GSV Artist Shares Knowledge Of Stained Glass

Bonnie Lord is one of the most successful artists at the Garden Spot Village (GSV) Artisans Corner, according to Alan Dinning, one of the founders of the Artisans Corner. Filled with items created by GSV residents, the shop is located in the former Fulton Bank offices at 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland.

Lord, who recently turned 90, creates stained-glass items, ranging from cats and owls to snowflakes and even stained-glass windows. Lord shares her knowledge by teaching beginner and follow-up classes in the art, but her own experience learning to work with glass took a much more winding path.

When Lord, who is originally from Michigan, was in her 30s, she had amassed a collection of driftwood that washed up at her family's cottage on the lake in her home state. "I saw an ad for this (stained-glass) owl on a piece of driftwood," recalled Lord, who sent away for a kit that made three of them. She soon discovered she did not have the right tools for the job. "I had a pair of pliers and a soldering gun," she remembered. "It took four or five years to get from making nuggets to cutting and making things (I could sell)," said Lord, who now teaches students in six weeks what it took her six years to learn on her own. "I don't understand how I stuck with it. I made so many mistakes."

When Lord arrived at GSV after living 50 years in Springfield, Delaware County, in late 2009, she had just missed the community's October fall festival. She worked the whole year to prepare for the next one. This year, the fall festival has been replaced by a Makers Market to be held on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information may be found at http://www.gardenspotcommunities.org/family-christmas-event.

Lord has become known for her glass snowflakes, but those began as a mistake as well. "I got some bevels to make a star, but they didn't work, and I had 30 of them," she said. "I made my first snowflake, and it sold very well. So, the next year I came up with another one, and now I have 13 different patterns of snowflakes."

The Artisans Corner, which opened in November 2021, has been a boon for Lord. "It's such a blessing to be able to sell (my creations) each month at the store," she noted. "It has kept me on my toes." The first Friday of each month, an Artisan of the Month sets up a demonstration in front of the store. In August, Lord was the Artisan of the Month, demonstrating for two hours how she works in stained-glass. "There are always people here for that," Dinning pointed out. "(Those events) have been very successful."

Lord loves the shop not only because it gives her an outlet to sell her creations, but because she adores the work of the other GSV artisans. "This is such a great gift shop where you can get beautiful notecards and other gift items," she said.

Hours for the shop, which is located to the left after entering Village Square, are Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information about GSV is available at http://www.gardenspotvillage.org