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Stained glass artist, Molly Brodzeller @glass.Brodz spent the fall as the CPL Maker-in-Residence at Harold Washington Library. Molly's culminating installation featuring beautiful stained-glass pieces that incorporate community creativity and interest is viewable now in the State Street display window at HWLC. Read below to hear from Molly about their experience as the Maker-in-Residence and the creation of the display "Our Chicago".
Glassing at the Library
For the Maker-in-Residence program, most of my time was spent in person, getting to teach stained glass techniques. Although I already had some good experience of doing so, being downtown and hosting free workshops gave me new opportunities to try new workshop structures and to learn how best to help folks learn. For the “Meet the Maker” office hours, I provided a short demo, with most of our time spent answering questions, trying out cutting glass, and sharing good company. Looking at the pieces displayed above, each charm hanging within and from the city skyline piece was designed and cut by a member of our Chicago community. These pieces were taken back to my studio to be finished and added to the larger piece. If you got to cut one, have you found your finished piece yet?
In addition to the office hours, I held six workshops where folks could learn more than just the cutting step of the process. Each participant seemed to really enjoy their time and walked away with a new understanding of the process. Most of these workshops were hands-on, creating custom jewelry or small window hanging pieces to take home, fully finished. One of the workshops, however, didn’t include a take-home portion. Instead, we worked on the designing and cutting process for the stack of books you see above; each book title being suggested by someone in the workshop.
Finding My Way To and Through the Residency
Some of my main goals as an artist are to always be engaged in my community, along with knowing how to advocate for myself and my artwork. When the application for the CPL Makers Lab Residency came out last year, I only saw it because a friend and fellow artist had posted the link. Carolyn Kassnoff of Hey, I Thought of You, an Albany Park shop, had been the Maker-in-Residence with CPL in 2022 and shared the link, explaining that the opportunity had changed her life. I had been considering the desire to apply to some residencies soon, so the post came at the perfect time.
With the application, I submitted “queer liberation, familial connection, importance of community care” as likely themes for work I would put up for an installation. Fast forward seven months to when I started the residency; the need for artwork revolving around the importance of community seemed even more urgent. The idea for “Our Chicago” started building— as a community member only in my fourth year of living in Chicago (Midwest grown, though), getting an opportunity to put art in the windows on State street in downtown Chicago is an honor that I intended to use wisely. Especially with the danger presented to our Chicago neighbors, being deliberately harassed and told they don’t belong, I wanted to create work to deliver a message of belonging, togetherness, and the importance of the diversity of Chicago.
I started out with the idea of Meet the Maker visitors making charms to string together in some way, shifting to the idea of the city skyline in order to show how people make up the city. The individual houses came after that, since the Chicago neighborhoods are where most of us reside. The houses showcased are based off of randomly selected Chicago residences, located in North Center, Humboldt Park, Little Village, and Bridgeport.
In my eyes, collaboration is a crucial aspect to being an artist. Knowing how to communicate, work alongside others, and see your skills as more than what you already know will take anyone from being interested in art to an artist. Leading interested visitors through the stained glass process taught me more about my process as a teacher and as an artist. The skyline is representative of how many people made the trek to HWLC on a Monday night to listen to me talk about stained glass. Titles of books handpicked by one group of workshop attendees— books that are either representative of the times we live in now, relevant to Chicago, or just favorites from the group. Some of these books feature dystopian plot lines with unsettling similarities to our timeline, while others offer more of an uplifting message, like to Make Your Art No Matter What. Others are directly relevant to Chicago; Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago’s LGBTQ Archives and The Jungle, telling stories of Chicago’s history and the lives of people through time.
The other two glass pieces on display are collaborative efforts with two Chicago-based artists, Smalls and Jackson Watkins. In order to add an element of the window that includes you, the viewer, I wanted to create a mirror piece. Smalls engraved the title of this window display “Our Chicago” with some chain and star embellishments. This title was chosen as a succinct way to demonstrate the unity of Chicagoans, with a discreet jab to anyone who wishes to change the look of our Chicago. Broken chain lines the bottom of the mirror, similarly nodding to the indestructibility of what has been built here over time. The rainbow border is included to provide some color to the display, as well as act as a sturdy hug around our Chicago and you, as you see yourself in the mirror. Though my project most directly went the route of “the importance of community care,” I feel that the other ideas I started with shine through as well. Not everyone who sees the window was able to cut a charm or help with the stack of books, but hopefully you’ll still see yourself in the project.
The table holding the stack of books was created as a collaborative effort between Jackson and I. An exploration of skills and an homage to Chicago; the design for the glass typical to be seen in the homes of Chicago neighborhoods and inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright leaded glass. The table being included in this display was important for me. I feel it adds a home-y feeling to the scene while also showcasing how collaboration enhances art.
Titles featured in the piece:
Thank You
Special thanks to my Maker-in-Residence predecessor, Nicole Lowe, for putting together the display item holding the four houses up— I asked for this to be created the day before I set up the display and Nicole came through with ease. Thankful for the connections made throughout this residency, Library and Makers Lab employees, workshop attendees, and new social media followers included. My partner deserves a specific thank you as well, for helping me through the planning process and pushing me to create to my full potential. Lastly, thank you for taking the time to read through my thoughts and see how they’ve come to fruition for this project. As an artist whose work is typically created specifically for one person: the customer, creating something for a whole city worth of people was an exciting adventure. Of course, most people walking by won’t take the time to engage, so I hope seeing this display and reading through my thoughts encourages you to seek out more community, create and learn more, and continue in your exploration of all that Chicago has to offer.
The Maker-in-Residence is generously funded by the Chicago Public Library Foundation.
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