Natural Artist: Billie Lookingbill
If you love to marvel at the colors, patterns, and textures you find among flowers in the natural world, you already know that God is an artist. The beauty we find in the things around us, from the soft petal to the many shades of sky in a sunrise, could only be formed in such perfection by His hands. We try to recreate these gifts in the form of our own artistic expression, whether through words, music, dance, food, or visual art.
In this new series highlighting natural artists, Lush Garden Crush will introduce you to artists of different media who make the natural world their muse. From textiles to ceramics, these artists look upon the Earth with wonder and try to capture its moments on their chosen canvas.
Our first artist is Billie Lookingbill, a stained glass collage artist. She and her husband collaborate to make art from colorful pieces of broken glass that are then fashioned in recycled window panes to make creative scenes. Billie Lookingbill also has also used other recycled materials to create commissioned pieces. Throughout her work, you will find birds and other animals, waterscapes, and landscapes as recurring themes.
Lookingbill's artistic career began after what she calls a "difficult time of grieving" for herself and her children. "I began walking on beaches, picking up sea glass and most importantly praying and talking with God," she says. "I was Intrigued by the beauty of the sea glass at first and then glass in general."
With the help of videos she found online, Lookingbill began to explore glass art and create her own pieces. Through this, Lookingbill says, God gave her "a new song."
Lush Garden Crush (LGC): What inspires you to use the materials you have chosen for your primary medium (e.g., vintage windows, glass pieces)?
Billie Lookingbill (BL): My husband and I are both thankful that Jesus takes broken souls and lives and makes them beautiful, so we try to reuse and repurpose when finding materials. My husband, Ron, is a gifted woodworker, and he often uses reclaimed wood in the frames and tables he makes. He also restores and repurposes antique windows that would otherwise end up in the dump! I like to use found items (especially from the beach): glass scraps and thrift finds, [such as] beads, vases, scraps of ribbon, etc. Most inspiring to me is the beauty of the light shingling through the glass, dancing and reflecting on the edges, breaks, and cuts. It reminds [us] that Jesus’ power is on full display in our brokenness.
LGC: In an article for Johns Hopkins Medicine [magazine], you were featured for a collection of panels that you created using recycled medical materials. How did you come up with the idea to use those materials for those commissioned pieces?
BL: It was such a privilege to create those pieces for the amazing people at Suburban Hospital/Johns Hopkins who care for the patients and families there! The idea to use their medical “trash” that results from thousands of acts of care the staff provide to people during the course of the day was their idea. [It was] inspired by a nurse in Canada who collected hers for years and enlisted the help of an artist to display them, encased in resin, in a large mural. So they collected their items - thousands of pieces - and sorted them by color. The firm who was coordinating the art for the new surgical building, Artists Circle Fine Art, invited me to create the three large abstract pieces. The pieces are loosely based on the elements of life: earth, wind, fire, and water flowing together. They (the nurses) call the art “Small Things” [because] each tiny piece reflects a moment of kindness and care [that] a hospital staff provided to a patient.
LGC: Please elaborate on how nature influences your work.
BL: God is not only the Creator of everything, He is the Master Artist! Now, I’m hard pressed when I look around while outside to not see beauty everywhere! The ocean, mountains, flowers, clouds, dew on grass, a bee, even a spider web [are] all works of art! You can look up close and be amazed or stand back for a panoramic view and be in awe of His artistry! Now, when I look at nature, my mind automatically jumps to “can I capture some of that beauty in glass?” I’m especially challenged and drawn to marine life and birds.
LGC: Where can we buy or find your work?
BL: We have a Facebook page: @wildcaughtglass. There you can contact me directly and also see new pieces and events where [my husband and I] have a booth.
LGC: Is there something I didn't ask that you would like to share?
BL: I believe all the beauty we see while in the outdoors points us to being made whole in Christ. God has gifted everyone with some form of creativity, and I hope anyone who feels lost, sad, or anxious will not be afraid to explore their own God-given creativity, spend time in His creation, and find peace and hope in Jesus!