Kiku Glass

Chicago based artist Laurie Freivogel spent years developing and refining her unique approach to creating functional glass pieces for the home. Laurie creates kiln-fired fused glass pieces embellished with hand silk-screened designs and graphics. Her colorful and captivating work has an entirely distinct and recognizable look. 

Laurie's imagery and drawings are primarily inspired by pop culture, pattern and nature. "I particularly love mid-century modern and Japanese design aesthetics. In fact the name "Kiku" means "chrysanthemum" in Japanese. Using fine enamels, I print with multiple screens onto layers of glass to create depth and, using my knack for color and composition, pair it with an amazing glass color palette. One thing I especially love about the ability to print an image on glass is that it lends itself to custom work, which has become a specialty of mine. I approach the design of each new piece, whether my own image or a custom design, looking to strike a visual balance between the graphic printed image and the nature of glass - its color, translucence, light, and depth - the qualities that originally called me to the medium. While my work is very graphic, I'm a practical girl so most of my pieces are as functional as they are pretty."

Laurie earned a BFA in drawing from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. She founded Kiku Handmade Glass in 2004.