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Producing stained glass windows requires the eye of an artist and the touch of a craftsman as well as the desire to create.

For the past 22 years, Judy Garrett has worked in this medium and has moved from making small sun catchers to designing and producing large windows for area homes.

Her desire to work with stained glass began much earlier, however.

Garrett discusses a recent stained glass window she created and installed in a customer's house in Olathe.

"Mom started me on jigsaw puzzles when I was three, so I was always just fascinated by them," said Garrett. Such jagged pieces and varied colors intrigued her .

"Then when I was five, I went next door one day to play with my friend. Her father was repairing an old church window, so when I ran into the yard, I saw these big huge pieces of glass that he was putting together, and they looked to me like a puzzle.

"I can remember running home to tell Mom that she needed to come see the big jigsaw puzzle that Joe was putting together. She explained to me that he was working on a stained glass window," said Garrett of her introduction to the art form, which provides an outlet for her creative expression.

In 1979, her husband Eddie had a friend sign her up for a class, and she has been cutting glass ever since.

"That's the best thing Eddie ever did for me other than giving me my engagement ring," she laughed.

What began as a hobby quickly evolved into a business. Garrett established JAG Stained Glass in 1982 and hit the crafts show circuit, once preparing pieces for as many as 30 shows in one year.

She also placed pieces with the Old Shawnee Craft Mall for several years, but she has recently decided to concentrate on bigger projects.

She still produces some small items, including kaleidoscopes, for retail and displays them at Moon Marble.

"I did so many crafts shows for so many years that people became acquainted with my work and contracted me to do windows," she said.

Garrett's sun catchers are easily recognizable since she makes them three dimensional by placing glass upon glass, a skill she developed on her own simply because she liked the addition of depth to her pieces.

Most people who do stained glass work from other people's patterns, but Garrett designs her own.

Judy Garrett, above, spreads a pattern she will use for a stained glass window.

"I've always thought that designing was one of the most important parts of the work that I do and one that I enjoy," she stressed.

Her reputation has gained her recognition beyond local areas, and her work has been included in publications and a video.

In October 1995, she was one of four artists featured in a national publication out of New York. The publishers of "Income Opportunities" chose Garrett when they were writing a story on how glass artists turned their passion for glass into full-fledged businesses.

Work she has done and is doing for Dr. and Mrs. Steven Laster in southeastern Olathe appeared in the January-February 1999 edition of "Kansas City Homes & Gardens."

Rachel Martin of Mid America Stained Glass recognizes Garrett's talent and supports her efforts. When Martin produced a video about stained glass, she asked Garrett to do some work on tape.

Even before she first started classes, Garrett was so fascinated with stained glass that she was always seeking information about it. Naturally, she stumbled upon the name of Tiffany.

"Tiffany had his own foundry and made his own glass. In fact, the formula for his glass has been lost, and no one has ever been able to duplicate the kind of glass he used in his windows," said Garrett.

"There is no Louis Comfort Tiffany glass left for purchase. It has all been used, lost or destroyed."

Besides his unique glass, Tiffany also had a definite style and would make what at first seemed impossible, possible.

"Tiffany did something called layering. If he couldn't get the look he wanted or the right color combination, he would layer another piece of glass behind, so you would have two different colors producing a third color," explained Garrett.

Someone looking at a true Tiffany lamp, therefore, might find almost bumpy spots on the backside where the second layer has been added.

Although his name is not as recognizable to the general public as is the name Tiffany, Garrett's mentor John Fadel's reputation was well established in the world of stained glass.

He introduced himself to Garrett at a craft show at Bannister Mall and asked her if she would be willing to work with him on some projects. One of her first large jobs with him was repairing a window in the Shrine Temple in Kansas City, Kan.

Garrett goes over the finishing touches of one her many works of art.

Originally from Cairo, Fadel was asked to come to the United States by the American Art Glass Association. In Kansas City, he worked with Hopcroft, a company that has done church windows and windows for residences for more than 80 years.

From him, Garrett learned the history of the art as well as the skills. She is amazed that so many windows produced 500 to 700 hundred years ago remain today, especially when she considers the crude methods used back then.

"For instance, to cut glass, they sometimes used cow urine. They would run it along the line where they wanted the glass to break, and then they would heat it. The chemical reaction would 'cut' the glass," she said.

Fadel, however, did have a glasscutter, but it was definitely primitive by today's standards.

"When I first met him, he was still cutting with what you see people use to cut regular glass in the hardware stores."

Garrett is quick to mention that she works with stained glass, which is created when combinations of minerals and chemicals are added to the sand mixture used to make glass, resulting in colored glass. Although resembling stained glass, painted glass is an entirely different medium.

"Most church windows are painted and fired," said Garrett.

Each color is fired separately in a glass kiln at about 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. The picture of Christ at the door which was first in the old Methodist Church at Allcutt and Cedar and which now is displayed as free-standing art in the vestibule of the First Methodist Church on Morris is an example of a painted window.

Working with stained glass does allow the artist to produce various nuances by carefully planning the effect of ever-changing light on the piece and by selecting how to present the glass.

"All stained glass has a right and a wrong side. Sometimes it is hard to see the difference unless you look really closely," said Garrett. "Then there are the more pronounced styles, such as ripples, drapery glass and hammered glass, all of which are textured."

No matter the style, today's stained glass will always have a smooth side for easy cutting.

"Sometimes the artist will put the wrong side on the side that is most frequently viewed to add depth and dimension. This technique also affects the way the light is presented to the viewer," explained Garrett.

She adds that a stained glass designer must remember that as light, whether it is the light of day or artificial light, changes, the piece of work changes.

A recent development in stained glass is Dichroic, which was invented by NASA for the space program. It can be fired as many as 130 to 135 times. "Its colors are more than iridescent. You see a lot of jewelry made out of it," said Garrett.

Garrett is currently concentrating on her work at Laster's home. Besides the staircase window that involves seven panels, Garrett has done three other windows for the Lasters.

"I have always felt that stained glass is a fabulous form of art. It is very textural, a very alive form of art because the glass has movement in it," commented Louise Laster. "The glass has texture and color changes, giving a flow to the glass. Even though it is a still window, you can see life in it."

The staircase window is actually seven windows spanning two levels of the house. A peacock is perched on a railing, and its tail, the roses and wisteria ties the two levels together.

"I'm ecstatic to have the window. It is like a big piece of artwork and is totally a masterpiece," Laster said.

Garrett, who has taught classes at Daniel's Electric and for S.P.I.C.E., hopes to teach again. She always includes Band-Aids on her list of class materials. When students wonder why they have to have medical supplies, she tells them, "If you're afraid of being cut, drop out of the class right now."

Although she has had numerous cuts during her work with glass, Garrett has never had stitches and notes that most of her injuries occurred during inventory when she was carelessly moving sheets of glass.

Nevertheless, she recognizes such risk as being something that sets glasswork apart from other art styles.

"At one crafts show, a man walked behind my booth and said, 'Where's your oven?' I just gave him this look and said, 'This isn't bake-in-the-oven glass. This is the real thing, and I'll show you the cuts on my hands to prove it.'"

Garrett bears those scars proudly.