Caribbean Dream

Kevin Carpenter, longtime patron of Nellyglass Studio, ordered his seventh commission as an anniversary surprise for his partner, Karla Baxter, longtime friend. This time, the full length (6’3″ x 2′) window in the Master Suite dressing room.

Kevin gave me full artistic freedom to come up with ideas. His only priority requirements for this window were “privacy” and “light”; two often opposing qualities in glass. So, I sat down to think and design. Knowing a bit about Kevin and Karla helped in chosing subject matter. Firstly, they are world travelers with a passion for warm climates, ocean sailing, and fine wining and dining. Also, their stately home in Saint John is decorated with formal Victorian sensibilities.

With those thoughts as inspiration, I sketched up two options. Either option could be made with large areas of clear textured glass for maximum light. Plus, the busy nature of each design enhances privacy. Kevin admitted it was a difficult choice but, with romantic confidence, he approved the Caribbean theme. My favorite line was when he said; “It has everything that we love in life”.

I decided to go entirely with textured Cathedral glass for maximum light transmittance. The main artistic challenge was making sure the palm tree was in alignment from one panel to the next. The main technical challenge was producing the inside curves on the clear background glass. Turning the panel over to work on the other side was also tricky because of the size and weight. Monica helped me do that a couple of times.

Strength and support are also essential considerations with a panel this size. I do not want it to bow (slump) under its own weight so I did four things to help prevent that;

• I threaded copper restrip (ribbon) around each outer circle and down through to the next circle in a continuous loop around all four circles. This will discourage horizontal buckling.
• I used 1/4″ copper foil on the four scenes. This creates a thicker, heavier and stronger solder line.
• I applied putty along all the lead cames. Putty will harden with time adding more strength.
• I soldered 5 zinc-plated steel rods across the back of the five horizontal borders. This will prevent vertical buckling.

What a fascinating project… my largest to date. Taking 5 weeks and nearly 100 hours to complete, it combines both lead came and copper foil techniques plus a little glass painting (on the sailboat). I also love the story-telling nature of the composition. Ironically, Kevin and Karla were on a tall ship cruise in the Mediterranean while I was making this. I certainly enjoyed following them on Facebook. Their joie de vivre comes through in every post and I hope their dream of one day being retired on a sailboat in the Caribbean comes true.

The following is a scrollable photo gallery showing the phases of construction of Caribbean Dream.