Lisa Schnellinger is an artist based in Atlanta who specializes in cast and kilncarved glass forms. She often incorporates ceramics, photo imagery, and sculpting media. In recent works she has portrayed the psychological changes she experienced after a near-fatal brain aneurysm, raising awareness of the silent suffering of people with brain injuries.
She manages Fused Light Studio near Decatur, GA, where she hosts glass workshops, collaborates with other artists, and gives private lessons in the fundamentals of glass fusing, kilncarving, and casting glass.
Her artwork has been exhibited at juried shows in Atlanta and North Georgia. She also creates commissioned artwork and custom architectural glass.
In 2019, during a month-long residency at CRETA in Rome, Italy, Schnellinger learned ceramics while studying classical gesture and modern sculpture.
She is a member of the Atlanta Glass Art Guild, and the webmaster for the organization. She is also a member of the Women’s Caucus for Art of Georgia.
Her previous artwork was primarily photography, part of her international career in journalism. During 25 years of work and travel in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, she observed dozens of visual cultures and assimilated them into her art. Her architectural photography from around the world is archived at the University of Washington’s Cities and Buildings Database.
In 2010-2012, Schnellinger designed and produced an exhibit of her photography, “Beyond the Mountains: The Interior Life of Afghanistan,” which was shown in four galleries in Georgia. The exhibit featured portraits of ordinary Afghans in larger-than-life satin prints, set against wall canvases of Afghan landscapes. During the exhibits she gave talks on Afghanistan and raised money for a girls’ school in Logar Province.
In 2006-11, her photography business Baraka Photos focused on fine art prints of abstracts from nature and cultural interpretations from around the globe. She ran a gallery space at 35 North Main in Jasper, featuring North Georgia photographers. She also gave private lessons and workshops in photography.
She was a board member of the Pickens Arts and Cultural Alliance from 2008-14, where she was the webmaster and technical advisor, and led the organization as president during two transitional periods.