Making Light Bloom: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps

The untold story of Clara Driscoll, a nature lover with the mind of a creative innovator and the unsung genius who designed and engineered the iconic Tiffany lamp

Drawing inspiration from her childhood gardens, Clara Driscoll created designs for Louis C. Tiffany's stained glass windows. Clara had such a flare for glass that Tiffany put her in charge of a special workroom, staffed with women--called the Tiffany Girls. But Clara wanted more. She wanted to create a three-dimensional work that would make light bloom. So she figured out how to engineer a lamp--how to shape and bend glass and light it so that her designs sprung to colorful, vivid life.

Today, we all recognize Tiffany lamps, but we almost forgot the woman who created them. Extensive back matter features more information about Clara Driscoll, her letters, and her design and manufacturing process, as well as bibliography and sources.

Author: Sandra Nickel
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Published: 06/24/2025
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 10.10h x 8.20w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781682636091
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2025
Publishers Weekly 04/21/2025
Booklist 06/01/2025 pg. 67
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2025 pg. 120
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2025 - Outstanding, Noteworthy In Style

About the Author
Sandra Nickel is an award-winning author of picture books. She is honored to be the winner of a Christopher Award, the winner of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Crystal Kite Award, a finalist for the Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction for Younger Readers, a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection honoree, and a Charlotte Huck Award Recommended author. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults and has presented workshops on writing for children and young adults throughout the United States and Europe.

Julie Paschkis is an award-winning illustrator of more than 25 books for children. A graduate of Cornell University and the School for American Craftsmen at RIT, she taught art to grade school children for a number of years before turning her full attention to painting, textile design, and creating illustrations for her books.