The Jewelry of Artist Lisa Inglert

When crafting her exquisite glass jewelry, Lisa Inglert makes it a point to take her cues from nature. But murky earth tones are never part of the palette. Instead, the Cincinnati artist, who’s also an architect, infuses her work with pops of red replicating those found in a field of poppies and the shades of purple that remind her of lilies she’s seen grow along the side of the road.

“It’s the subtle nuances of color that capture my attention,” she says. “I picture my jewelry through an architectural point of view. To me, it’s like when you create a really beautiful space and then add the amazing contemporary chandelier that is like the icing on the cake. That’s how I hope people feel when they wear my designs.”

As a child growing up in Berea, Kentucky, Inglert was enthralled by the fiber artists and woodworkers who called the artistic community home. “It’s so much like Yellow Springs here in Ohio,” she says, “a mix of cultural talent, intellectual thought and huge artistic creativity.”

Inglert thought she’d found her artistic niche as a potter, until a friend convinced her to take a glass-bead-making class. She was hooked by the rhythm, color and whimsy inherent in the medium.

“The glass comes in 13-inch-long rods that have the thickness of a pencil, and by heating it, you have the ability to transform it,” she says. “But the glass, not the artist, controls the process. You can’t make it melt any faster than it’s going to. ... It’s a very Zen thing.”

Inglert treasures comments from customers who let her know why they appreciate her work and, if it was a gift, who the recipient is.

“Right now, it’s a sad, scary world,” the artist says. “This is a little luxury that makes people feel good and hopefully brings a little bit of happiness and color to the gray days we’re going through.”

For more information, visit lisainglertjewelry.com or localohioart.com/lisa-inglert