By Amber Ford, The Mountain Times
A professional stained glass artist since 1974, Mt. Hood Villages resident Gail O’Neill has made her artist mark throughout the area, including several buildings in the greater Portland area. An artist since childhood, O’Neill studied design and painting in college and also attended the Pilchuck Glass School where she honed her glass blowing and architectural glass design. “I studied architectural glass design with a noted German designer at UC Berkeley, CA. I learned to cut glass and stained glass craft from Tim O’Neill, my former spouse,” O’Neill said.
With a stellar education in art and a foundation formed on creativity, O’Neill’s work has been showcased in many important facilities and buildings in the area. “I’ve competed for ‘1% for Art,’public art projects and have two stained glass screens in the State Art Collection at the State Employment Office, Salem and Western Oregon University, Monmouth,” O’Neill said. “I designed and built 29 stained leaded glass windows for St. Vincent Hospital Chapel, Beaverton, in a competition I won in 1983,” O’Neill added.
Alongside her showcased work throughout the greater Portland area, O’Neill’s professional portfolio also boasts its own achievements. Having been commissioned for private clients through the many architects and galleries she’s worked with, O’Neill’s portfolio has been exhibited in local and regional galleries, as well as The Smithsonian, as part of the Northwest Crafts exhibit. “I had a one-person exhibit in Tokyo, Japan of twelve stained leaded glass windows in 1982,” O’Neill said. “Two of my windows were included in the group Glass Exhibit at Timberline Lodge in 1983,” O’Neill added.
A resident of the Mt. Hood Villages for over 22 years, O’Neill finds inspiration for her work in the beauty where she resides. “My work has always been inspired by the landscape in which I live,” O’Neill said. “In the 70s, when I lived in the Columbia Gorge, the lines of descending mountains and cliffs influenced my design. As a hiker and skier on Mt. Hood I’ve absorbed the beauty of landscape and reflect it in my design,” O’Neill added.
While working with glass is where O’Neill has found success and a profound professional passion, she has also dabbled in other forms of art throughout her career.“ One of my pastel paintings of Mt. Hood was included in a Local Artists Group Show at Timberline Lodge in 2007,” O’Neill said. For a dozen years she was an Artist in Residence for Portland and regional public schools as well as the Young Audiences Program, teaching students of all ages mural painting on the walls of their schools.
Although O’Neill considers herself “semi-retired,” she will still accept the occasional stained glass commission. Fortunately for those who are interested, her glass work can be seen at St. Vincent Hospital Chapel.