There’s a reason Barbara Camph is called “the glass lady.” Her colleagues say her fantastic imagination has proved her to be an excellent artist as well as leader, and her presence has affected those she’s come across. At OASIS Fine Art & Craft, she displays her work and teaches the creation of mosaics with her knowledge of general glass art.
“She is a driving force at OASIS. We would not be who we are if it weren’t for her, she has phenomenal energy,” said Brenda Fairweather, one of Camph’s colleagues.
It was back in the 1980s that the art of stained glass became her hobby as a result of a stressful job. From that moment, her passion for the art grew, and with that her experience did as well. In fact, when comparing her first piece of stained glass to her most recent one, Camph burst into laughter.
“My first piece was ghastly! I gave it to my father, and he pretended it fell down and broke,” Camph said.
Her growth from her first fragile glass piece to a now thriving organization is monumental. She describes her beginning process as precious, in the sense that it was far too cautious and meticulous. She applies this experience to her teaching methods.
“I encourage my students to have lots of fun,” Camph said, “Make something that’s joyful, that makes you feel good, don’t stress about it. Learn and have fun.”
Before diving exclusively into mosaics, she taught the art of stained glass; but not in the U.S..
Camph spent most of her life traveling. As the daughter of a marine, she grew up in both Germany and England, which she remarked to be a wonderful privilege. After returning to the U.S., she moved to San Francisco, where she met her husband. It was there that she picked up the hobby of stained glass art.
“The little town we lived in in California had a very active stained glass studio, and he offered classes, so I took as many as I could,” Camph said.
Then, because of a complicated NATO funded negotiation, she and her husband decided to go on an adventure to Portugal.
“It was the right time of my life where I wanted an adventure, and so that made it easier to go,” Camph said, “It was hard to leave our son behind, I mean he was an adult, but it was hard to leave him behind.”
It was in Portugal that they both began small businesses: her husband’s being custom furniture, and hers, stained glass. She decided to pursue her hobby and change it to a full-on occupation.
“I had to. I had to find something I could do in Portugal because the business I had been part of in California was non-transferrable. The only thing I could think of was, ‘Well, let me try stained glass,’” Camph said.
With the help of many, what was once a hobby turned her into the foremost stained glass producer and designer in Algarve, Portugal.
“It felt pretty good, but I had a lot of help,” Camph said, “I could not have done it without all the wonderful people that embraced me and my husband and made it possible for us to survive on these new businesses we were starting.”
Camph partnered with a friend to start ArtXelb, an artist’s co-op that was based in Silves, Portugal. Together they began the corporation with alike goals in mind, and from that grew a successful collaboration.
“We wanted to collect the Portuguese artists in the area, so, another young girl was similarly motivated, she was Portuguese, and the two of us worked together. We worked together really well,” Camph said.
After living in Portugal for 12 years, Camph and her husband moved across an ocean to Panama, taking her stained glass business with her. However, it was clear that she’d left her mark on the people in Portugal, and vice versa.
“A group of women came every week, once a week, for eight months right before we left Portugal. They were so nurturing,” Camph said, “I didn’t want to leave Portugal, I loved Portugal, and they made that transition easy. I love them for that. I was so fortunate to have them in my life at that time.”
In Panama, she took up a project at El Valle, a small town, where she was requested to create stained glass windows for their church.
“It was professionally one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever done. The rich Panamanians asked me to do church windows, and I thought about it as an honor, but I wanted the town to own it,” Camph said, “I could train six Panamanian young people to build those windows, and that’s what we did. They were so proud of themselves, it just made me feel terrific.”
After residing in Panama for six years, she and her husband moved once again, back to the U.S. to the Shenandoah Valley, where she settled her business and plans to stay. Over the 20-year course of which Camph has been making glass art, she said she has progressed and established a deep connection and relationship with her art. She believes that glass speaks to her.
“When I’m sitting at my workbench and I have a piece I want to cut, it sort of takes over, especially if I’m doing something freeform,” Camph said, “Not every piece is like that, but when it happens, it’s kind of cool.”
Camph said she strives for her art to induce happiness in others. She rarely makes a piece that doesn’t come across as joyful, light-hearted, and colorful.
“I just try to have fun. I don’t think art should be serious, I think it should bring joy to people, and that’s what I try to do,” Camph said.
