Making Light Bloom: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps

Gr 2-5–Clara Driscoll grew up surrounded by nature: garden blossoms, wild meadows, and fluttering butterflies. That love of nature followed her as she left home for art, eventually joining Louis C. Tiffany’s glassmaking company. As an artist for Tiffany, Driscoll sketched designs for windows built by skilled craftsmen. Showing a knack for glasswork, Driscoll was soon given a workshop of women artists and sought to capture the beauty of home in her work. Inspired by butterfly wings sent from her family, she experimented with glass and light, ultimately shaping the first Tiffany lamp. Though her contributions went unrecognized for years, her creativity helped define an iconic American art form. Nickel pens a text that is spare but purposeful, allowing the arc of Driscoll’s story and the richness of the illustrations to shine. Paschkis’s artwork, echoing the look of stained glass, makes every page glow like a miniature Tiffany creation. The combination of luminous visuals and clear, carefully chosen words creates a reading experience as dazzling as the lamps themselves.