My name is Kim Steinmuller Joy. I come from a line of artists, master masons, poets and carpenters. It would only seem fitting that I follow in one of their footsteps. In 1982 I began my stained glass adventure taking classes and then an apprenticeship. While on a break to have babies I took up basket weaving until the children were older, and then back to my first love stained glass. I added jewelry making to my plate in 2002 while living in Hawaii as the cost to ship glass there was so high. When I am at my workbench I imagine my cousin repairing church windows, my Father at work in his woodshop, my Grandfather laying bricks and writing poems late at night and my Great Grandfather painting a watercolor with his father, my Great -Great Grandfather hidden in the scene. I feel closer to my family and dream of the talented hands that came before me. I love the play on colors that glass gives a project. My hope is to take my work to a higher level while still valuing the techniques of the past. I will continue the tradition by teaching others the arts that I have come to love.

Before I start a piece of work I try to imagine the person who will own it and from there I chose a pattern and then the glass. Sometimes the glass choice changes the pattern as it talks to me, telling me it wants to be something different.

My favorite glass tool is the glass cutter. I love the sound as the glass is scored. It is music to my ears.

My favorite glass is hand rolled cathedral. The color blends sometimes are just too beautiful to cut, making them a piece of art unto themselves.

The best part of my work is creating a piece of art out of materials I work with. Several sheets of glass, copper foil and solder turn into a beautiful colorful panel to hang in a window to catch light and come alive.

For one of my pieces to turn out well it must be balanced, be finished well and speak to the person looking at it. The patterns that emerge in my work are usually earthy in nature and color. Along those lines the colors I work with most are greens, blues, oranges, browns, and yellows. My favorite color is blue. For me blue is very calming, it reminds me of the ocean and sky, both places giving me a feeling of security and belonging. The glass is generally textured.

I was taught lead work but have switched to copper foil over the years, moving from flat to 3-D work.

Kim Steinmuller Joy was raised in upstate New York and now lives and works in Springfield, VA. She has been a stained glass artist and teacher since 1982. Her works are in private and public collections worldwide. Most of her pieces are in the traditional style and starting to branch out to incorporate materials not usually found in the medium.

She has been taught by local artists in New Mexico.

Kim came from a family with various artistic talents- watercolor, woodworking, quilting, stained glass,
masonry and poetry. In following her ancestral footsteps she has chosen stained glass and bead work as her mediums to express her artistic heritage.

Kim believes that though her pieces she can grow and learn more about the world around her and
where she came from. She hopes that her work will inspire and encourage others in their artistic
endeavors.

She belongs to National Capital Art Glass Guild and PMC Guild. Her work can be found at The Workhouse Building 9 Gallery and her Studio 909A in Bldg. 9, Kawamura Arts & Crafts Center Ft. Belvoir VA and at various local craft shows.