Hi, I’m Jere Roberts, the stained glass artist behind Not Afraid of Color. Thank you for visiting my web site!
My personal journey with stained glass started in 2001 when I took a beginning stained glass class. After my beginning class I have to admit I was very disappointed. My piece was not very pretty to say the least. About four months went by and I decided I really wanted to play with glass so I went to my local stained glass studio and purchased all of the tools. I went home and started creating. I was like a sponge, soaking up all the information I could. I have always had a passion for creating works of art, and right from the beginning glass just felt right to me. Glass provided an unending palette of colors and design possibilities. Almost immediately, I was enraptured.
Later, I decided to begin teaching stained glass classes, I took all of the information that I figured out by trial and error and incorporated these little tidbits into my class. My goal has always been to teach my students in a way that makes it easier for them to learn than it was for me. The class that Not Afraid of Color offers is very detailed, we actually share all of the little tricks that make this craft easier.
In those earlier years, I created pieces mostly for family and friends. I took more classes, read many books, and expanded my skill and comfort with creating more intricate and larger stained glass pieces.
Naturally, I shared my new creations with friends though I was thrilled one day when a friend asked me to teach her. Although I didn’t know it at the time, that simple request is what started me on the road to the Not Afraid of Color Stained Glass Studio. As I mentioned earlier, I had a vision of how I wanted to teach this craft. I found that I loved sharing this art form with other folks.
So, I began teaching my friends and began receiving more frequent commissions to create custom pieces. Teaching the classes helped strengthen my own skills while the custom work provided a platform for artistic expression pushing my design skills to new heights.
With the enthusiastic support of family and friends, I opened my first teaching studio in 2003 on Depot Street in Fuquay-Varina, NC. Not Afraid of Color was a reality and a new chapter in my life unfolded. By 2008 we had out grown our first “little” studio and moved over to Main Street next to Cooley’s. What an adventure this has been! After two years on Main Street I decided to move my entire studio to my house. There were many factors that contributed to this decision, one of course was the economy (surprise, surprise), but most importantly I felt like I could really focus on my custom work and take better care of my customers.
The new studio is amazing! It is a bit smaller than the Main Street location, but has a wonderful comfortable, cozy feel. We still have great space – a working studio with all of the conveniences that we had on Main Street …except for having Cooley’s right next door!
I’m very proud of the custom stained glass work that we have created over the years and are continuing to create. Keep an eye on our website for our current projects. We love to share our work and would like nothing better to help bring your vision to light.
Please call me with any questions or use the form to send me an email.
