Jay DeMauro: Glass Artist

Jay DeMauro, Glass Artist
Glen Rock, 201-444-3500

A third-generation glass worker, Jay DeMauro learned to cut glass when he was 13. As a college sophomore in 1987 , he started his own business, Artique Glass Studio. “I thought it was a great way to do something creative and artistic,” he says. Today, his workshop in an industrial stretch of Glen Rock finds him busy creating custom stained-glass windows, elaborate domed glass ceilings, mirrored backsplashes and more.

You name it, DeMauro can craft it, and probably has.

Collaborating with builders, architects and interior designers—almost all his work is through the trade—DeMauro has perfected virtually every glass-making technique. He creates antiqued mirror glass using a chemical that tarnishes the silver; crafts gold (or silver) metallic leaf designs on glass panels; and designs intricate leaded-glass panels. Recently he began using a process called églomisé, a technique of painting and gilding glass from behind.

DeMauro’s glass panels function as backsplashes, as insets in armoires or buffet doors, as glass cabinet fronts, even as decoration on walls and ceilings. He has crafted intricate glass ceilings that add drama to an entry foyer. “That has to be done in the planning stages of the house,” DeMauro says. “I work with the builder from the beginning.”

It’s tough to put a time frame or a dollar amount on his work, DeMauro explains, since every job is different. “Most everything can be done in six to eight weeks,” he says. “But a dome? That can take months to create.”

DeMauro has eight skilled individuals working alongside him in his studio, but, he says, “I still design the stuff.”
Once crafted, the work must be transported and installed. “It’s packed and crated, delivered one piece at a time,” he says, assuring that his pieces rarely break. “Glass is inherently strong, especially once it gets installed,” he says.

Click here to read about other New Jersey artisans.