Artist and new White Rock resident Jane Brown shows off her two stained-glass pieces during a visit last week to the Los Alamos Daily Post. Her pieces garnered the 2023 Grand Champion ribbon, left, and a third place ribbon during this year’s Los Alamos County Fair. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Janet Brown is a newcomer to Los Alamos, but she has already made a great impression on the local art scene.
Two of Brown’s stained-glass pieces won Grand Champion and third place in the art category during Los Alamos County Fair Aug. 12-13.
Brown said she is pleased to receive this local award and to be a part of the local art community.
“I am especially grateful for a community that appreciates art,” she said. “The Local 4-H Clubs (High Country Team 4-H) have helped kids cultivate creative spirits here with art as well as animal husbandry. They are terrific! This award gives me added confidence to move forward and continue to create and fire more kiln-fired stained-glass! I am grateful to be here in White Rock!”
Brown, who moved to Los Alamos from Page, Ariz., creates her stained-glass a unique way – she fires them in kiln.
Brown said she discovered stained-glass art shortly after relocating from Venezuela back to the U.S. in the 1970s. She explained she and her family moved to Venezuela due to her husband’s job with Motorola International. He was in charge of all the South American sales of Motorola products. They lived in the country for two years, one year was spent in Maracaibo and one year in Caracas. Upon returning the U.S., Brown said she pursued her art while they lived outside of Denver.
She joked that there were three items that she was introduced to upon returning to the states: hot tubs, aerobic dance and stained-glass.
“It’s just fun,” Brown said. “I’m in it for the color.”
“…stained glass was a natural fit for my talent and personality,” she added. “My glass cutting creations were enhanced and stimulated by frequent trips to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows where I was able to pick up natural stones and shells to fit into my glass art.”
She added that in the 1980’s she started firing glass in a friend’s kiln and that brought a whole new dimension to her work. She said she found a small kiln of her own, and the passion of firing glass exploded. Now with a large kiln in her studio in White Rock, she sets herself apart from other stained-glass artists by firing large plates of glass and incorporating these into her work. She also incorporates shells, and stones, like turquoise into her stained-glass projects.
The top prize at this year’s County Fair is not the only notoriety Brown has earned. In 2010, her largest three-door custom installation of an ocean reef was placed inside Page Arizona Library.
Brown moved to Los Alamos to be closer to her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. She is retired after a long career in media and broadcasting. Brown and her husband owned two small market radio stations, AM and FM, a new website, a travel app, the annual visitor guide and kiosks.
Moving to Los Alamos was a change but Brown said she really loves the area.
“I feel like it is an art area … it is very creative, and I love the wildlife,” she said, adding, “The area is so beautiful.”
For more information and view Brown’s work visit www.softersidestainedglass.com or to schedule a studio tour, call 928.277.3996.
