The Bay Area’s Queen of Stained Glass: Kerbi Urbanowski
The “Artist You Should Know” series highlights artists before they exhibit their work somewhere or when they’re doing something artful and incredible. It’s our way of supporting the creative community and helping to keep The Bay a strange and wonderful place.
Meet artist Kerbi Urbanowksi, who moved out to San Francisco on her own at the age of 17, with one pair of cheetah print jeans and a dream to study art. You may recognize her from behind the bar at 500 Club, Rite Spot Cafe, or Vesuvio in North Beach where she mixed cocktails (and restored Vesuvio’s windows) to supplement her art career.
Now Kerbi runs her own art school & collective in Berkeley, she gets flown out to places to restore, install, or fashion stained glass, and her night-light designs are sold at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. She’s known as the Queen of Stained Glass in the Bay Area, and this Spring I got to learn how to cut, grind, foil, and solder glass by taking her class at The East Bay Stained Glass Collective.
I even got to take home my very own stained glass night-light…
Art Class @ EAST BAY STAINED GLASS COLLECTIVE:
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Artist Name: Kerbi Urbanowski
Web site: kerbiurbanowski.com
Artist IG: @kerbi_kerbi
Artist Medium(s): Stained Glass, Painting, Design
All the artwork in this article is by Kerbi Urbanowski.
BAS: When did you first start making Stained Glass?
Kerbi: I think it was around 25 or so?! I helped my dad install a 55-foot steel stained glass awning, and it was pretty amazing to see it all finished. I came back to the Bay after it was done and signed up for a class at Cradle of the Sun. Dan, the owner, is such a knowledgeable and thoughtful teacher, he has helped me so much over the years. I teach classes at the East Bay Stained Glass Collective in Berkeley, but If you’re living in SF and interested in glass, I suggest stopping by his shop and signing up.
The East Bay Stained Glass Collective is a school and an open studio for artists as well?
Yeah! The East Bay Stained Glass Collective came together at the beginning of this year. Currently, we’re offering classes, and if you’re familiar with glass, you can come and use the space and tools for self-guided projects. My goal is to establish a space that’s accessible to everyone, including those with very limited incomes. At present, we offer classes at different price points, and hold raffles and fundraisers. We’re also hosting a monthly free art night, email me if you want to get on the mailer!
You’re a sophisticated graduate with a BFA or ‘FUCK art school’!
Kind of both? LOL. First off, the cost of art school is insane! No one should have to bankrupt themselves to pursue an art career. They literally held my painting degree hostage until I completed a math class….I received a Bachelors in Painting…. People are always monetizing artists. Some people gamble on an aspiring artist’s career, betting on their success, but an art school has a return on the artist whether they are successful or not. They profit regardless, and the artist is forced to carry that debt before their career even begins. How can you expect an artist to focus, and create something whimsical or of importance while they have 50k in debt on their shoulders? I’ve seen so many amazing artists stop creating because of this. There are benefits to school, obviously, but saying it’s a requirement should be challenged.
You’ve expressed an appreciation for the historical traditions of stained glass art. Why is tradition important to you?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Maintaining history is absolutely important, but recently I’m more into the idea of “fabricating something with such structural integrity that it will last forever if someone wants it to.” Of course, if it’s ugly, it doesn’t matter how long the thing can last. My hope is that, as time goes by and my work continues to change hands, those hands will appreciate the design and composition and handle the glass carefully. I really don’t want to add to the heaping amounts of garbage we create as people.
You’re well known for your stained glass nightlights, but you now teach classes on how to make them at the East Bay Stained Glass Collective. How long does it take the average person to make something like that at one of your classes.
The nightlight class is a one day workshop where you learn the basics of the stained glass process and leave with a finished nightlight! It’s the same process, same glass, same everything that I use to make the nightlights I sell at the museum and on my website. The workshop runs once a month, every first Saturday and is about 3 hours long.
Do you teach all the classes or are there other teachers currently at the collective?
I’m teaching two classes: the stained glass nightlight workshop I mentioned and a class called Sunshine Techniques, where you learn how to fabricate a stained glass panel, press flowers, and create a cyanotype using your finished panel. My friend Casey Ress is also teaching two classes: our Beginner and Intermediate class, which meets on Wednesday night, and a one-day suncatcher workshop. In Casey’s class, you’ll learn the foundational techniques of the stained glass foiling method and leave with a finished panel.
Artist & teacher Casey Ress.
Any artists you think are particularly outstanding right now in the Bay Area?
There are so many, but here are a few:
Cianna Valley, Claire Zurkowski, Raul Barragan, Jeffrey Cheung, Wendy MacNaughton, Cher Strauberry
Why is it important to support working artists in the Bay Area?
There are so many reasons, but honestly artists are vulnerable here in the bay! I think most of us come to terms with living modestly in exchange for the opportunity to have a non-traditional, uniquely fulfilling life. That is really difficult here with the cost of living, and unfortunately, almost all of my artist friends (even the ones deemed successful) are surviving month to month. These are not hobbyists—they are extraordinary artists with immeasurable talents. They are people that contribute greatly to the community. It’s crazy because we are integral to why people appreciate the Bay Area, and we are consistently fighting for an opportunity to be here. If you want to keep us, then you should go find an artist you like and support them.
Any particular events coming up that fun, artsy people should know about?
Yeah! One of our recent students at the East Bay Stained Glass Collective has put together a large quilt & stained glass raffle, fundraising for Gaza aid. The event itself is on May 31st, from 6-9pm at Abrams Claghorn Gallery at 1251 Solano Avenue Albany, CA 94706. It’s an art exhibit with Palestinian food pop-up and Palestinian craft vendors including soap, tatreez, keffiyeh, and coffee. Each raffle winner will win a stained glass piece paired with a handmade quilt.
Tired of looking through clear glass windows like a normal person?!
Then come take a class with us! You can learn how to replace those boring windows with lovely, handmade glass.
To sign up for classes go here: ebstainedglass.com/classes
To check out some of Kerbi’s dope artwork and art shop go here: kerbiurbanowski.com/shop
East Bay Stained Glass Collective
FOLLOW ON IG: @eastbay.stainedglass
729 Heinz Ave Suite 2 Berkeley CA 94710
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