Fran Stoval

Last week I met Fran Stoval while visiting her gallery, which is located in her home at 650 Canyon Road in Los Alamos. She was in her garage working on a valance to put over the stained glass French door that she made for her studio. Each panel of the door had a different pattern of glass.

Projects like her French door, and doing commissioned stained glass projects for clients who may want a piece done in a certain color, are especially enjoyable for Fran, who said, "I like working with my hands directly."

She learned to do stained glass by taking a class at the Fuller Lodge. She said, "With Stained Glass I was really surprised. It had never occurred to me that I would like it."

She now teaches the stained glass class, which gives you a basic idea of how to start and provides the basic tools. "Once you've tried it I show you where to go to get supplies."

In her stained glass studio, she gave me a quick demonstration of how you lay a pattern down, cut out the glass, foil it with copper and, when all the pieces are foiled, you solder them together. It did look easy and fun.

In addition to stained glass she also has mosaics and pastels, which she does on high quality sandpaper. She likes to work in places like Taos and Black Mesa, taking pictures in the early morning and evening, when the colors are most exciting, and then working from the photos. "Usually people can recognize them," she said.