Back to the Studio

Following a seven-month hiatus from making stained glass art - I'm back in the studio.

This piece was made using a focal point of Glassmasters brand kiln-fired glass.

I surrounded the glass piece using yellow and green shades. Framing the entire piece is zinc came.

In order to give the panel an antique appearance I used a dark patina finish on the solder seams and the frame.

Maple Leaves

A close friend of mine gave me a nice little book highlighting various shapes, colors and style of leaves found throughout the world.

As I was looking through the book recently -- I was inspired to make a few pieces of glass using the book as inspiration.

Available for sale here.

Saturday Shopping on Etsy

OK -- It's Super Bowl Playoff time and I'm from the fine state of Arizona.

Since our team has made it to the big game I decided to offer up my Saturday Shopping on Etsy to the Arizona Cardinals.

I hope you enjoy my picks for the Cardinals. You won't find any football-related items here but you will find some very nice Cardinals items.

Feel free to click on any of the pictures above. That will take you to each artists' shop on etsy where you can shop around.

In the Style of FLW

During a recent gift exchange I made a stained glass panel for a fellow glass artist.

Using the style of Frank Lloyd Wright i crafted this panel so my friend would have a pretty panel that would remind her of Arizona and the pretty colors we have here.

Military Canons

Shown above is a custom order for a woman currently stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

This is the emblem for the unit her family member is a part of.

Etsy Glass Artists (EGA) . . .

I am a member of the Etsy Glass Artists Street Team which consists of glass artisans from throughout the world.

This team is made up of men and women who form, shape, mold and create art objects from glass in its most simple form.

Throughout the year this team hosts various shows, events and sales. This Sunday, November 20, 2008 will kick off the EGA Holiday BOGO Sale. This sale runs through Saturday, December 6, 2008.

Participating artisans will offer Buy One, Get One for half the cost. So if you buy one item in any of the etsy shops listed below, you can purchase a second item from the same etsy shop for half price.

Of course, the lower priced item will be half price.

If you buy glass items from any of the shops listed below -- enter "Holiday BOGO" in the message to buyer section. A revised invoice will be sent back to you with the discount applied.

Listed below are are the EGA shops which are involved in this promotion.

vickileigh

willowglass

glasscat

rwillisglassartist

studiomarcy

prizmatic

giapet

jewelrybynatsuko

nicholebeads

MyCabinCreations

popko

Aqua Blue Molten Glass

Using a pretty vibrant shade of aqua blue glass I crafted this small glass panel.

Surrounding the blue glass are various shapes of clear glass. Each clear glass piece has a unique impression adding to the overall appeal to the panel.

Available for sale here.

Amber Cross

A pretty amber-colored stained glass cross-shaped suncatcher. It would hang nicely from a rear-view mirror, in the living room window or simply against the wall in a bedroom.

Available for sale here.

How many helpers does one artist need? . . .

Hmmm. Good question.

This afternoon, while making a small panel in the studio, I suddenly realized that I had an over abundance of help in the studio.

My kitty Allie together with my son Tyler, ensure that not a single glass panel gets completed in a timely manner.

Without a seat to sit on or floor space to move around in, the small black diamond panel got completed with or without any assistance from my little helpers.

What a compliment to be so needed.

Available for sale here.

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

That's the song I was listening to on my ipod when I drew the pattern for this panel.

Not only do I enjoy listening to the Beatles -- I enjoy drawing patterns for my stained glass.

This pretty panel is made from a vibrant royal blue glass which looks like the crisp sky just after the sun has set in the desert.

The pretty diamond-shaped beveled glass pieces will cast little rainbows throughout the room when exposed to sunlight.

Available for sale here.

It's Raining in New Orleans

As I was looking through photographs from a vacation in New Orleans, Louisianna -- I created this stained glass panel using the colors from the city.

The center of the panel contains clear glass which resembles falling rain. Surrounding the rain is two shades of amber glass with black accent corners.

Available for sale here.

In an effort to keep my (very academic) daughter using both sides of her brain -- I've challenged her to take photographs of the every-day things in life.

You know the stuff: kitties playing, a pretty sunset, favorite things, family, friends and afternoon shadows.

So, while goofing off at the Desert Botanical Gardens -- she snapped off a few photos of me.

This is me on any Sunday. Jeans and a t-shirt with little or no make up and hair pulled back in a comfortable and low-maintenance style.

Next, maybe I can encourage her to start a blog to show her new artistic side.

Lady Madonna

Using a centerpiece of glass created by 'Glassmasters' -- I made this pretty amber and royal blue stained glass panel of Madonna and child.

Glassmasters was a glass company based out of Atlanta, Georgia that closed their business back in 2005. Since then, unfinished center pieces of glass have been sold to various dealers and warehouses throughout the country.

Fortunately for me -- I was able to purchase a few of these beautiful stained glass reproductions.

This piece is a deep royal blue color surrounded by a dark amber glass. The first photograph shows the piece back lit by direct sun.

Magical Fairy

Ahhh. The world where I want to live is the world that welcomes the Magical Fairy.

This pretty feminine creature is dancing with her woodland friends while the mortal boy plays his flute.

Surrounding the pair are bunnies, flowers, trees and mushrooms.

This panel is made from a focal glass piece made under the license of Glassmasters.

Glassmasters was in business for 40 years, producing stained glass panels of the highest order. They applied translucent colors one at a time, drying them, as many as 16 times, then kiln-firing to 1100 degrees to permanently fuse them to the glass. They produced works for many museums and foundations: Tiffany, Frank Lloyd Wright, Disney, etc. Unfortunately, Glassmasters went out of business in 2005.

Therefore, the pieces created are becoming increasingly more difficult to find.

Available for sale here.

The Lost Leaf Restaurant/Bar

The Lost Leaf is a restaurant/bar in the downtown Phoenix area that has commissioned me to create a stained glass panel for the entrance door to the site.

This is the second pattern and roughly cut glass which will soon be completed. The name of the establishment will be set into the center of the panel when complete.

Blue Tulip

I've been asked to make some stained glass panels for a home which was built in the late 1800's.

Upon doing research for patterns, colors and styles of glass often used in these homes - I came across some beautiful antique stained glass panels.

So using those images as inspiration for a 'study' panel -- I created an often times used pattern featuring a tulip as the centerpiece in this panel.

Glass for a Fireplace

I really enjoy making the bubbles stained glass panels from colored glass.

The panel shown above will be installed near a fireplace. A woman had seen the circular bubble panel in my etsy shop and decided that the openings near her mantle needed to be filled with circles of glass.

How exciting for her and for me. I'm anxious to see the panels installed in her home.

Just Another Star

In an ongoing time of military action -- family members of those in the service want to show their support and pride of their loved ones serving in the military both here and abroad.

The blue military star has been an outward show of support for more than 60 years and will continue to be.

Shown above is a slight variation of the stained glass blue military star panel. This particular panel was requested by a woman whose son is currently serving abroad.

Her request is on its way to her via FED EX. I hope she enjoys the panel as much as I enjoyed making it.

Blue Star for a Military Family

I really enjoy creating stained glass panels for military families.

This panel is on it's way back to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

A woman who is stationed there contacted me a few days back and requested a 'Blue Star' stained glass panel.

When a family has a loved one serving in the military -- it is customary to display a blue star in the window to show your pride for them. Friends and neighbors will then know that you have a family member serving their country.

When my own brother served in Iraq I proudly displayed my own version of this tradition creating the blue star out of stained glass.

Similar panels available for sale here.

Slices of Agate

A very nice person sent me some slices of rock with simple directions: do what you want with them.

So, there they lay -- on the table in the studio just waiting for inspiration.

They waited and waited but no inspiration came.

Until finally -- I was looking through some pieces of glass that somehow got tucked into the back of the wooden crate which holds the glass panels.

Not only did I find the perfect piece of glass to pair the sliced stone with but the colors in the glass matched the colors in the stone.

I drilled a small hole in the stone and wire wrapped it with copper and attached it to a simple frame made from the glass.