My name is Marta Louise Creech, and I am a stained glass artist located in central Texas. I grew up in Kerrville, and I continue to make the Hill Country my home outside of London, Texas. I launched Marta Lou Glass in 2018. I make original glass designs using many techniques including painting, screen printing, wooden window restoration, and I incorporate pressed flowers from my yard. I mainly sell my designs on my website or to collectors directly.
The first time I cut glass; I was restoring my hundred-year-old wooden windows in my home. Through this long, arduous restoration, I fell in love with traditional tools and techniques that have stood the test of time for hundreds of years. With these new skills, and a can-do attitude; I decided to start making stained glass, and a flood of designs and inspiration came out. I am inspired by nature, Texas native plants and animals, and other traditional crafts like quilting.
Currently, I am working on restoring antique windows I have salvaged from estate sales and thrift stores. I am installing stained glass from original designs inspired by Texas landscapes, plants, and animals. I hope to have a large portfolio soon in hopes to have an art show with these restored wooden windows.
Artist Journal:
Pressure 2023
I feel under pressure. Not in an anxious way. I feel aware of my path. I feel a shift in my life, my outlook, who I am. I decided on this. And I am happy about it. It is like the movement of tectonic plates—slowly converging and detracting, to form a new world or landscape. Is the earth underneath our feet slowly, methodically shifting? Do you look at a snapshot of your life and think: where did that mountain come from? The landscape of my life is completely different now. The patience of moving through the pressure, and shifting decisions, has created something truly beautiful. Sometimes I forget to look around and appreciate the landscape I have slowly created, and I strive to continue down an intentional path—but also leave room for magic. This collection contains inspiration from pressure in geological forms, landscape, and nature.
Rain 2023
This collection, “Rain,” is inspired by the changes in my yard from the abundance of rain—and then the lack of it. We have been in a drought here in London, Tx, for well over a year, maybe two. Everything crispy, crunchy, and golden—starving. We received some rain in the late spring, and the yard exploded with life. The bugs, plants, birds, and animals seemed to rejoice and show off! Incredible blooms, singing birds nesting, thousands of butterflies. Now the earth is golden and cracking again. I am not mourning, but trying to focus on the hope that rain and abundance will return. And also honoring the memory of that beauty through this collection.
Patchwork 2022
The Patchwork collection is inspired by an emotional journey and reclaiming the artistic expression of my grandmothers. I am grateful for their impact on me as an artist and a granddaughter. I hold them in my heart everyday to help guide me. As I walk through life, I break things down to make them better. This stained glass collection is a glimpse into that process.
Patchwork. Patch – work. Patchwork is composed of many elements to create a work of art. The need to take things apart and put them back together in a more beautiful way. Such as cutting apart an old wardrobe and piecing it into quilt that will serve you better. Respecting, nurturing, revitalizing. Like breaking a sheet of glass to put it back together—to illuminate and express. Or like separating the parts of your mind: stalking the wolf—shining a light on the critic in your mind—to cultivate inner peace.
Patchwork is big element of quilting. Quilting makes a lot of us think of the elder women in our lives. Creativity and creating was engrained in my grandmothers’ personalities. I believe they were inspired to create to express love, to preserve memories, and to keep their families warm. My Grandma Letha Faye made beautiful, intricate, perfect, quilts for family and church. My Nana Mary Nell also made quilts using family members clothing such as denim, button down shirts, suit ties, and handkerchiefs. I was lucky to grow up with these two women artists. They taught me how to think creatively and how to express love through art.
