Karin de Beer

Karin works primarily integrating hardwoods and stained glass to create pieces suitable for outdoor display. The focus is currently on native New Zealand birds as their natural feather iridescence lends itself well to stained glass reproduction. The simple addition of a little sunlight brings these pieces to life.

 Of course this style of work can be adapted to almost anything, but Karin prefers to capture in glass the creatures she sees around her every day. Her journey to this point, as with many artists, has seen her work with a variety of materials and methods, beginning with mosaics and stained glass and branching now into fused glass. “I have found that, aside from stand alone fused glass work, by incorporating fused glass pieces, for example birds eyes, with the stained glass piece more detailed effects can be achieved.”

Originally from South Africa, Karin is a long time Northland resident and when not maintaining her bee hives or working on her art pieces, she can be found with her two dogs under a pile of weeds at her Whangarei Heads property. Pieces on display at the 2025 Whangarei Heads Easter Arts Trail will mainly feature wood and stained glass.

“Stained glass work is labour intensive and can be very expensive. I hope my pieces can enable anyone to have both a beautiful native bird and the magical effect of stained glass in their own garden.”