Everything Stained Glass Blog
The Everything Stained Glass Blog is a great way to keep up to date with all the latest glassy information.
An RSS feed will let you know when the blog has been updated, so just click on the orange RSS button to keep informed. If you are unfamiliar with RSS check out this page for more detail.
Introducing Glass Artist Penny Somerville
'Heat drenched'
If you like your stained glassart full of life and more like a painting than glass, then Penny Somerville is the artist for you. She uses all sorts of techniques, including painting, silver stain, engraving and enamelling. There’s one of her later works called Orchid Walk on the Everything Stained Glass Facebook page here.
Darwin Resurfaces
Darwin
Ingenious! You want to know how this image of Darwin was created, using Pebeo cold paints that you don’t even need a kiln to fire? Here’s how.
Tiffany Stained Glass Lamp Craftsman
Antique Tiffany Lamp
We’ve all seen and admired Tiffany stained glass lamps like the one above, but what if you’d dedicated your life to making high quality reproduction lamps for 40 years? An artistic unsung hero if you like…
...Jim Forsell is such a man. He’s followed his passion and has made over ONE THOUSAND lamps in that time!
Now there’s a documentary being made about him, so that we can all admire his skills. There’s an introduction to his story here .
Artists & Artisan's Day - Jessica Townsend
The Perfect Home
Is this your idea of a ‘Perfect Home’?! Jessica Townsend does amazingly detailed cast work, using the domestic as subject matter.
Here’s her gallery page if you’d like to see more.
Judith Schaechter’s Eastern State Penitentiary
Mother
The final pieces in Schaechter’s HUGE project have been installed yesterday. They represent the ‘Weeping Chorus’ and all have the heart-rending-but-uncomfortable-feeling of her art.There will be an opening reception on Friday, May 11, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m, and The Battle of Carnival and Lent will be on view through November and is included in standard admission to the historic site. Wish I lived close by!
For all those interested in stained glass painting her blog - Late Breaking Noose - is an absolute must.
Not only does she talk about her inspiration, but she also talks a lot about the techniques she uses, including painting and copper foil soldering.
Stained Glass Wall Art That IS The Wall
Eliphante
Wow, this unique place, called Eliphante , is truly fantastic. The glass looks like a cross between glass mosaic and applique. There's even a stained glass ceiling in there, too.
It's in Cornville, AZ, and the whole building - not just the glass, but everything - took 30 years to lovingly make.
Stained Glass Artist Debora Coombs
This is a great video showing Debora Coombs at work in her amazing Vermont studio, (with her LOVELY dog!) making work for her series ‘Menfolk’.
According to the artist, this series "explores maleness at various ages and in different emotional landscapes."
Coombs is very skillful in her use of stain glass paint, managing to get the line work and matting just perfect.
If you fancy a go at this technique, here’s a series of free Painting on Glass tutorials taking you through the whole process.
Stained Glass Blue Jay
The History of Stained Glass - At the Beginning
What happens when you look at church stained glass windows? Do you get a sense of the early history of stained glass; the lives of the painters and glaziers who worked all those centuries ago?
Way back in the 7th century stained glass was being made using pretty much the same techniques as today, and - in the west at least - telling Bible stories to illiterate parishioners.
One of the world’s oldest schemes of stained glass to exist – the Four Prophets - can be found in Augsburg Cathedral. You can see the artistry of the glass artists in the photos I took on a recent awe-inspiring visit.
You can also read about the development of stained glass as it approaches what was later to be seen as its golden age, starting late 12th century.
If this is your favourite era, you might also want to have a closer look at Chartres Cathedral here.
Stained Glass Applique Instructions
Have you ever tried Stained Glass Applique ?
It’s a fantastically easy way of creating panels without lead or soldering. What’s more, you can use up all those scappy bits of leftover glass to create stunning panels.
So what is Stained Glass Applique? Basically it’s pieces of glass bonded to a base glass, with grouting filling the gaps in between.
This grouting becomes an important part of the design, as it reads solid black and renders the colours of the glass even more brightly.
There’s as many different approaches as there are people; ranging from very precise figurative work with minimal grouting, or bold, free, abstract designs that exploit the shapes of the grouting to maximum effect.
My new page was guest-written by an expert who lives in the US, and it takes you right through the whole process.
If you want to find the best glue, and how to avoid unsightly squeezing out of the grout underneath the glass, this is the page for you. Go on, have a go!
