Glass window restoration

Even though I like new modern stained glass it is always great to think that you can restore and reinvigorate stained glass already in a door or window or something you have found thrown out or discarded. You have a much loved window that is now bending with age and this is something that can be restored to former glory. All the lead can be removed, the glass cleaned and then the window is remade to show how it would have looked when first installed. This is such a great recycling system as well. The old lead will be melted down to be used again and you are reusing your glass. Equally is you find some old glass somewhere this can be cut, shaped, added to and installed in you house to live again. Some houses had doors and surrounding panels in stained glass. Over time parts get broken and removed but this could all be recreated in its original form, showing the house as it once looked. You can also give a more modern house a traditional appeal by adding stained glass in a traditional format of your choice. There are also ways of sealing your new window into a double glazed unit, adding extra security to the door and supporting the window in the future.

Restoration can also be done on a greater scale in Churches or Public Buildings to continue the life of a Historic stained glass window. As in your front door, the window can be taken apart, repaired and restored to its former glory, it is just a larger project. Making and restoring windows is a traditional handmade task and this means that we can still work and repair in the same way that artists have for centuries. This makes each window, whatever size, shape or style, very personal to the maker and the owner of the window and can extend the life of the window for many years yet. Stained Glass Studio.

The light through a stained glass window

How can you describe how light coming through a stained glass window is changed, coloured and moved. We use all those phrases of, ‘out of darkness into light’, ‘the light of our life’, ‘bringing light into our lives’. Each of these phrases suggests that light is good, positive, special and even magical. We also use the term ‘light’ in a spiritual or revelatory way. In the Christian church turning to the light is see as turning to God as this is from where all light emanates. The way of the light is linked with the way of truth as in the true religion. However, we also talk about someone, ‘seeing the light’ when they finally can see the truth. They can finally see what others have seen for weeks, months or years. So we see light as good but we also describe light as soft or harsh. Soft is the light of the candle, a moving dancing light that is not strong. Harsh light is the fluorescent tube that reveals us all in our bare angles, wrinkles and creases. Sometimes the early morning light can be clear and sharp and harsh, especially in the winter when the angle of the rising sun is low. So what happens to light when it comes through a stained glass window. We use the colour and texture of the glass to create different patterns and forms of light. I wanted my window in the front door to accentuate the feeling of sun coming through the window. The sun comes in the front windows in the morning and I wanted the hall to continue to glow with warm light. I therefore chose colours that would help with glowing yellow and red colours. We also have a line of small cut glass shapes that send small shafts of light into the hall. At night the light comes from within the house and shines out from the door. Again having warm colours in the door makes the house look warm and welcoming. This house and it’s occupants welcome you into its warm comfortable interior. Stained Glass Studio.

Blue Bathroom?

You know that new year feeling of wanting a change and doing something new, well I have got it bad! I have decided I hate my bathroom window. It is not stained glass and somehow I have not nagged to get it sorted but now the time has come. Stained glass in the bathroom is such a wonderful solution. All the beauty of light and colour and also being able to make sure no-one can see in. You can have such fun with the bathroom window. I remember a client having a classical Greek scene featuring a warrior with a spear, for their bathroom window. There was also the shower screen that was made of two full size images  depicting St George  and St Margaret richly painted in the Pre-Raphaelite style of Victorian Church windows, I always thought it was slightly spooky that you would be showering next to Saint George and his Dragon. You can have any image you want and it can reflect what style you have in your bathroom. A lighthouse or the sea is always good but you could just go for pattern and colour. My bathroom is blue so I do like the idea of blue and white squares in a chessboard pattern. The blue and white might be quite cold on its own so a thin border in a dark red would bring warmth to the window and to the room. I am lucky that I don’t have a neighbours house very close to the window and that I get a lot of sun in the window in the morning. This means I can have quite a simple window. Once it is made I can have it sealed into a double glazed unit, so the bathroom is kept warm and secure. Now all I need to do is get it sorted and get some designs done. Once I have made the decision it all seems very exciting and a good start to my stained glass new year. Stained Glass Studio.

                   

Art deco and stained glass

Stained Glass Studio have increased and grown as we now have a dog as part of the team! Although the new arrival is not expected to take on a full-time role he has already started influencing the team. Our new dog is a Silken Windhound which is a smaller version of the Borzoi or Greyhound; the inspiration for many images and designs in Art Deco. There is something about the long nose and extended shape of the hound that inspired the Art Deco designers. The shapes and forms used in Art Deco imagery that used curved and flowing line, responds to the shape of the hound with its desire to run and chase and the strong upright stature when sitting. There are some beautiful Art Deco Images featuring a hound but so far I have not seen a stained glass window with a hound. I am off to search for one…………. Stained Glass Studio.

Stained Glass Lamp or Textural Tenticals of Glass

I have a new lamp that has four panels of fused glass made from tiny drops of small glass. The glass has then been heated to cause fusing and produces this amazing textural surface. New colours are created as the glass either fuses with the same colour or different coloured glass. The best part it hat it has been done so well that the glass still retains that unique translucency of glass and seems to glow with the light. Each panel is slightly different going from dark blue to a lighter blue, mixing to become a blue green then finishing with a lighter green going to yellow and this area is dotted with tiny bits of red and blue glass. To me it is a beach reaching to the dark blue sea with that magic shining colour of only the best days at the seaside. There are four panels around the four sides of the lamp each telling their own slightly different story of the beach. With the light coming from within the panels and balancing on a small mirror base the lamp is a glowing area of colour. This one of 3 different designs that have each been hand made to create these tactile lamps that each tell their own story of colour.

What is a Stained Glass Window

What is a stained glass window? It seems easy to ask this but not so easy to answer. For many people stained glass is in a church and is formal and often the figures of saints with all the symbolism that supports these figures. Although you can use this style in your house, and some people do, many houses can reflect what ever style you want. Stained glass is made out of cut out sections of glass joined together with lead. The lead is a a long strand in an ‘H’ shape with the glass fitting into the ‘H’. It is the coloured glass the gives the name ‘stained glass. The glass has been ‘stained’ with colour to make the many different staines, colours and mixes of colour that makes stained glass so magical. The stronger the stain and the stronger the colour giving you less translucency so making a barrier between you and the outside world. Take a look at some different style and decide what you like. Colours can change and sizes are made to fit. You just need to choose……………….. Stained Glass Studio.

Glassicles Gallery

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Glassicals

At the Studio the tallest elf in South Mymms has been making Christmas decorations or Glassicles! These beautiful drips of glass with stars and trees, are great fun and bring something special to any Christmas tree. With Christmas lights shining through they bring a special touch of winter ice and snow from the outside world inside to our warm Christmas celebrations. With small metal rings embedded into the fused glass and fine ribbon to hang them they a great, and in a range of colours there is something to suit everyone.

Stained Glass Studios at the Retail Trust.

This week we got ready to celebrate a completed piece of work. This is always great because suddenly the window that you have worked on and focused on for days and weeks is in its natural surrounding. This week the Studio returned to see the widow at the Retail Trust in Mill Hill unveiled in all it glory. This is a large Victorian window painted in a style that many would see as a ‘church window’ style. What is magical about this window is that you can step very close and see all the detail. In a Church or Guildhall the windows are raised up high above us mere mortals, making any fine detail difficult to see. Here we could see the fine lines on the faces and the delicate detail of the peacock feathers as angels wings. It was also lovely to hear from those who can see the window from their own home, how they welcome the restoration and return of this fine window. It was a lovely celebration and it is good to walk away and feel your work has been really valued. Stained Glass Studio.

Colour

When I think of stained glass I think of the colour that it brings into my house. In the morning my hall is full of colour as the light comes through the stained glass panel in the front door. Sometimes it is like jewels of light and at other times there are long rays of colour reaching out into other parts of the house. From the outside you can bring warmth to your house as you walk up to the door. In the winter with a light in the hall the house glows with warmth. It is such a subtle thing the way colour affects us. The glass does not have to be bright and dramatic too bring that warm, confident and expensive feeling to a house. It can also be a great way to bring a single colour into an area. A blue or green glass can be great in a wet room as a wall divide or an external window. Red could be great for a small intimate internal room suggesting warmth heat and comfort. Now make your own decisions when you look at the glass.