Talking Out Your Glass Podcast

In 2014, glass artist, author, and craftsman Scott Ouderkirk published The Wind in the Islands, his adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, reworked for the Thousand Island area of the St. Lawrence River where he lives. To accompany his book, Ouderkirk designed and created stained and fused glass panels, depicting relevant moments in his story.  The project was successful artistically, but also introduced a novel approach to marketing. By combining his skills as both author and artist, Ouderkirk’s The Wind in the Islands created an interdependent one-two punch of book and glass art sales. Local bookstores promoted the book, which resulted in increased glass sales. Glass panels on view at local exhibitions and at his gallery increased sales of the book. For the first time, his creations were bringing in money beyond the singular and initial sale of one object.  Ouderkirk earned his BS in Technical/Vocational Education from State University of New York, Oswego, New York; his MA in illustration