Dallas architect and artist Ann Abernathy designed both our Aneita Fern flagship store and the inspiration for our collectible ornament, the Aneita Fern laylight. Abernathy served as restoration architect at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home & Studio in Oak Park, Illinois from 1982-1987.

A lay-light is an architectural term for a window panel that is horizontal under a light source. Many of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings feature a lay-light. Wright disliked curtains so he used this architectural form to create a diffusing “light-screen” as a architectural-enhancing element.

As her inspiration, Ann used her frequent kayaking trips down the Brazos River west of Mineral Wells, Texas. This ornament features one abstraction from the 7’x 9’ composition and brings to the front the inconspicuous Great Blue Heron hidden amongst the nearly 3,000 pieces of colored hand-cut glass.

Polish artist Mia designed this unique ornament exclusively for Aneita Fern. It is mouth-blown, hand-silvered, painted and glittered in Mia’s studios nestled in the Tatra Mountains outside Krakow. Established in 1997, Mia and her studios have received many honors and museum commissions from around the world, including a special ornament for the Dallas Museum of Art. She has been featured on the Today Show and Fox News.

All molds are proprietary. Mia draws on decades of experience by artisans who continue Poland’s folk traditions of making glass ornaments, the love of the arts and honoring the world around us. While normally most limited editions are produced in lots of 1500, MIA produced only 500 exclusive ornaments for Aneita Fern, glitter and non-glitter enhanced versions. All ornaments are hand-numbered lending to their collectibility.

ORNAMENT: $95
TWIG ORNAMENT DISPLAY STAND: $16
WIRE ORNAMENT DISPLAY STAND: $10

High overhead, the Aneita Fern lay-light is the combined work of Abernathy, Foster Stained Glass in Bryan, Texas and John “Tim” Coursey, a local wood artisan. Abernathy created the design. Foster Stained Glass realized it by cutting and setting the colored glass. Coursey created the large oak grid that holds the glass in place.