All of My Favorite Things
On display in the South Gallery of the Columbia Art League
2/3/2026 - 2/28/2026
Artist Statement
My Mother was a complicated woman.
Raising we girls by the Book of Conflicting Messages, my Mother lovingly shaped me into an ask questions later act like a lady you can do anything but learn to type first boys only want one thing but don’t say what it is do it right or don’t do it at all fall in love but have something to fall back on artist. Oh, and learn to cook and sew. Men like that.
In response, or perhaps as a result of, I embrace domesticity in feminine spirit but not in action. My life is the culmination of feminine expectations gone awry. I like to sew things, but more in a mad scientist sort of way. My misguided domestic talents grew into a career in art, sewing unlikely glass dresses, lingerie, and illuminated gowns. I bake glass cakes in a kiln and frost them with pate de verre. I re-imagine coffee pots and toaster cozies to examine the concept of "women's work".
As an artist, I have the luxury of exploring the complexities of domestic life from the safe distance of my studio. I pursue beauty and sensuality in my work, giving the viewer a reason to examine it more closely and find within the work their own personal message.
For years, I believed my work was about myself. But ultimately, my work is about my Mother. With her messages firmly embedded, I’m able to indulge my own notions of domestic role-playing. My work embraces the feminine ideals of sensuality in a seductive but unforgiving material, offering conflicting messages of comfort and expectation.
Artist Bio
Born in Superior, Wisconsin, Susan Taylor Glasgow grew up just across the tip of Lake Superior, in Duluth, Minnesota. She migrated south with the geese to the University of Iowa, graduating with a BFA in Design in 1983. After working in graphic design for a short period, Susan returned to the sewing skills passed on to her by her mother. Opening a dressmaking shop, Susan owned and operated “On Pins & Needles” from 1984 to1997, both in Iowa City, Iowa, and Columbia, Missouri. In 1997, Susan sold her dressmaking shop to pursue her original interest in art, focusing on glass. Utilizing her skills as a seamstress, Susan developed a unique approach to glass, stitching glass components together. Redefining "woman's work" in a non-traditional medium, Susan creates complex forms and imagery while exploring the dichotomy of women and societal expectations.
Susan Taylor Glasgow has work in the permanent collections of several national and international museums, including the Chrysler Museum, Carnegie, Imagine, and Berstrom-Mahler of the United States, and the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Germany. She is represented by Habatat Galleries in Royal Oak, MI.
You can view more of Susan’s work on her website: www.taylorglasgow.com
