Today we’d like to introduce you to Libby Daniele
Hi Libby, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve worked in very technical fields, such as cancer research, for most of my adulthood. However, most people assumed I’d go into the arts when I was growing up. I remember my high school art teacher being disappointed that I didn’t apply for any arts or design schools, and frankly I felt the same way. Since I did well in science and math, I assumed it meant I needed to go into something technical. Science and technology are amazing and important, but it took over a decade of working in those fields to realize that I wasn’t passionate about them the way my colleagues were. Much of my life has been spent learning the lesson that just because you’re good at something, doesn’t mean you must do it.
When I reached 30 I (very stereotypically) decided to make a huge life change. I quit my job and purchased all of the supplies I needed to make stained glass, an interesting choice since I had never worked in that medium before. Luckily, my old friend Lauren from back in Massachusetts (where we grew up) had gotten into stained glass art and also moved to San Diego. She generously let me shadow her for a few hours, showing me a little bit of each step in the process, and sent me off with a shoe box filled to the brim with scrap glass from her collection. Glass is an expensive medium so having a variety is tough, especially for a beginner. This box of scraps had a little bit of everything, and it might be one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.
I quickly learned that the online stained glass community is extremely generous and welcoming. I’m what some people refer to as “self-taught,” but I recently saw someone use the term “community-taught” and I think that’s more appropriate. I learned alone in my makeshift workspace without a formal class, but my fellow artists were there for me with an abundance of free instructional youtube videos and instagram highlights of different tips and techniques. I took the learning process seriously; I poured over Neile Cooper’s book “Kicking Glass” and dedicated days to consuming every online resource I got my hands on. I finally took on my first project and… it worked! It’s been about 7 months since then and I’ve already made over 200 pieces, I’m absolutely in love with stained glass.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Working with glass definitely has its quirks. My biggest enemy along the way has without a doubt been soldering. I practiced so much and thought I was just horrible at it, but it turns out the type of flux (the chemical we use to make the solder flow and adhere) I was using was just no good. I only realized this once I bought a bottle of a different type of flux I saw other artists on Instagram using, and suddenly my soldering was great. Just another reminder why continually learning and experimenting is so important!
The logistics of setting up a business can also be confusing and complicated, so that was certainly something I needed to slog through to ensure I’d be in a good spot when things like tax season came. This all came with a lot of reading, difficult to navigate government websites, and tons of forms and spreadsheets. I’m so relieved to finally have those details all in place.
Social media doesn’t come naturally to me, but it’s a necessity these days. Learning how to edit videos, choose the right songs, and post almost every day has been tough. It takes a huge amount of time, which I’m sure most people don’t realize. Every time I meet someone in real life who says they found my work on Instagram, it eases the pain a little bit.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
When I first started working in stained glass my main focuses were bugs and florals (thus the name “Botanic Beetle”) but I’ve certainly branched out beyond that. I have a lot of respect for artists who have a cohesive theme or subject for their work, and that was my intention starting out, but I just can’t seem to stick to something like that so I’ve decided to celebrate variety instead. For example: I love that I can participate in Trixxie Land’s (@arthang_sandiego) group art shows. I get a theme one month in advance which is a pretty quick turn around time for stained glass, but I always seem to be struck by inspiration in time to design and create something for the next show. This exercise led me to create what I think of as some of my best work, including a bright cheery rubber duck in a yellow tiled bathroom for the show simply themed “yellow.”
My Lucky Ducky panel is definitely my most popular and recognizable piece right now. I think it represents something that people often tell me they appreciate: my illustrative style. Before my work in stained glass, one of my favorite mediums was ink. I’ve always had a pretty distinctive drawing style that’s definitely well established at this point. I’m not totally sure how I’d describe it, or whether I always want it to show up the way it does, but it’s here to stay. When a friend says they can immediately recognize my glass art because it looks like one of my drawings, it’s because it IS one of my drawings. I design all of my pieces by hand on paper, so my style naturally comes across.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
My scientific background might come as a bit of a shock, but I think people are most surprised by three things:
1. The stained glass process itself: I’m drawing my own designs, then physically scoring and breaking different sheets of glass, soldering, etc. to make pieces in my half-a-home-office-sized workspace. I like to make process videos on my Instagram to show all of the steps that go into a stained glass piece, because it’s certainly quite the process!
2. How modern stained glass art is branching out from the norms: Stained glass doesn’t have to be a giant church window, or even hang in a window! Artists are making all sorts of designs, with all sorts of glass. I’ve got opaque pieces easy to display on walls, and even self-standing pieces that can sit on a desk or windowsill. The stained glass community is still making more classical work, but I’m personally a huge fan of some of the more unhinged creations that are becoming so popular (if you’d like to see a prime example, check out Whitney DeStasio @whimsyglassworks on Instagram for some Furby-themed gems)
3. Selling things is not always my goal: Community is everything! I’m certainly not trying to say I don’t need sales (because they are extremely important for good stuff like health insurance and food) but I am not -just- here to sell my work. I love meeting and chatting with people at markets because despite being an awkward person, the real reason I do all of this is to make connections and bring others joy. It might be shocking, but sometimes I participate in events or make a piece knowing I more than likely won’t make a sale. Things that help me connect with other artists, and the community in general, are extremely valuable and help me grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://botanicbeetle.com
- Instagram: @botanicbeetle
