Jeff Smith’s transition from the autonomous stained glass he cut his teeth on in school to site- and client-specific architectural installations began with Residential projects. Because of the more intimate scale of these projects, they are often able to reflect more about the personality and interests of their client.
“Starry Night & Daydream”: Residence & Studio Windows
This historic church building is being transformed into a residence and studio. The stained glass of Starry Night and Daydream will soon inhabit its west-facing windows above the main entrance. Surrounded by a transparent ground of German mouthblown glasses, the windows’ elusive white opal and opak glasses, dichroic glass, and crystal prisms will constantly morph…
Read moreRichard Walker’s Pancake House
The Richard Walker’s Pancake House in Carlsbad, California has stained glass wafting over diners like you’d expect. Plus the mischievous Walker Rabbit welcomes arriving diners from the Corner Booth Windows. The rabbit’s also hidden in the stained glass screen that separates dining from kitchen. Can’t find the rabbit? – All is revealed in the slide…
Read moreRichard Walker’s Pancake House
This recent addition to the Richard Walker’s Pancake House family is in La Jolla. A 25 foot wide series of transom windows span the Main Entrance and begin the stained glass experience with a dazzling Pacific Sunrise. Once inside, the (in)famous Walker Rabbit wastes no time jumping into action from the window presiding over the Community Table.
Read moreH.F.D. – Fire Station #37
It’s not everyday you’re asked to create stained glass for a fire station. Working with the dedicated firefighters was fascinating, poignant and lots of fun (even if I didn’t get to ride on a fire truck). The crew’s input boiled down to the essence of their trade: Fire and Water.
Read moreAmerican Airlines Admirals Club
Visible from both sides, the dance of light within and around Resolution Suite is a visual highlight of travelers’ visits to this art-filled American Airlines’ Admirals Club at DFW.
Read moreSalt Lake Community College
This achromatic screen between reading area and three-story atrium derives its color from library patrons and the books themselves.
Read moreCape Cod Hospital
Coastal Atmospheres wafts along this corridor from within deeply recessed, sculptural window openings. The widely spaced sequence of windows is connected by the always nearby ocean horizon.
Read moreMontessori School Gym
Stained glass windows in a gymnasium? Why not? Sill height is almost twenty feet and they’re installed behind protective Lexan. The administration building window has a more contemplative existence . . .
Read moreHard Rock Cafe
When HRC’s co-founder asked me to create the very first stained glass windows for a Hard Rock Cafe, it took me a while to realize he wanted pre-Victorian-style, canonized rock’n’roll stars – not contemporary ‘Jeff Smith’ stained glass. I struggled with this for a while, and then, in a stroke of creative brilliance, I quit.
Read moreUnited States Courthouse
As the main entrance to a United States Courthouse, its portico’s window wall demanded a dignified and subtle touch. The solution required over 7,000 tiny glass elements to be hand-applied on site.
Read moreUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks
A central character in Athabaskan mythology, the mischievous Raven is said to have stolen sunlight from the spirit-world and given it to humans. Students entering this dormitory complex in the dark of winter are warmed by the retelling of the story of the Sun Thief.
Read moreSt. Vincent Hospital
As visitors approach the Oncology Center, Inflorescence greets them from across a landscaped entry garden. Reflective opal glass animates the window even during the day.
Read moreMuseum of the Big Bend
Unexpected flashes of color sparkle high above the museum floor in repurposed ventilator openings from the pre-air-conditioned days when the building was built.
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