Tommy Washbush
Lauren Beard in her office with her cat Nelson.
Juggling responsibilities: Beard’s office — she works a day job at a password management company to support herself — and art studio are in the same room. ‘I’m grateful to have the income, but I know this isn’t what I want my legacy to be. I just want to listen to podcasts and be creative,’ she says.
Lauren Beard wasn’t planning on buying a house just yet. But after getting priced out of her previous coworking office, she felt she had no choice, and pulled the trigger on a small house on Madison’s east side.
Beard’s art — decorative stained glass and jewelry from broken pieces of found china — is caustic and noisy to create. “Back in spring, I impulsively started the house hunting process, grappling with this problem. I toured a couple studios, but most of them aren’t meant for a messy and loud art form like this,” Beard says.
The house she ultimately bought gave her a sign — literally. “Kittybell Cottage” hung on the front door. Beard, and her beloved orange cat, Nelson, now call the cottage their home.
Originally from Virginia, Beard studied engineering before moving to Madison in 2019 to work at Epic. “I stayed even after changing to a remote job because Madison is a lovely city I want to thrive in,” she says. Her engineering background has translated to her art. “I feel like my skill isn’t stained glass, it’s learning new skills, figuring out how to make every situation work.”
Beard got started making stained glass in 2023, after trying an at-home kit, and then a beginner’s class. A year later, she stumbled on some artists online upcycling vintage plates into jewelry, and realized there was a lot of overlap in terms of techniques and equipment. “I already had most of the tools and skills I needed — soldering is the biggest one,” she says.
Beard has a robust collection of equipment for both disciplines, including a kiln, glass grinder for polishing the edges of glass and china, a ring saw for cutting more complex shapes out of glass, and specialty pliers and cutting tools.
Beard also has a large supply of glass and china, and tries to make use of every bit she has. “There’s a chicken and egg situation of working with what you have and searching for new materials,” she says.
The main challenge of operating out of her house is space. She must do her day job and her art in the same room. “I can’t sleep where I work, and I don’t want to put this in the living room,” she says. There is no basement and the garage is not an option in the winter.
She makes do with the room she has, but it has its limitations. “It’s so handy when you can just have all your tools out. It reduces burnout when you can go back and forth.”
Still, Beard is always thinking of what’s next. She was previously an avid cross-stitcher and embroiderer, and is interested in rug tufting. And she refuses to let the challenges of her space diminish her creativity. “If art was easy, your art would be boring.”
Find Lauren Beard on Instagram @lauren.beard.art.
Martha Miltko
Finished stained glass work by Lauren Beard.
Finished product: Beard has participated in The Crafty Fair since 2024, and sells her work at Madison Art Market, Mindfully Inspired and The Regal Find. She also creates custom works upon request. She recently raffled off a stained glass TV set to raise funds for Voces de la Frontera, motivated to do something ‘in these confusing and sad times.’
Tommy Washbush
Pieces of broken china Lauren Beard will use to make jewelry.
Break it down: Beard has a collection of vintage plates found at thrift shops. She uses mosaic tile nippers to cut out specific images (cats, plants, etc.), and then refines them into pendants. The process has proven cathartic. ‘You think the state of the world right now doesn’t compel me to break things?’ she says.
Tommy Washbush
An in-progress stained glass piece by Lauren Beard.
Painstaking process: Stained glass needs to be shaped, filed and wrapped in copper foil tape before being soldered together. Working with glass and chunks of china can be hazardous. ‘Have Band-Aids handy, sharp edges are sneaky,’ she says. ‘I’ll just be hours into something and be like, ‘how long have I been bleeding?’’
