Four years later, they are teaching others about this unique art form and selling a variety of beautiful pieces at Touch of Glass, a small shop and studio at 410 Court Street in Pekin.

“I’ve always been a crafty person,” Jody said as she related how the business was born. She had been working with stained glass, but said she was always reaching out for new tricks and tips to make her work better.

In the winter of 2020, she purchased a kiln and started experimenting, creating several fused glass Christmas trees. When she posted a picture of them on Facebook, a friend asked if she could make eight more trees as gifts. Jody made 20 “to give her plenty of choices.” Her friend bought them all.

Jody sensed that she had found herself a niche in the local art market. She took some of her pieces to the annual Art in the Park event of Pekin’s Marigold Festival and did “exceptionally well.” She has since shown her work at Fall at the Fairgrounds in Eureka and Tinsel the Town at the Par-A-Dice Hotel.

By the next year, they found the shop at 410 Court Street, and with no previous business experience, made the leap to a brick and mortar business.

“I always wanted to have classes and share my knowledge with other people,” Jody said. She began offering classes in the studio. “One student signed up for a second class before even attending the first,” she said. Classes at Touch of Glass are always a big hit—students always say they will be back or they are addicted! Jody has also partnered with an art teacher at Pekin High School to bring a variety of pieces to the high school to share with the students on how they were made. The students are also very  eager to share their work with her.

The studio has now grown from one to four kilns for firing the glass, classes nearly every weekend, and regular appearances at local arts and crafts events.

All of this happened while Jody continues to work full-time. Her husband is retired and he opens and runs the shop during the week, dabbles in creating some of the small glass components like flower petals, and “provides comic relief” during class sessions.

“If he sees someone peering in the shop window he rushes out and invites them inside,” Jody laughed. “He’s my public relations man.”

Unlike glass blowing, glass fusing involves the artist assembling various sizes and shapes of glass into a pattern or picture, and then heating the glass to as high as 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit until the pieces fuse together. A process called slumping allows flat glass to be shaped into bowls, cups, and other three-dimensional forms. A powdered glass enamel can also be mixed with a medium, hand-painted onto glass, and fired to create one-of-a-kind designs.

Jody said, “Every trip to the kiln is not a success,” and she continues to expand her knowledge and skills. She will attend the Glass Craft and Bead Expo in Las Vegas in early April.

Jody and Rick are lifetime Pekin residents. They raised three boys and now have four grandchildren living just a block away in their hometown.

Touch of Glass is open Wednesday through Friday from 10am to 4pm and Saturday from 9am to 3pm. Other openings are available by appointment. Classes are on Saturdays.

Jody said those hours will continue for at least another year or so until she retires. She expects to then be able to offer even more classes and open studio time.

Budding artists of all ages can browse a gallery of past projects and register for classes at jodystouchofglass.com.