Stained glass usually makes people think of old churches, sunlit windows, and ancient ornaments. Jesse Olwen, better known as Hemlock Stained Glass, uses the same medium to do something that feels a lot more personal: he turns light into storytelling. His pieces don’t just “look nice” on a wall; they feel like they’re carrying symbols, moods, and little narrative cues that shift depending on where you’re standing and how the day’s light hits the glass.
Part of what makes his work so mesmerizing is the mix of old-world craft and contemporary sensibility. There’s a reverence to the techniques. He uses kiln-fired painting, careful leading/foiling, and deliberate opacity choices, but the imagery ranges from ornate, meaning-loaded compositions to playful, pop-culture-adjacent experiments that still feel strangely sacred in stained-glass form. We reached out to Jesse to ask more about how his ideas take shape, what the kiln can unexpectedly do to a piece, and how he designs for both durability and fragility.
Take a look through the artworks, vote for your favorites, and then scroll down to read the full interview.
