A beautiful window to the art scene in Tehachapi

Provided.

Irene Rippy has been creating stained glass art for 36 years through her business, Touch of Glass.

Hello, beautiful people of Tehachapi and surrounding areas. How lucky we are to be living in such a wonderful place.

This area is filled with amazing art and artists, and I am one of them. My name is Irene Rippy and my specialty is stained glass windows and stained glass art. My art is among the best of Tehachapi in the Gallery 'N' Gifts showroom, on the corner of historic Tehachapi Blvd. and S. Green Street in the heart of downtown. Visitors and residents come into the showroom, where I volunteer my time, to ask questions and purchase our Tehachapi artists' work.

My art business is called Touch of Glass. I opened the business in 1988 in my hometown of Ventura, California as a stress release from owning my own real estate company. My art became quite popular in Ventura.

My husband and I fell in love with this area and relocated to Stallion Springs for our retirement years. Tehachapi seems to like my stained glass art work as much as Ventura. Touch of Glass is still going strong! Since my husband passed, I have joined Tehachapi Valley Art Association and have become even more successful. The close knit group of artists and art enthusiasts have become a nice group of neighbors to lean on and enjoy time together while having the same passion for art as I do.

I have a home studio that is peaceful and quiet, so any stress is non-existent and my creativity can flow where it needs to. One of my favorite memories occurred in 2023 when I was asked to create a piece depicting Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue's original dog, Marley. I enjoyed so much creating Marley and donated the piece for one of their fundraisers.

One of the biggest challenges today is the cost of supplies. Back in the day everything was less expensive and the cost of art was reasonable. Those days are now fond memories for all of us. I try to keep my art still affordable, so anyone who loves my work can own a piece to enjoy. We need to keep art in the world. My heart cheerfully goes into every piece I make. That is the most special thing about my pieces, I truly enjoy what I do and I think that is the reason people love my art.

My art can be viewed and purchased at Gallery 'N' Gifts at 100 W. Tehachapi Blvd. We are open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. I do special orders and repairs.