By Rick Roach
Amy Mechasic’s passion for working with glass is infectious. We recently visited with her in her studio in Troutdale Oregon and I noticed that her eyes lit up as she explained different ways to create art with glass while demonstrating some of the specialized tools she uses in her craft.
After graduating high school and working with her dad, an experienced craftsman in stained glass, and doing things his way for about seven years, Amy decided that she had to find her own way to express herself through glass. So, she decided to explore and go on an adventure with her husband Dan by leaving the comfort of her small, rural, Pennsylvania hometown and traveling the country.
Her stop at the Bonny Doon art glass studio near Santa Cruz California during this time stirred her creative passion and solidified her plans to continue working with studio glass. After traveling through twenty-seven states during the year 2012 Amy and Dan landed in Troutdale where she was able to eventually realize her dream of having a studio of her own.
Since arriving in Troutdale Amy has also worked on various art glass projects and commissions in the area. In 2015 Amy was chosen by Bullseye glass, along with three other local artists, to recreate Lynn Basa’s artwork into mosaic form for 118 shelter columns on the Trimet Orange Line.
When asked about what she enjoys the most about her life as an artist, Amy replied, “My children are very young, and it’s been important to me that if I’m spending time apart from them, it’s in pursuit of something I’m passionate about. Here, that has been the creation of art, as well as the promotion of art and artists in our region. It’s also really inspirational to connect with so many other artists and learn about their work and journeys.”
Amy also identifies purpose in her work and states that, “When we see a piece of artwork that we really connect with, and we took the plunge to make it our own, we get to enjoy that view each time we look at it. That’s what I want – for my work to be something that brings the owner joy every time they look at it.”
Most recently Amy was chosen to exhibit her art in the Red Trillium art gallery which opened December 6, 2019 in Troutdale.
The gallery is a coop of regional artists exhibiting a wide variety of art (see Red Trillium article on page 1).
You can reach Amy by email at rainshinestudio@gmail.com or by phone at 503-739-2463.
