Sunday, March 21, 2010

No Stained Glass Left Behind

Well, I suppose it's not as bad as some addictions. I mean, the cops won't pull me over and book me for it. I'll never have to endure a cavity search because of it. And in one of those VH1 "Behind the Music" specials, it wouldn't pose much of a Dramatic Downfall.

Still, I do loves me stained glass windows. And I'm not afraid to have one hanging in every window in this house.

As you can see, I liked the arched stained glass panel I'd gotten so much, I'd invested in a slightly
larger one for my livingroom windowseat area. I'd had the pair of shield stained glass windows for years-- one in the center, and one propped in that tricky area I'd corrected recently in that boarded up area.

Now both shield windows are getting some light and, while they've only been up a few hours, it seems to me like they've lived there all along.

Of course, these were the easy ones. What's been an interesting challenge is the painted stained glass window I'm working on for my kitchen!

I was aiming for something to match my brightly colored Fiesta ware. Something streamlined, yet still having a period feel. Given the quirkiness of the dishes, and the fact I have a number of pottery heart molds hanging around, I decided to go with a Rennie MacIntosh (art and crafts period) meets Alice in Wonderland look.

This was my initial design...
I bought an old plain window at Construction Junction architectural salvage today...
(Mind the feet.)

You'll probably all get a chuckle when I tell you how much it set me back. Can you guess?

No?

Well, how about $1.07?

I know; I had to ask the cashier to repeat that myself. Now that's the kind of cost I like in a craft project-- especially one that's an experiment that may go awry.

I still had some stick-on leading from my previous projects. So I started mapping out my design. Here we just have the border...
Now for the start of the MacIntosh roses...
As the piece started to take shape, it also started to deviate a little from my original plan. Not a bad thing-- sometimes flexibility is what makes a craft have character. Here you'll see where I have it now... Most of it is mapped out...
Once I'm completely happy with the design, I'll begin to paint in the color. That's actually the part I've been really looking forward to! But, as you can see, it seems to be shaping up all right.

I think I might cut out a heart shape from paper and try to get those hearts more consistent. It's been challenging adding them by just eyeballing them.

Anyway, that's where it stands. I hope to update you folks with it as it comes to a conclusion. Even if it doesn't work out, we can get some chuckles from the mistakes.

And as always, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing in the fun!

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