All my commissions were done and delivered a full week before Christmas ’17 and there was still enough time to make a gift for Monica. 😁
I designed a 14″x24″ panel for the living room window and incorporated some of the smallest antique glass dishes we bought on our road trip to the USA last spring. These ones came from the Enchanted Frog antique mall near the Missouri/Iowa border. One little dish dating to the 1840s with “Henry Clay” stamped on it, was quite pricey if I recall. I also used two little “Vaseline” glass plates with their unique chartreuse color. That color would normally be hard to match but, luckily, I found the perfect piece of Spectrum moss green cathedral and similar colored beveled jewels at Stained Glass Creations by Ruby.
The design phase took two days. Early on, I shared my ideas with Monica… just to confirm if I was on the right taste track for her livingroom decor. With great relief, my concept was approved 😃 and I moved on to develop the pattern. No more peeking for her from this point on until Christmas morning.
The next five days were spent in the studio constructing the panel. I had to constantly watch out for Monica as she bustled about the house with her Christmas preparations. Progress was slow at times due to the many deep curves in the pattern and working with different thicknesses of glass. Nevertheless, the challenge of it all was invigorating and the hours and days flew by. These are already some of my happiest studio memories.
I finished polishing the panel on Christmas Eve and hung it in the window when Monica wasn’t looking, and threw some Christmas paper over it… pleased with myself and relieved I didn’t break anything.
Next morning, her eyes twinkled with tears of Christmas joy. A special gift full of memories and my love, for my Love.
Enchanted
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