Glass from the Past...

Things are looking up - several work and teaching responsibilities have been set aside, projects around the house are near completion, and it's almost baby time. Could be any day I guess, but I'm hoping to get a little closer to the due date. I have my bags packed for the hospital, including my sketchbook and pencils.

In the meantime, I visited Kathleen Rietz's blog and saw a posting of a glass mosaic that she'd done. That reminded me that in the past I had enjoyed making stained glass panels. HEY! At last, something art-related for me to post about!

These are a few panels I did over 10 years ago, but I've never posted (not the best pictures - poor light - I'll try to remedy that soon). The kids designs (Humpty Dumpty and Counting Sheep) were in their bedroom windows until we moved here - now they're in my kitchen, helping to keep the neighbors from peering straight in.

I always loved glass projects - there was a certain amount of mystery as to how it would actually look once completed. Unless you have a light table (which I don't), you really can't see the full effect until the pieces are soldered together and you can lift the panel off the board. Then, you catch a first glimpse of the colors illuminated.

I always enjoyed the different textures and patterns of glass that you can get, too. Hopefully someday I'll be able to dive into another glass project. However, right now is just tooooooooo busy!

Illustration Friday - "Enough"

At first I wasn't sure what I'd do for this, but the first thing that popped into my mind was a song called "Enough." Then I remembered a sketch I'd done about 4 years ago - I was doing a lot of stained glass back then and it was a design for a glass panel (entitled "Ascension"). It also reminded me of one main aspect of my faith - that Christ's death and resurrection were "enough." The debt is paid in full.

When designing for stained glass, you have to consider things like how to divide up the picture into pieces that aren't too impossible to cut out of glass (which prefers to break in a straight line). In this drawing, I was able to disregard some of those restrictions, such as allowing the hand to extend beyond the frame. Being a religious theme, however, I thought it appropriate to keep the stained glass design quality in the shapes.

I never got a chance to make the panel, but I would like to someday. I did not add any color because I intend to use different textures of clear glass or very subtle colors. Maybe some day...