Glass "cook" chosen county's Artist of Year

Stan Price calls himself "a short-order cook in glass."

"You come in and you say: 'Hey, I've got a window next to my front door. I want a hummingbird in it.' Then I take notes," Price said.

" 'What color would you like that hummingbird? And you want some rhodies with that?' And I do what you tell me."

That method has secured Price hundreds of commissions throughout the region. Locally, his work is at Everett City Hall, the Everett Senior Activity Center, the Everett Public Library, the Snohomish Health District's Everett office, Providence Everett Medical Center and Naval Station Everett, as well as churches from Seattle's Ballard neighborhood to Bellingham.

But now, Price's own artistic expression is in the limelight. More than 40 of his works will be on display March 16 to April 20 at the Monte Cristo Hotel in Everett. In vibrant stained glass, he has interpreted landscapes, seascapes, still lifes, people and animals.

Price, 54, is the 2006 Snohomish County Artist of the Year. It's an honor given previously to only 13 other artists and recognizes those who show exemplary dedication to their profession and leadership in arts education.

The Arts Council of Snohomish County will present the award to Price on Saturday at its annual H'arts benefit dinner and auctions.

The exhibit of Price's art will open with a free public reception from 5 to 8 p.m. March 16. An Arts Council news release describes the show as "a historical journey from hot glass to cold and back to warm [fused] glass. Stan's latest work combines nontraditional glass painting with fused glass, invoking images at a 'turning point.' "

The show includes Price's early blown glass, his leaded and etched glass, and his recent fused and painted glass.

In Price's early years at Pilchuck Glass School, from 1974 to 1979, it was all about exploration. He had art degrees from Pacific Lutheran University and Central Washington University, and at Pilchuck, he was a teaching assistant and purchasing agent.

"It was a great place to be, but I wasn't earning a living," he said of Pilchuck. "Back then, nobody was earning a living blowing glass, and I kept getting promoted out of the glass into administrative [work]."

In 1979, Price and his wife, Colleen, started Covenant Art Glass, an Everett glass-supply store that offers workshops. Today the shop is at 33rd Street and Broadway.

In the 1970s, the couple didn't know a lot about business, but they knew that with the Pilchuck school near Stanwood, there might be a need for a glass supplier based in Snohomish County.

"We thought having a flat-glass store might help us have a more consistent paycheck," Colleen Price said. "Every time Stan would need a piece of lead for an artist at Pilchuck, he'd have to send a driver all the way to Seattle. We thought, 'There's probably a market for a store in the area.' "

The business took off, turning on new generations of enthusiasts to the art of glass. Stan Price is an expert in stained-glass fabrication and repair, both in homes and public buildings.

Many commissions have been done with his staff: Nancy Alexander, Tami Bogdanoff, Ruth Brooks, Karen Davidson, Robyn Johnson, Stacey King, and Michelle Walters. The staff members will also have work in the Arts Council show.

"Because of this show, now all of a sudden, I've got a blank canvas," Price said. "It's gotten my batteries charged. It's really given me a new lease on art that I haven't probably had for 25 years."

The couple's children — Courtney, Casey and Katelyn — are grown now, and this midlife man sees a change in what he wants to say with his art.

"The name of the show is 'Turning Point,' and for me, this is a turning point," Price said.

"From the time our kids were newborns until they went off to college, [our] lives revolved around them. You coach soccer; you coach basketball."

Now, as a seasoned dad, "I'm trying to create pieces that would say something," Price said.

"Those [early pieces] dealt with the quality of glass; they were tongue-in-cheek and fun. These would tell more of a moral story — do you choose this? If so, what are the consequences? And I think some of that comes with having raised three kids and trying to impart our beliefs to them."

Mark Garcia, a friend and stained-glass artist, said Price gave him a piece of advice that's guided his own work over the past 20 years.

"He told me to make a story out of the glass windows, a story that continues," Garcia said.

Diane Wright: 425-745-7815 or dwright@seattletimes.com