Today we’d like to introduce you to Tristan Tuttle.
Tristan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born into a family of artists and entrepreneurs, ministers and road musicians, so I spent most of my childhood bouncing around in the back of various cars, vans, and RVs headed to different churches or festivals to play bluegrass-gospel music. As a teenager, I didn’t have the freedom in my schedule to have the typical after-school job since we were traveling so extensively, so I started teaching music lessons. I’ve worked for myself in some form or fashion since I was fifteen. I spent several years trying different artistic avenues: painting, mixed media collage, even welding. I welded frames for bottle trees because I loved the way the light filtered through the colored glass. I’ve always loved the relationship between color and light. None of the fields of art I tried stuck for very long.
Eventually, I married my high school sweetheart Jared and had a daughter named Jubilee. I didn’t start working with stained glass until my daughter was six months old – about two and half years ago – and I fell in love with it! I met my mentor Tony Raxter at church and found out that he was a stained glass artist after we became Facebook friends. I begged him to teach me a stained glass, and we agreed that I would teach him how to play guitar and he would teach me the basics of working with glass. I definitely got the best end of the deal, in my opinion!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t always been easy, but I would be hesitant to assume anyone’s journey is without a stumble or two. I started to pursue working with glass after my daughter was born, and that in itself was a hard row to hoe, so to speak. After Jubilee’s birth (42 hours of labor!), I struggled with post-partum depression and various health issues. I felt as if my body had betrayed me at a time when my child and I needed it the most. I felt… lost. I had always been a creative person and between the hormonal shifts and the overwhelming responsibility of motherhood, I felt I had lost that “spark” of creativity that was always so present before.
Postpartum depression looks different for everyone, and for me, it manifested in anxiety and guilt and anger. It wasn’t pretty and it definitely was not who I hoped to be for long. When the opportunity to work with Tony came along, it was a lifeline sent straight from God. During all this time, Tony was diagnosed with cancer and had his own share of health issues that affected our work together as well, but thankfully the fog lifted and things have been better!
Please tell us about Reflecting Light Stained Glass Studio.
Reflecting Light Stained Glass Studio specializes in custom work of all kinds, from large installations to small gifts, but our passion is stained glass home portraits. I think it is such a great way to commemorate a sentimental place. Often, we will get photos of homes that belonged to a person’s grandmother, or a family cabin, or a barn that was special to them. I love taking those photos and turning them into an heirloom quality work of art that showcases just how important that place is.
Each piece is as detailed as possible to really capture what makes a place so special because what makes a house a home is in the details. Southerners know that a sense of home is so important, and we live in a very transient society. People move for work or for adventure, but there is always a sense of having roots, and to me, to be able to create something that reminds us of home, there is something very fulfilling in that. Our homes hold the stories of our lives, and I want to help tell my client’s story.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I don’t know that I have any one particular favorite memory growing up because my childhood was a bit non-traditional, but I think the best times I had as a kid were when we were all piled up on road trips, singing at the top of our lungs and telling tall tales to pass the time. We used to travel in an SUV everywhere, but Daddy bought an RV thinking we would like the space to spread out. Somehow we would all end up crammed up front sharing a seatbelt with Mama.
I am so very grateful for my family, and all the time spent together, whether it was in that RV or in the 800 square foot sharecropper’s house we lived in. It was built in 1890, and time and termites have worn it down to the bare bones, but the stories that house could tell would astound all of us, I’m sure. I hope to give my own daughter and whatever other children that may come the same kind of childhood, full of magic and imagination.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.reflectinglighstainedglass.com
- Phone: 7705578228
- Email: reflectinglightstainedglass@gmail.com
- Instagram: @tristantuttle
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reflectinglightstainedglassstudio/
Image Credit:
Katie Weeks Photo
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