About

Tracy and John Grade launched the Glass Catfish Studio in 2010 to create original stained glass art in the Tiffany style, using copper foil and solder.  The studio draws inspiration from the beauty and creativity experienced in everyday life.  The Glass Catfish name refers to the transparent fish in Tracy’s aquarium whose iridescent muscles create tiny rippling rainbows.

Glass Catfish Studio designs are eclectic and not easily categorized – however, they typically exhibit at least one of these features:
(1) unique presentation using found-objects like farmhouse windows or agricultural machinery

(2) un-fractured backgrounds that give each piece the feel of an illuminated painting

(3) re-interpretations of classic stained-glass themes: a Glass Catfish bird isn’t the classic cardinal or parrot, it’s a phoenix rising from the flames; a Glass Catfish woman isn’t a fairy or a demure maiden, it’s a wide-open eye springing from the pages of a graphic novel; even the geometric designs are uniquely organic and decidedly asymmetrical.

All projects are first rendered electronically, using software designed specifically for stained glass, then each individual glass piece is hand-picked to balance color and texture.   Whenever possible, the inherent beauty of a larger piece of the original glass is used to evoke the design rather than several smaller pieces that merely represent it.

Major installations include Epic Systems Corp, the Holy Wisdom Monastery, the Waunakee Public Library, and the Ho-Chunk Nation Headquarters.

The studio was located in Waunakee, Wisconsin, where Tracy and John lived with their four amazing children.

In 2015, the studio switched from retail to commission-only work, and the couple have now relocated to the Madison isthmus.