Written by Lori Boatfield
Photo by Steve Babin

Julie Gill, owner of Big Glass Art, is an artist specializing in stained glass. She grew up in the Midwest in a blue-collar family where she attended Catholic school through 6th grade. In junior high and high school, Gill signed up for every art and craft class available. Her summers were spent on her grandparent’s farm and 4-H camps. She relocated to Alabama in 2006 with her family and is proud to call Huntsville home.

EVENT: What inspired you as a youngster to be an artist in this medium?

JG: I attended Catholic School which meant five weekdays of mass during school hours plus mandatory Sunday attendance. I loved the brilliant colors of the windows. I always tried to position myself in line to sit at the end of the pew, that way I could stretch out my hand or foot and play with the color on my skin.

EVENT: How did you get started?

JG: In 2002 I received a gift certificate which covered a class and the necessary basic beginner tools.

EVENT: Do you have a favorite piece or pieces? What makes them your favorite?

JG: I made a series of portraits several years ago. They are of my children, which of course makes them important to me but also, they are technically challenging with many intricate pieces. [They are] artistically unique in that I don’t know of any realistic portraits in leaded glass that don’t use paint to accomplish the
facial features. And finally, they follow a converted grey scale from the least textured glass representing white to the heaviest texture representing black.

EVENT: Do you enjoy teaching others about your art?

JG: I do. I find most people think that stained glass is becoming a lost art. Stained glass is actually thriving. Not so much in churches anymore but certainly in homes and businesses and as a hobby. I also find the public underestimates how much work goes into creating a stained glass panel.

EVENT: What do you love about Huntsville?

JG: I love the incredible diversity: The cultures. The religions. The industry and socio-economic differences, as well as the transient nature of the city – it allows for an open-minded and ever-changing platform. You never know who you’ll meet, what their life story will be or what their plan for the future is.