  Please add your entry to the  How else will I tell who is dropping in? If you have comments or questions, then just 
|
|
 Leaded OriginalThis window is 16'' x 24'', mounted in a wooden oval frame, and set into decorative brickwork. It was originally created circa 1905 and was in my grandmothers house from when it was new and she was a new bride until approx 1986, when it was restored. The window was a wedding present from her father, my great-grandfather. My grandmother chose the original from a catalog selection of windows from Hobbs Hardware on Dundas Street in downtown London, Ontario By 1986, the window was in fairly bad shape as a result of its age, weather, and neighbour kids with stones. On restoration, I was able to perfectly match the green leaves, but the darker gold oval was completely replaced with the same shade as I could not match the original heavily textured Cathedral glass. The clunky look is caused by the lead (heavy black lines) and the inability to create intricate detail. See how the flowers meet the border and compare to the foiled copy below.
 Foiled copyThis window was created for my mother who had always loved the original. The copy is true to glass color and type except for the leaves. I was unable to locate any more of the original color, and decided to use a darker green streaky. This window is the same size as original. It was mirror imaged and hangs inside a wooden frame inside the living room window. The difference between lead and foil should be apparent. More glass is available for view, and the flowers blend into the dark gold border in a cleaner fashion.
 Our WindowI also liked the window. My version is true to the original. By the time I had got around to doing one for us, I had found one more sheet of the pale green glass with gold and amber overtones. Our version was modified and made larger. The oval portion is 2'' wider and 3'' inches taller than the original. The pattern was expanded in the center where I use 4 bevels instead of 1. The window was further expanded with 'SunBurst' glass to create an extended Octagon. The SunBurst is a clear glass poured onto a metal table with a design cut in. The pattern pieces are similar to standard ancient art designs depicting the sun. Once I had the window done, I had no suitable place to display it. That's when I bought the sledgehammer, knocked a hole in an exterior wall, and taught myself bricklaying so that I could install our new octagonal window.
 Lady SlipperThis window is hanging in a cottage in Northern Ontario somewhere. It hangs between 2 rooms and is backlit by the sun from the east in the morning and the west in the evening. Each room at some point has the window backlit and/or not. If they are in the kitchen on the west side in the morning, the window is sun lit. If the are in the living room on the east side in the evening, the window is sun lit. It is approx 22'' x 40''. The picture of the window is not a true representation of the actual glass colors used. As I mentioned before, stained glass is very difficult to photograph. The tendrils were actually a red brown as in the glossy, and the flower was 2 definite shades of yellow. The inside color was dark, and the outer portion was much lighter than the picture would indicate. 
The purchaser supplied me with an 8x10 glossy of a Lady Slipper, and said, "I want it to look like this". She chose the border pattern and color scheme. The glasses used were red 'antique', gold 'cathedral', pale gold 'water glass', and square clear bevels. The leaves were selected from green 'catspaw'. Care was taken to use the pale tones in the sheet for the upper leaf surfaces and use the dark tones in the sheet for the leaf undersides.  IrisThis window is approx 22'' x 40'', is framed in decorative copper came, and is screwed to the center panel of a 3 panel bay window. The purchaser supplied me with the border pattern and color scheme to match another window at the front of the house. The window at the front was round, featured an abstract geometric pattern, and was not done by me. The only common element between the windows is the identical 3 primary glass types and colors. The glasses used were opaque streakies in blues and mauves. The pink glass surrounding the oval was a mandatory requirement and this glass was $30 per sq. ft. The center of the window is clear 'gluechip'. The borders are modified with round and oval clear gems. The iris was cut from the correct tones of purple glass to match the real thing. The stylized leaf pattern used green in real life tones. Once again, the photograph does not capture the real beauty of the actual glass used.  VictorianThis window combination, transom, and 8 small panels, 4 each side, were installed in a Victorian style house, circa 1920. The house is used by my dentist as his office. My windows replaced some real garbage that in turn had replaced the original windows which had fallen apart. I have no idea what the original windows would have looked like as they were long gone. The little panel in the steel door is a plastic repro, and I am not responsible for that. If I could have figured how to replace it, I would have. The color scheme is earth tones and green primarily. Primary glasses are pale gold 'water glass' and darker gold 'cathedral'. The side panels are enhanced by colored gems and glass globs, also handmade. This window was traded for much needed dental work, and I think the dentist got the better deal. I know I worked on these windows a lot longer than he worked on my mouth.  Cat TailsThis window combination consists of 3 panels each side. The top and bottom panels are the same from side to side, but since the desired illusion was to fake looking thru the window at an outdoors scene, the primary cat tail patterns are completely different from the left to the right sides. Glass types are white 'streakies', green 'cats paw', blue 'water glass', and brown 'streakies', and a variety of gold and ambers for upper/lower patterns and borders. It is once again a flaw in the photography. The leaves which look basically white were actually light and dark tones from the 'cats paw' to simulate upper and lower leaf surfaces. The actual window is more beautiful than the photo suggests. This opinion may be slightly biased.
 Young MaidenThis window qualifies as the nicest and most expensive I ever created. The purchaser also own the cat tails above. The cost of this window at the time it was created would have been in excess of $900, and at todays prices would be around $1200. A commercial glass shop would be higher still. The window is approx 22 x 36, is framed in custom brass came, and is screwed to the inside of a pella window in upper bathroom. The location faces south, and the window is sunlit virtually all day. All of the glass types chosen are transluscent or heavily patterned for privacy. The window features a custom bevel set plus clear gems used to expand the size. The border glass is heavily ridged amber. The girl, flowers, and leaves are all in pastel or pale toned streakies. The background glass is the glass described on the intro page in the overview and was $35 per sq. ft. This section is a scrap from the top left. It was scanned directly, and this also messed up the colors. The image was enhanced to bring the green and pink colors up, then the luminance was increased to bring the clear glass back to clear from the induced greenish cast. The only thing the scan does not show is the rough texture on the clear glass. The pattern is a highly modified pattern found in a pattern book. The girl and left garden side are basically from the book, and the balance is from me.  Detail ShotBecause the background glass was so beautiful, this window was created the hard way. I wanted to maintain continuity for the background and a normal artist would never do it this way. You don't make much money per hour being this picky. I drew the final pattern (girl, flowers, leaves, etc) on the art glass. I then removed the parts I didn't want. In order to preserve the pattern continuity, I spent 2 days drawing and sectioning the background glass alone. Any error or bad break would have cost me either $185 in lost material, or I would have to sacrifice my goal of perfection in the continuity. A normal artist (or me if I felt like it) could have cut the background pieces in maybe 3 to 4 hours. I spent probably 18 to 20 hours. But I thought, what the h*##, it was worth a shot just to see if it could be done. And after it was finished I could see that it was worth it. |
Page up to the Primary Links, or Click on a link below.
 |
 |
|  |
 HTML by InfoFlex |
 Graphic Enhancements by Flaming Pear |
 All Graphics by JASC |