I have used various techniques in the fabrication of this windows including acid etching, painting, staining, enamelling and kiln forming. In the blue vertical stripes there are words that rain down upon the rings which spell out the twelve gifts of the Holy Spirit. The rich coloured areas which branch out at the top of the window reflect on blossoming love and companionship. The interlocking rings and the rising columns represent spiritual and physical union, growth, and the journey of a relationship. The theme of this church window is based upon marriage, unity and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Peters Church, Elwick, Hartlepool By Alan Davis What that does in this instance is to make the flowers seem wonderfully delicate and emphasises the vigorous growth around them. With glass designs, one of the main concerns is always the balance of darkness and light – sometimes you want to minimise it, at other times (like here) it’s good to make the contrast really dramatic. I also like the fact that you use paint to enhance the overall effect in a subtle manner.
That’s one of the most difficult things to teach – building up an eye for the qualities of each individual sheet of glass, and how to apply your chosen glass to good effect in a panel. Well here we go again with your wonderful choice of glass.
You can’t score a glass surface that has been painted, so it must be sawn (which I did). Then the usual overnight paint drying, oven baking next day. This painting was done on larger, odd-shaped glass pieces, for later cutting and shaping. Rather than divide the petals unnaturally to obtain two different colors, I decided to enhance the too-scant color of the Laburnum by daubing Pebeo Sun Yellow paint for glass and a Pebeo deep orange on the reverse of the Laburnum, allowing the color to grade into the pale whitish glass per se. We had on hand some rippled Youghiogheny Laburnum obtained in a boxed assortment, but it was nearly devoid of color. I also wanted some striking texture in the petals. The petals presented a problem, as they showed a wide gradation from intense yellow-orange at the bases to papery white towards the distal edge. I was inspired by a beautiful photograph of Opuntia in bloom, and wanted render it in stained glass applique. Painted Applique Cactus Glass Cactus by Larry Stout I can imagine them leaving coloured daisies all over the floor when the sun shines. Julia, these are absolutely fantastic! I bet they are really uplifting every time you go into your garden room. I had two plain glass panels either side of a door to a garden room which were crying out for something decorative! I used copper foil to create the daisies and then leaded them into the panels. Click image to see the book More Stained Glass Designs From Readers By Julia Richardson Stained Glass Daisies Her new book has an unusual take on stained glass she helps us LOOK at stained glass rather than telling us ABOUT it. What about designing four panels based on the seasons? In her blog ‘ Glazed Expressions‘, Jane Brocket has an example of this. You could use the same colours and/or the same glass in each of the panels. Knowing that they are all going to be the same shape before you start designing will help you structure your drawings. They could be connected by size and shape as well as theme.
Your series of stained glass pictures can be linked in lots of different ways. If you have a theme you can start looking on Pinterest with an aim in mind, rather than clicking and collecting stained glass pictures that you never use. Can you see how setting a theme of ‘ Vanishing Pollinators‘ has focussed her mind and helped her design them? Long Nose Bat – Susan Huff Bees – Susan Huff Butterfly – Susan Huff A Series of Stained Glass Panels Take a look at these three stained glass pictures by Susan Huff. A theme helps us overcome that horrible ‘blank page’ feeling and helps stained glass pictures come to us more easily. Why is that? We need to create a framework for our creativity before it can be set free. Have you ever thought about doing a series of stained glass pictures all related to the same theme? You might be surprised that you get MORE ideas for designs than you ever have before.