnock Antique Gallery, and her customers have installed her work in their homes throughout the East Coast from Connecticut to Nags Head, N.C.
Although she is taking commissions for residential window art, Pittman cannot take requests for window sizes because the windows she uses are second-hand. Anyone with a surplus of blue bottles or an interest in her work can contact her at grannylisa32@gmail.com.
