SALT LAKE CITY — For the last 24 years, Allison West has felt most at home in her art studio in Sugar House making stained glass art for customers.
The local artist is the mastermind behind many stained-glass pieces seen throughout Salt Lake City — in houses, churches, historic buildings, and local businesses.
“I’m constantly thinking glass needs to go everywhere. Everywhere I go, I'm like, 'Glass would look good right there,'" West said. “Or, 'Hey, look at that. That would be cool out of glass.'”
West opened a glass retail supply store and Western Art Class studio in 2004.
“Stained glass makes people so happy, and I love it that people trust me to create something that is going to bring them joy," she said.
West originally went to trade school for fashion design but got into glasswork through a summer job in 1999. Fast forward 25 years later, West has become a go-to source for ancient art that offers colorful glimmering lights that subtly change the atmosphere depending on the time of day.
West teaches classes three days a week but has mostly become known for her custom glass artwork and restoration of historic stained-glass pieces. FOX 13 News learned about her work after we published a story on the Union Pacific Depot’s transformation as a new hotel. West reached out to FOX 13 pointing out that she had restored two stained-glass windows in the historic train station built in 1909. The windows she restored were damaged in the 2020 earthquake.
“I had to get the windows out on a boom lift and bring them here [her studio]," West said. "I had to disassemble them and go through an extensive rebuilding process with nothing original to go by. I had to go by what they were and keep everything organized and controlled to put them back together.”
She said the process took over a year. That timeline is common for historic pieces West added. However, West doesn’t mind the lengthy process, she says it’s all worth it for the outcome and bringing history back to life.
“Stained glass, it's magical when the light comes through it and casts prisms and colors or it just gets lit up with lighting. I love driving around town and seeing stuff I've done, and I always have a story to go with it," she said.
