Blog

Handmade Fused Glass Coaster for Mother’s Day

May 3rd, 2012

Fused Glass Coaster

It’s not too late to order a custom handmade fused glass coaster for Mother’s Day! This image is fused with a gold/iridized glass border. Just email a picture to me with the color border you want, I’ll crop it square and it’ll be ready in 2 days!

Fused Glass Images – Corporate Awards

March 4th, 2012

Fused Glass Images make great corporate awards. I am able to customize the award and make them in two days.  They are unique and beautiful enough to proudly display, not put in a drawer. Check out my website under Fused Glass Images for all the color border choices.

Stained Glass Aspen Trees and Leaves

February 6th, 2012

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Close up

Windows for entryway


 

Close up, not backlit

Close up

 

I’ve just completed these windows for a client in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  The larger window is for the front door and the small window is the sidelight next to the door.  I’ll post the pictures once they are installed sometime in April. The sidelight is only 7-3/8″ wide, so the pieces are pretty small!  I love detail work.  I extended the lead in several places on the sidelight to add more of a realistic feel.  The glass I used to represent leaves in the door is Oceana tiffany reproduction glass.  I also used green iridized pinchback jewels from Chicago Art Glass in the door.

 

Locust Image Fused Into Glass

October 8th, 2011

Migratory Locust finished piece

 

Glass in kiln before fusing

 

This piece was made as a gift for someone who specializes in studying locusts.  I used Bullseye Sunflower yellow and Olive green to represent the colors of locusts.  I love how the yellow glass matured into a slightly deeper yellow.  I’ve included the photo of the glass in the kiln before I fused it to 1400 degrees.  I didn’t do a full fuse because I wanted the green glass to be raised up a little from the yellow.  Next time I’ll include a picture of the glass with the photo fusing paper on the glass before firing.  It’s always black and white before it’s fused to 1350 degrees.  I really like the sepia color of the image.   Fusing photos into glass is a great way to give a unique, personalized gift.  Contact me if you are interested.  The possiblities are endless!

Photos Fused Into Glass Make Great Gifts

October 8th, 2011

Photos fused into glass

Original photo before fusing

Photo fused into glass

 

Photo before fusing

Photo fused into glass

I just finished these glass tiles to give as a wedding gift to a family member of mine.  I contacted the photographer that took their great pictures and he was kind enough to email the two that I wanted.  The first step is to fuse the glass tile.  I chose blue as a base and white to fuse the picture on.  There are three layers of glass that I heated to 1400 degrees in my kiln.  I fired it high enough to melt the glass together, but not too high so that the top white layer is raised up a bit.  This gives it some dimension.  The next day when the tile cooled down, I added the photograph and fired it to 1350 degrees.  I use a special ceramic paper that fuses permanently into the glass and always turns a sepia color.  There are endless possiblilites for this process.  What a great way to give a super unique and personal gift. Please contact me if there is a photo you want fused into glass!

 

Process of Making Millefiori Fused Glass Jewelry

October 2nd, 2011

Millefiori pieces

Millefiori pieces of various sizes

Millefiori pieces

Millefiori pieces

 

Pendants ready to be fired

Pendants ready to be fired

 

Finished fused earrings

 

I’ve posted some pictures to show a little of my process in making millefiori jewelry.  Murano glass cane or rods are cut into pieces called Millefiori. I got most of these from a factory in Murano, Italy when I was there in 2006.  The millefiori pieces are placed between 2 layers of Moretti glass that I’ve cut to size and fired to 1450 degrees. I place the millefiori either on a black glass or clear glass piece depending on the look I want to achieve.  I fuse a sterling silver ring into the glass so that no gluing is necessary.  This step is the hardest because the pieces don’t want to sit on top of the ring without slipping off and the ring sometimes will be fused right into the glass or fall out all together when it’s heating up.  When I get it just right, the earrings are super solid and will last forever.  Please take a look at my collection in my store at http://www.paintedlightglass.com/store/category.php?cat=18

 

Colorful Stained Glass Triptych

September 23rd, 2011




I made these three windows as a wedding gift from a groom to his bride. They were created over 10 years ago and even though they are some of my favorite windows, I never took pictures of them. Now that I’ve spent the summer updating my portfolio, this job was one that I had to track down and find. Thank goodness for Google search! After only 30 minutes of searching online, I found the bride, who is now in a great Americana music band based out of Austin, Texas. When I knew her, she owned a restaurant in Seattle! She was gracious enough to respond right away to my request for pictures. It has been great re-living the creation of these windows because they really were a collaberation with the groom and his brother. There were a lot of special jewels and meaningful pieces in the windows. Good to see them again!

Prairie Style Stained Glass Sidelights

September 16th, 2011

All cut up

Packed up for delivery

Unpacking

Holding the window waiting for the trim

Eloy nailing in the trim

Jim taking the pictures

Final picture!

I thought I’d show a little bit of the installation process and the before and after pictures. This was the first time I had a photographer come out right after the install and it worked out wonderfully. It’s not easy to schedule so many people, but when I can, I will definitely try to make it happen. The first photo of the glass pieces cut up shows the prairie lustre of the Chicago Art Glass I used. It is sad that the company has gone out of business. I used the last sheet of that color I had!

Stained Glass Sign For Omaha Business

August 25th, 2011

I created this sign to hang in a new Omaha clothing consignment store called “Absolutely Her”. It was a surprise gift to the owner from a very thoughtful and generous friend. I used the art nouveau look of the business’s website to come up with the design. I changed the top swirls slightly after my client noticed that some of the the lines looked a little like the letter “a”. I changed the right side to look more like an “h” to represent the name. That is one of the great aspects of having a window custom made – the collaboration that goes on to make it one-of-a-kind. For the lettering, I sandblasted and then painted the letters.  I will post pictures once it’s hung!

Photographing Stained Glass

August 19th, 2011

Photo taken by a professional

Photo I took after installation

I’ve downloaded two photos of a job I recently installed. I took pictures with my camera and was so disappointed in the results. The transom window up high was too dark and the sidelights were washed out. I came back later with a photographer, Jim Ferguson, and using a tripod, he shot using a method which is called HDR, or high dynamic range. The human eye sees more tones than the camera. What HDR does is to increase the range of tones that the camera sees. Jim took an under exposed shot, an over exposed shot, and a normal exposed shot of the room with the windows. In his computer, via Photoshop, he blended the three images into one. Now the shadow details and the highlights can all be seen. It is well worth it to me to spend time to get good shots when projects like this take so much time to complete and are only ever seen by the owners!

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