Erbe Creates Beauty With Leaded Glass

ARTIST HAS MORE THAN 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE

PHOTOS/LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Beth Erbe with Cutting Edge Glass & Frame shows a large, matted photo of one of the company’s projects. The business’ specialty is dressing up front entrances with beautiful leaded-glass artwork. This project has decorative glass above the front door and on both sides.
PHOTOS/LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Beth Erbe with Cutting Edge Glass & Frame shows a large, matted photo of one of the company’s projects. The business’ specialty is dressing up front entrances with beautiful leaded-glass artwork. This project has decorative glass above the front door and on both sides.

Playing with the sunshine is Beth Erbe's favorite part of creating leaded-glass artwork for her business, Cutting Edge Glass & Frame.

The custom decorative glass shop specializes in creating leaded-glass windows for everything from residential front entries to businesses and churches. Over the past five years, the custom decorative glass shop has grown from a small studio in Beth's home to a 4,000-square-foot commercial business that employs three people.

Beth's husband, Chris Erbe, is the owner and president of the company while she holds the title of artist. The business is located at 12458 West Highway 62 in Farmington.

Cutting Edge Glass & Frame specializes in a process that creates a triple pane unit, with the leaded glass sandwiched in between to clear panes of glass. The units are guaranteed not to fog up, Beth said.

The outside sheets of clear glass are nearly invisible when the unit is complete. They not only protect the leaded glass inside but offer insulation much the same as energy efficient windows.

Beth personally designs and assembles the leaded-glass windows. She prefers to use the term leaded-glass instead of stained-glass, because stained glass refers to colored glass and her glass comes in clear, textured and colored.

When asked what kinds of designs she has made, Beth said, with a laugh, that the better question was what hasn't she made. Her artwork is truly based on what the client wants and the subjects of her creations have ranged from dragons to teddy bears and roses. The styles of her artwork have included everything from abstract art to art deco and traditional Victorian pieces.

Cutting Edge Glass & Frame has been in business for five years but Beth has more than 20 years of experience. She fell in love with leaded-glass while earning a bachelor's degree in art from Brigham Young University and worked for a leaded-glass studio once she graduated from college.

"It's the play of the light on the glass that constantly fascinates me," Beth said.

Creating with leaded-glass is like painting with colors but the artist isn't in charge of the final color, the sun is, she explained. She loves the way the varieties of colors and textures of glass capture light in different ways. Many times, the colors just dance in the finished work.

"It adds another dynamic to painting that just fascinates me," she said.

Cutting Edge Glass & Frame began in 2008 as a small studio in Beth and Chris' home. Chris has a degree in industrial engineering and was working a regular job.

In 2011 Beth opened a brick and motor store in Springdale and that summer she had so much work she couldn't do it all herself. Her husband quit his job and joined her in the glass business. As president of the company, Chris does the managerial work and paperwork and helps with the production, Beth said. Since then, the business has expanded to the commercial building in Farmington.

"I never imagined this would even be possible," she said. "It's been phenomenal to watch it grow and expand and have so much fun doing it at the same time," she said.

Beth's artwork begins with a hand drawn pattern, the full size of the window. She works with the client to pick out the colors and textures of the glass and to make sure the drawing is just the way they want it.

She cuts out the pieces of glass and solders them together with a piece of lead. The pieces of lead are shaped like an I beam, with slots in each side for the glass to fit into. It's the same process that has been used for centuries.

"It's a blast," Beth said. "If you like jigsaw puzzles you'll love doing stained glass."

The lead used in the windows is real lead but it doesn't pose any risks to those who make it or have it installed in their homes, Beth said. Lead is only dangerous if it gets inside a person's body. The only way to get it inside is to eat it, breathe it or rub it in an open wound.

Lead paint is different because when it is sanded the dust becomes airborne and can be breathed. The way lead is used for creating windows, it never has a chance to become airborne, Beth explained. The leaded windows are completely safe in homes and businesses by themselves but the glass panes on either side of the leaded window add an extra layer of protection for customers, she said.

Some of Beth's favorite projects include the windows she did for Highlands Oncology Group chapel in Rogers, the Circle of Life Hospice and the entry window for Walmart Sparks Cafe on the Bentonville square.

"I love all my windows," Beth said. "They're all my babies. Part of me leaves every time they leave and get installed. Every window means something to me in a way and they're all just a lot of fun."

General News on 03/04/2015