Handcrafted Artistry by Michael Isley
michaelstainedglass@gmail.com
Phone: 336-624-1489

CUSTOM ORDERS CUT OFF BY DEC.18 - SHIPPING CUTOFF DECEMBER 20!

Stained Glass Designs by Michael

Holiday Shopping Guide

Santa's Stained Glass Workshop!

Questions?? Please call or email me, let's discuss! I accept check or cash and credit card via PayPal or Venmo for items for sell. If an item needs to be shipped, let me know as I will get you the shipping rate for you to be added to your cost. If you have problems with the payment system, email me and we can certainly take care of that for you. Be sure and check all inventory pages of products at the bottom, Pages, 1,2,3,4, 5, 6, 7 etc. Thanks!

Mailbox Plaques / House Markers- A great Christmas Gift!

12" x 6" hanging mailbox number plaque with decal numbers and chain provided. Examples shown of sold pieces. Customized to your needs. Price: $65. These same 12" x 6" can also be used as hanging markers to indicate a house number, names of the residents or anything else you'd like. This option is provided as a DIY "blank" for you to customize using decals, paint or Circuit vinyl cuts. Chain included for hanging. Price: $60 These can be produced in larger sizes; priced dependent on size.

Art Deco Garden Wheels

This is a creative way to reuse and upcycle an old bicycle wheel. It makes a great conversation piece you can plant in your flower garden or on your lawn, or place in a pot for your patio or poolside. They will turn, but it takes a significant amount of wind to make them move due to the extra weight of the glass. When the sun beams through all the colorful stained glass inserts, it is truly breathtaking. One is available for sale the other have been sold. However I can create custom orders. Also be sure to checkout the video clips.

Keepsake Glass Panels

This is a creative way to repurpose and display plates, dishes or bowls that hold a special meaning or memory. Perhaps they belonged to your grandmother or some other cherished relative or friend. Or maybe they are your own keepsakes you don't use, but don't want to part with. Designs by Michael can create a one-of-a-kind work of art and conversation piece. The dishes or other items are not altered or damaged in any way. If you ever want to reclaim your keepsakes, the piece can easily be dismantled. If you like the concept but don't have your own glass pieces to use, Michael can source these for you. Any excuse to visit one of his local thrift stores!

Welcome to Stained Glass Designs by Michael

Michael Isley lives in Winston Salem with his husband of twenty-five years and their three rescue Maltese. Originally from the Greensboro area, he has always had a passion for visual art, decorating and designing. His affinity for stained glass was sparked by the many beautiful stained-glass windows seen in churches. In addition to these in our own community and across the U.S., Michael’s travels have allowed him to study the stained glass found in a number of churches and cathedrals in Western Europe, and more recently, in Havana, Cuba.

Michael turned his interest into skill by taking classes at Winston-Salem’s Sawtooth School for Visual Art. He learned that crafting a stained-glass piece involves more work than most would realize. It takes a significant amount of time to make a single piece, from the creative process of drawing the design and choosing glass colors and textures to the hands-on process of cutting, grinding, soldering and many other steps required to complete it, but Michael feels like it is worth the time and effort. “In the end, when it is done and you can hold it up and see the light coming through to illuminate all the different colors and textures, it really is breathtaking. And it’s fulfilling to know it’s your creation!”

Michael has work on display in several triad area galleries. One of his pieces was awarded first place in a Second Spring show a few years ago. After he was recognized with the “People’s Choice” award in the Yadkin Cultural Center’s 2021 Juried Exhibition, he was invited to present a solo show there in the Welborn Gallery. Titled Let There Be Light, the exhibition ran in May and June of 2022 and featured 40 uniquely handcrafted pieces of stained glass art.

In addition to creating self-styled pieces for sale, Michael does custom commission work for home or office décor and for gifts. He specializes in abstract and mosaic designs. As a result of the Yadkinville show, Clemmons United Methodist Church commissioned him to create a 24” x 36” stained glass image of the UMC’s cross and flame symbol. The local church’s mission group hand-delivered this to the church they are helping to build in a village in Guatemala. It will be displayed in the front center window as the focal point of the new church’s entrance.

Music is Michael’s other avocation. He enjoys playing piano and organ and has sung in several choruses over the years. When he’s not inside working on stained glass in his home studio or playing the keyboard, he can likely be found outside tending to the yard and adding plants and flowers to his garden. Michael thinks that everyone should try as many different things in their life as possible that have to do with art. “Whether it’s just for fun or something you might want to make a career out of, you never know what creative talents can be unlocked, whether you are young or old.”

Light is the catalyst that brings stained glass to life. While any stained glass piece can be beautiful on its own, it takes on a different persona when light shines through its various colors, texture and shapes. It dances. It sparkles. It dazzles. It even inspires. Light to stained glass is like the yeast in bread, or the rum in eggnog. There’s nothing wrong with any of those things by themselves, but adding this outside ingredient makes it that much better. When stained glass art is displayed in a gallery or a studio, it’s not always possible or practical to hang it in a window or to add backlighting. This challenges you, the patron, the viewer, the art aficionado, to use your imagination. See the patterns transforming…the colors shimmering…the design stirring as it comes to life in your mind’s eye. Let there be light!

LET THERE BE LIGHT!
May - June 2022
Welborn Gallery - Yadkin Arts

Honor your alma mater or your favorite university or college sports team with a beautiful stained glass hanging. Customized with various shade of teh school's colors and featuring a vinyl cut of the school's mascot. These pieces also make a perfect gift for that faithful grad or team fan. The items pictured here were produced for a North Carolina Educators' Association fundraiser, but these can be produced on demand. These are super popular and each is one of a kind.

College and University

Stained Glass Hangings

Metal Stained Glass Lanterns

The broad array of glass colors, shapes, styles and sizes used to create these lanterns merge and meld together to create a very eye-catching decorative accessory. Display on the mantle or hearth of a fireplace, on a wall shelf or sofa table, or hang from a hook in front of a window to allow sunlight to dance through the kaleidoscope of colors. Each of these lanterns is functional and can accommodate an actual pillar, votive or tea candle, or a battery operated candle. They can make the perfect accent for you own home, or make an ideal gift for someone who appreciates unique handcrafted art.

Guatemala

Only a handful of U.S. artists and artisans display or sell their work in other countries. Thanks to a piece that was commissioned by a local church group, Michael Isley can officially call himself an "International" Stained Glass Artist. He was commissioned to create a stained glass window featuring the United Methodist Church cross and flame emblem. The local UMC mission team was helping build a new church in a small town in Guatemala, and they hand-delivered the finished piece and installed it in the window above the new church entrance.

"The Grand Piano"

This piece is not for sale, I created it and it won first place in an Art Show.

Here is a small sampling of the stained glass panels that I have created and have sold. In most cases every piece is unique as in one of a kind. If you see something you like I can recreate it, but it will in some way be different, in a particular color of glass of texture of glass. This is what means each individual piece completely one of a kind and unique. There are many more, but this will give you some idea of the abstract creativity that has been so popular.

Stained Glass that has Sold

Michael Isley's stained glass pieces are truly stunning. The attention to detail and craftsmanship is exceptional. I am extremely happy with my purchase.

Customer Reviews

I have never seen stained glass art like Michael Isley's before. The colors are so vibrant and the designs are truly unique. I highly recommend his work.