About Laurie

Laurie Spieker welcomes the world to her doorstep at Grand River Glassworks. She creates fresh and imaginative contemporary glass art and shares the inspiring beauty of art glass with her community through workshops offered at her Waterloo, Ontario studio and retail store, a leading promoter of glass art in Waterloo Region and beyond.

In 1996 Laurie Spieker, a life-long enthusiast of stained glass, acquired a room of her own – a dedicated work space with a sturdy work bench. Here she began learning that, with glass, the “material teaches the artist”. In 2007 she established Grand River Glassworks.

Laurie received a BA in Honours English from the University of Waterloo (2000). She has gained insight and education about various glass fusing techniques with Don McClennen (2007), Patty Gray (Advanced, 2008), Peter McGrain (Vitri-Fusaille, 2008) and Michael Dupille (Fritography, 2009).

Laurie is a member of UpTown Gallery since its inception in 2006. UpTown Gallery is a unique and dynamic artists’ collective, featuring local fine artists.

Laurie is a Gallery Shop artist at The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, since 2007. Through its critically acclaimed exhibitions and a gallery shop par excellence, The Clay & Glass is a premier Canadian venue for glass and ceramic artists.

Both institutions are located in the heart of Uptown Waterloo.

Through the initiative of The Clay and Glass Gallery, Laurie was Artist Mentor for a large-scale Public Youth Art Project. During April – October 2012 area high school students created a fused glass artwork entitled Glass Fourteen. In June 2013, Glass Fourteen was permanently installed in RIM Park (Manulife Financial Sportsplex) and was entered into the permanent art collection of the City of Waterloo.

Laurie was one of nine Ontario glass artists chosen to participate in the first FUSION Glass Mentorship program, held at Sheridan College with Mentor and Glass Studio Head, Koen Vanderstukken. The mentorship facilitated change and new direction in artistic visions as each artist worked separately in their studios then gathered to discuss their current and previous work, their sources of inspiration and future paths to travel in their creativity. The Mentorship culminated in a group show – entitled PUSH – that was exhibited at the Living Arts Centre Gallery, Mississauga, from November 2013 to January 2014, and at The Thunder Bay Art Gallery, from June to September 2014.

In 2015, Laurie was chosen as the Folk Artist-in-Residence at the Schneider Haus. Throughout the year Laurie contributed to ongoing programs at the museum. She was featured in a solo exhibit entitled Reflections of the Natural World and delivered a public lecture, Discovering the Art in Glass. Laurie facilitated on-site glass fusing workshops – exploring glass reactivity during March Break, making beautiful pendants for Mother’s Day, exploring our Funny Bones for Hallowe’en and ornament making for Christmas. Laurie demonstrated stained glass techniques during the Grand National Quilt Show and attended festivities for Culture Days. Laurie was grateful for this heart-warming opportunity.

A beautiful new book, Under These Skies, was launched on October 19, 2016, at Grand River Glassworks. This chapbook was published by Stonegarden Studios, a collaborative effort of Judith Miller, Karl Griffiths-Fulton and Pandora Press which produced limited edition chapbooks, linking writers and artists to create accessible, inexpensive works of art. 

Under These Skies (ISBN # 978-0-9919184-7-8) features selected poetry from Rienzi Crusz and images skillfully captured from Laurie’s glass art. Judith Mclean Miller writes: Rienzi Crusz and Laurie Spieker are among the company of writers and artists in Waterloo Region. Each works with rich imagery, in words or in stained glass, giving expression to their responses to their place.

Laurie is a member of the Glass Art Association of Canada.

Laurie is online in the Art$Pay Professional Artists Directory – Glass and LAF Online Store.

 

CURRICULUM VITAE

Experience:
2007 – Present            Grand River Glassworks, Owner
1991 – Present            Fritz Electric Inc, Co-Owner/Office Manager
2006 – Present            UpTown Gallery, Member & Past Chair

Education and Masterclasses:

2023                Narcissus Quagliata, Advanced Fusing, Vol 4
2023                Narcissus Quagliata, Painting with Glass, Vol 3
2023                Narcissus Quagliata, Your Artwork, Conception to Completion

2022                Evelyn Gottschall Baker, Non-Traditional Pate de Verre              
2022                Narcissus Quagliata, Painting with Glass, Vol 2

2022                Narcissus Quagliata, Painting with Glass, Vol 1
2021                Judy Tuwaletstiwa & Ted Sawyer, Metamorphosis
2021                Narcissus Quagliata, Business for Artists
2021                Tim Carey, A Painterly Portrait in Glass
2021                Candice Leyland Art, Watercolour Workshop
2018-2019       Verbeek Glass Studio, Open-Face Glass Casting Workshops
2013-2014       Blown Away Glass Studio, Glass Blowing Workshops
2012-2013       FUSION Glass Mentorship w. Mentor Koen Vanderstukken, Glass Studio Head, Sheridan College
2009                Michael Dupille, Fritography Workshop
2008                Peter McGrain, Vitri Fusaille Workshop
2008                Patty Gray, Advanced Fusing Workshop
2007                Don McClennen, Fusing Workshop
2000                University of Waterloo, Honours English BA

Residencies:
2015                Artist in Residence, Schneider Haus, Kitchener

Selected Shows and Exhibitions:
2023                Pattern, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2022                Nature, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2021                Outer Limits, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2020                Fresh, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2019                Landscape, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2018                Chain Reaction, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2017                ReART, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2016                Quotation Inspiration, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2015                Reflections of the Natural World, Schneider Haus
2013-2014       PUSH, Living Arts Centre, Mississauga
2014                PUSH: Contemporary Glassworks, Thunder Bay Art Gallery
2014                Going on – Green!, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2015                re/collections, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2012                Translucence, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2011                Sparkle and Shine, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2009-2010       SmallWorks ArtWorks, UpTown Gallery, Featured Artist
2010-2014       UpTown G + CIGI | Reach Out for Art (ROFA) Initiative, Centre for International Governance
2010                Grand Home & Life Show
2009                Total Woman Show
2008-2009       spOtlight
2006-2013       ArtWorks Shows, Kitchener

Affiliations:
Glass Art Association of Canada
Art$Pay, 2019 to present
UpTown Gallery, Jul 2006 to present (Gallery Chair, 2008 – 2010)
The Clay and Glass, Gallery Shop Artist, Jan 2007 to present
The Clay and Glass Fundraising Galas, 2009 to 2019
Gather at the Gallery, 2011 – 2014, w. Alzheimer’s Society Kitchener-Waterloo

Commissions and Collections:
Glass Fourteen, Rim Park, City of Waterloo Permanent Art Collection
2015, Murrine Sunflower, Schneider Haus Permanent Art Collection
2014, S. Lapstra
2011, M. Werden
2011, S. Kelly
2011, Elmira Branch Library
2009, M. Heynen
2008, Alan Quarry
2007, Craddock-Melrose

Publications:
2016    Under These Skies, Rienzi Crusz, selected poems & Laurie Spieker, stained glass | ISBN 978-0-9919184-7-8

Media Coverage:
2023    Made Right Here, CTV News Kitchener
2021    Grand Magazine
2015    The Record, Etc. Section
2011    Artist at Work, Pioneer Public Library
2011    MOST Magazine
2011    Rogers TV Grand River Living
2009    Grand Magazine

UpTown Gallery Show History:
Current and Past Shows at www.uptowngallerywaterloo.com