Laura SXTN Art

Laura SXTN Art ✂️Collage Artist 🎨 Acrylic painter 🧶Plarn enthusiast 👩🏼‍🎨 Charlotte Studio Artist! SXTNimpressions LLC

2 questions:1) Is it easier to tell the mosaic subject with it backlit (pic 1) or lit from the front (pic 2)?2) I should...
06/15/2026

2 questions:

1) Is it easier to tell the mosaic subject with it backlit (pic 1) or lit from the front (pic 2)?

2) I should have used black grout, shouldn't I?

I'm still thinking of expanding the "Table Scraps" series I started with fabric scraps (I GUESS glass offcuts could be called scraps?). The idea is that there ARE enough resources to go around in the world if we didn't WASTE them so much.

So I guess that makes 3 questions:

3) "Table Scraps" or "Enough for Everyone" for the series title?

Once again, this mosaic was made completely with offcuts from my own projects plus a window sample from Innovation Barn and scraps from the trash bins at MakerSpace Charlotte

Come see it Saturday during our new, EXTENDED hours at Charlotte Studio Artists 10-6 on Saturdays! 3045 North Davidson Street in Charlotte

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Charlotte art, Charlotte artists, upcycled art, upcycling, glass art, glass mosaic, mosaic art
Guild of Charlotte Artists

I think James Baldwin may have been the most American American to have ever existed, in spite of--or even moreso BECAUSE...
05/15/2026

I think James Baldwin may have been the most American American to have ever existed, in spite of--or even moreso BECAUSE of--his expatriate status. I painted this portrait of him for our 250 Years of Becoming show and titled it "Great American," clothing him in Uncle Sam regalia to emphasize that American greatness. If you look closely, you can see where I wrote out over a dozen of my favorite James Baldwin quotes over the background.

You can come see this Great American and many other works celebrating the American journey from a variety of perspectives next Thursday, May 21 5:00-8:30 at 3045 North Davidson Ave

PS I will have 5x7 prints and bookmarks with the background quotes listed on the back on opening night!

A few pieces I've been finishing up, testing out patina (and the limits of my patience). I've joined all of these staine...
05/13/2026

A few pieces I've been finishing up, testing out patina (and the limits of my patience). I've joined all of these stained glass FB groups and get all these great tips and actually have enough context to understand them. But one step I seem to have skipped is patterns.

I suppose it would be healthy to try to work from some professionals' patterns to build up my skill,and I DID try to sketch my ideas. But I basically ended up freehanding these--and using TONS of solder to fill the gaps. Also: SO many recuts. Even had to un-solder on the big guy. And his legs are not as sturdy as smaller samples, so I may end up making a panel of him? Also considering experimenting with some came...

Hopefully I'll at least have the pansies up this Saturday at for close-up admiration 😁

New accomplishment unlocked! I made my biggest stained glass pansy yet and tried soldering layers with some success, but...
05/04/2026

New accomplishment unlocked! I made my biggest stained glass pansy yet and tried soldering layers with some success, but what you should be MOST impressed by is how I added loops AND a chain! So it's like REAL stained glass I can put in my REAL window!

I still have to commit to looping or staking my smaller, purplier pansies, but I kind of like just HAVING them, like little things I can just HOLD in my hand. I feel like this must be a vestigial cool-pebble drive inside me.

04/29/2026

Call it an investment in future mosaics. This way I have plenty of little pieces without feeling like I have to ruin a big piece for a mosaic. But also, if I do try measuring and sticking to a pre-designed pattern, it always comes out fitting wonky anyway. And really I had to recut a few of these pieces anyway, so might as well go with the flow and adapt...

I present my 3rd by-myself stained glass design (I DID get 3 pinwheels out of my first, so this is actually my 5th piece...
04/27/2026

I present my 3rd by-myself stained glass design (I DID get 3 pinwheels out of my first, so this is actually my 5th piece (sneak peek at 4th in pic 2 with the foiling). I started collaging ring pops at my second artist residency in 2023 and figured I could make the transition to stained glass after all of that practice.

So what do you think? More ring pops? (As if I didn't have a larger one and a smaller one already cut and foiled...)

Also, a new friend suggested I turn it into a plant stake, but my child says it should be a window hangy.

50 days of --and 45 years of me! You can't just look at the individual pieces along the way; you have to step back and ...
04/21/2026

50 days of --and 45 years of me! You can't just look at the individual pieces along the way; you have to step back and see the larger scope of what you've created, what you're STILL creating.

There are hopefully parts that make you beam with pride. There are probably parts that maybe you wish you could have skipped, but you had to keep the project, the living going. You probably vacillate between focusing on those ends of the spectrum. There are also pieces that you forget about and get to rediscover as you step back and truly admire what you have accomplished as a whole.

When the 100 days are up, I hope to get family and friends to add their own pieces to the mural. (My mom has already threatened to sneak in and draw a horse 🐎) . I think I could get my boy to draw some Moon Knight and my girl to maybe doodle me an eye or animal (though she's threatening to just glue on the cat's whiskers she's collected??) And I have a few artsy friends who should definitely come join the fun, perhaps in exchange for desserts...

But truly. Don't get caught up in only highs and lows. Enjoy how everything comes together and what you have become and continue becoming.

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