Glass, with its unique ability to capture and reflect light, has been a medium of artistic expression for centuries. Among contemporary artists who harness its potential, Maria Sheets stands out for her innovative approach to the expansive medium. Raised above a Russian Orthodox church in San Francisco, it was only natural for her to develop an affinity for stained glass and iconography. But it wasn’t until decades later she’d discover her exceptional talent.
Painting and drawing came naturally to Maria while in high school, so she decided on a creative career in graphic design in Oklahoma. After graduation, she went to stay with a friend in Houston and accepted a job managing Texas Art Supply in the Montrose District, a pivotal turn for her career. “It was there that I got free supplies from vendors who’d train me on their different materials. I also learned about art conservation through the clients needing supplies for treatments,” Maria shares.
With access to materials and gaining knowledge daily about art conservation and restoration, Maria’s artistic flame was fanned. She was greatly skilled at replication and found an apprenticeship with a conservator, where she ultimately received her Professional Associates status with the American Institute for Conservation. It was a rigorous peer reviewed program which focused on “how you treat an object, reversibility, sensitivity to original materials, and making sure what you’re doing can be reversed.”
Maria became Chief Conservator of Objects and Head of Safety in a firm with dozens of conservators, meticulously repairing pieces ranging from porcelain, ivory, stone, glass, paintings, and wood to automata, plastics, clocks and metals. To further expand her skills, she began taking graduate courses at the University of Northern Texas with the Interdisciplinary School of Museum Studies, led by the esteemed Dr. Richard Brettell. While working on her master’s, she consulted with various museums that included Nasher Sculpture Center, The Samurai Museum and, most significantly, The Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, where a six alarm fire would change the trajectory of Maria’s career path.
When the news about the devastating fire flooded the nation, Maria immediately offered to help her client preserve the thousands of invaluable objects and paintings affected. Only hours after the fire began, Director Scott Peck assigned her as head of triage and she sprung to action and organized artworks in an area near to the museum for evaluation and preservation.
For the next 13 years, Maria managed the restoration of the damaged art and artifacts from the Museum of Biblical Art’s temporary storage locations, and assisted with the design of an onsite conservation lab as they rebuilt the museum, which reopened in 2006. If she couldn’t restore the work herself, she outsourced it to the appropriate specialists.
After working with the damaged stained glass in the collection and becoming enchanted with the medium, she taught herself the technique of painting glass and took a few classes with the Stained Glass Association. Before long, she was not only wildly capable of restoring liturgical glass pieces, but also began designing and creating her own work. She now contracts with glass firm Scottish Glass in Centennial to design and paint large scale architectural windows for many universities, houses of worship, and private residences. Maria’s fabrications for famous artists such as the renowned Judy Chicago have been popping up all over social media.
Maria’s first full solo show of her modern stained glass art was at Valkarie Gallery in Lakewood, titled, “Sinners, Saint, and Fools.” Her subjects are friends or relatives that she places in narrative settings or situations that make a viewer curious to learn more. The Denver Art Review touted her work to be an “impressive display that demonstrates her deep knowledge and appreciation for the material and the traditions of the genre.”
In 2024, Maria began experimenting with a new branch of fused glass called Vitreonics. She found “the process, particularly the intense smashing, layering, and heating of glass,” extremely cathartic during a difficult time in her life. This labor intensive technique, along with Maria’s masterful brush and color work, produces sublimely unique glass art. The richness of colors fused with Maria’s extraordinary imagination make this collection an illuminating sight to behold—both literally and figuratively.
Maria creates and operates both her stained glass studio and her objects conservation business, Foothills Art Conservation, out of her vibrant two-story studio in Evergreen. Her work is currently on display at Valkarie Gallery in Lakewood and Scottish Stained Glass. To view more of Maria’s work or take one of her classes in studio, visit her website at mariasheetsglassworks.com.