Meet the Artist: Lisa Ruschman

By Kelli Comer

Local artist Lisa Ruschman has had a passion for glass for as long as she can remember. A creator of distinctive glass art for more than 25 years, she has embraced the many disciplines of glass throughout her illustrious career. Best known for her fine art mosaics and public art installations, Lisa’s fascination with glass and her innate ability to bring the beauty out of it runs the gamut across all glass mediums.

“I started my glass journey with a workshop on traditional stained glass, making the typical sun catchers and panels. I very quickly became frustrated with the limits of this style of glass and started experimenting with mosaics and I’ve never looked back,” Lisa explains. “There is unlimited potential for creativity in mosaics that just isn’t possible with traditional stained glass.”

Endlessly inspired by her deep love and respect for nature, Lisa works with traditional stained glass, fine art mosaics, kiln forming and torch work mediums, although you might catch her creating with enamels, smalti, tempered “crash glass,” recycled wine bottles, dichroic coatings, borosilicate, dalle de verre, Picassiette, and vitreous glass, to name a few.

For many years, Lisa taught mosaics at her studio in Mentor. She now has a studio in Willoughby where you can take classes with her and purchase her original artwork. An enormous 12-by-4-foot mosaic mural is currently underway in her studio, which represents iconic landmarks in Willoughby and will ultimately be hung in the entrance of the David E. Anderson Willoughby Senior Center.

Lisa’s ongoing series titled “Bird Talk” features mosaics of migratory songbirds, and includes the mnemonics of the birds’ songs spelled out in the mosaics, along with recordings of the actual birds singing. This educational series of bird mosaics will travel around the country to various nature centers and galleries upon completion.

Lisa’s studio is located at Stella’s Art Gallery in the Packard Building, located at 38033 Euclid Avenue, Studio 7, in Willoughby. To learn more about the artist and her work, visit LisaRuschman.com, email lisalynn5584@gmail.com or call 440-749-5584. For regular updates, follow Lisa on Facebook @LisaRuschmanMosaics.