A Visit to Conti Studio

On my way to the Art Glass Festival in Sequim, WA., I stopped to visit Don and Carol Conti in Gig Harbor. Their house is about a hour out of Seattle. Carol is the founder of the Association of Stained Glass Lamp Artists (ASGLA), and is a very accomplished lamp maker. After following some winding roads through Gig Harbor, I arrived at their house nestled among a grove of trees with a gorgeous view of the water and Mt. Rainier in the distance.

I met Don at their front porch, and he said that Carol was working on a window in the studio. Their studio is in the basement of their house, and is remarkable - it is very spacious, with a large work table, a light table, and several racks full of glass. Scattered throughout their house are many of the lamps Carol has constructed, and some of the quilt panels assembled by Don for the calendars. Here is Don and Carol next to the window is working on. Don is holding a rebar that will be used to reinforce the panel.

This part of the studio is the workbench for cutting, foiling and grinding. After touring the studio, Carol showed me some of her lamps, and the quilt panels. Scattered throughout the house are many of the stained glass quilt panels that have appeared in the ASGLA calendars. Her favorite quilt is the 2-panel pond life quilt.