Category: stained glass

all about nellyglass stained glass

2023 Year-End Closing

From the studio in my basement to the grand cathedrals of Europe, 2023 was a wonderful year full of glass. Inspiration and creativity soared to a glorious finish for my stained glass career. There is one more approved commission that I didn’t have time to complete before Christmas. I will do that in January ’24 so stay tuned…. It will be my largest ever. Then, please follow me on Nellyglass.com as I pursue some personal projects in my retirement.

I want to sincerely thank all my patrons over the past eight years for your business. I hope the glass you purchased brings you years of joy. Thank you also to my social media followers who cheered me on. A special thank you to Monica for all the support in helping make my business dream come true. I’m talking every day and in every way. ♥️

Now it’s time to retire.

A Happy New Year to all and a Fond Farewell from Nellyglass Studio. Business is now CLOSED.

Long live the art and the artist.

stained glass

Gothic Glories

I recently had the privilege of working with 150 year old glass from the Gothic Arches church in Saint John.

I hope you will enjoy reading the story about the making of the Gothic Glories.

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Lamp Lights

Two very different lamps, two very special stories.

Click each image to see more.

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Welcome Spring!

Today marks the official start of spring and also the start of the zodiac calendar. I just hung my latest project for first viewing in the morning light. I am delighted. Here is “Zodiac”.

Important Dates to Celebrate nellyglass stained glass

St. Patrick’s Day 2020

It’s storming (sort of) here in Saint John on March 17th. Monica and I are holed up in the house, with the fireplace on, watching the snow and reading the news as the world reels from COVID-19.

Saint Patrick, so it is said, drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Wish he could do the same with this virus! Here’s to your good health, my friends.

Perhaps some glass will lift the spirits. Here are six lovely ones I saw in the past year.

stained glass

A Covered Bridge Story

Emotionally charged, technically challenging and artistically fulfilling, this latest project is installed in the home of our good fiend, Cindy West of Cornhill, NB.

For your viewing pleasure, may I present, A Covered Bridge Story.

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230 Princess Street

I’m like a curious child now. Everytime we drive uptown lately, I want to make a pass by 230 Princess Street to see the latest installation; an entrance way panel over the door displaying the house numbers. What a wonderful memory I will always have of that late December morning; living my glass dreams with Monica by my side.

Here is the story of the making of 230 Princess Street

Family, Friends and Food Saint John stained glass

Stained glass AND sushi on the same day? Yes way!

Post author By nellyglass
Post date December 23, 2019
2 Comments on Stained glass AND sushi on the same day? Yes way!

Monica and I enjoyed some fresh air around the city on this first day of winter. First, I took a deep breath of stained glass at Portland United church in the north end. Lots of glass there. That was invigorating! Then we strolled through the city market to our favorite lunch spot at Ta-ke Sushi. It was my first time trying the bibimbap and it was excellent! Then home to wrap presents and enjoy an eggnog-afternoon 😀

stained glass

A Sussex Quartet of Stained Glass

Post author By nellyglass
Post date November 10, 2019
5 Comments on A Sussex Quartet of Stained Glass

Monica and I found ourselves in Sussex, NB on a snowy Sunday morning in early November. So what to do? I timed it perfectly to see four lovely churches each with surprising stained glass from both familiar and new-to-me artists. Click each image below to see all the windows in that church:

Trinity Anglican – old and new testament saints displayed in the clerestory windows

St. Mark’s Anglican – a stunning ‘In the Garden’ window from an unknown (to me) artist.

St. John’s United – a ‘Last Supper’ window plus new-to-me artists at Celtic Studios in Grand Bay, NB.

St. Paul’s United – Paul Blaney (Saint John) windows unlike any others I have seen from him before. Striking use of color!

home life stained glass

A stained glass hat trick

For a quick stained glass fix, Monica and I took a Sunday morning drive to Oromocto and Gagetown to see three lovely churches; a Catholic, a United and an Anglican. We met some friendly church goers and discovered a new glass artist; R. Dietrich from C.P.I. Art Studio in Montreal. It was a wonderful fix, thank you.

Click each image below to see all the windows in that church.

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic, Oromocto, NB

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A Milestone Passed

What a thrill to reach my 200th Church photographed and documented in my World Widows series of stained glass windows. St. James Anglican Cathedral in downtown Toronto, Ontario is a gothic beauty. My new cellphone wallpaper is the little trifoil window from this church 😀

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Celtic callings

As the the late February sun slowly gains on the pits of winter, ancient rhythms begin to stir. I love the celtics… they stir deeply.

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A cute likeness of a cute pet

Post author By nellyglass
Post date January 18, 2019
No Comments on A cute likeness of a cute pet

Late in 2018, I had the awesome opportunity to test my skills for the first time at a making a stained glass pet portrait… of Bizzy, a beautiful little French Bulldog. I was glad the panel turned out nice but the real joy was when I delivered it and got to meet the real thing! Read the story of Bizzy, a Pet’s Portrait

Tags stained glass pet portrait

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Where Art meets Science

The Design phase of a project is my favorite, hands down! It is here that left and right brain work together to produce a pattern. I love the geometry of drawing angles and circles, using intersecting lines to define the shapes of the glass pieces (left brain). I also love how an image evolves on the page as I call on past memories to envision my topic (right brain). All this to say I find designing very very satisfying.

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15-Panel Oak Door

I just finished a wonderful project in time for Christmas… a 15-panel oak door with a glass mural depicting oak leaves caught up in a wind swirl. It was a delight artistically and a pleasure socially to make this for Rod and Sandra St. Coeur of Saint John. You can read the full story with photos of the making of the 15-Panel Oak Door.

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A Starry Night – Part II

What a wonderful learning experience: two very different mosaic techniques to achieve the same end result… and here is the person who made it all happen from start to finish… read the conclusion to A Starry Night Garden Bench

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A Starry Night in the Garden

Post author By nellyglass
Post date July 15, 2018
6 Comments on A Starry Night in the Garden

I just finished a delightful garden project with Monica’s help and support. Our new garden bench brings together stained glass and one of our favorite artists, Vincent Van Gogh. Here is the full story to the making of ‘A Starry Night Garden Bench‘.

home life stained glass

Goodbye January – miss you already

Post author By nellyglass
Post date January 30, 2018
2 Comments on Goodbye January – miss you already

Our lovely stretch of weather all through January is now, sadly, just a memory as tonight’s blizzard has arrived.

All the more reason to stay warm and dry in the studio. It’s nice to be back at it again since taking nearly a month off. Fingers that had gone soft over the break are just starting to get new callous’.

So, I guess winter is finally here. No matter, inspiration abounds and I’m already thinking spring.

home life nellyglass stained glass

Merry Christmas from Nellyglass Studio

Post author By nellyglass
Post date December 25, 2017
No Comments on Merry Christmas from Nellyglass Studio

Nellyglass has had a wonderful season leading right up to Christmas morning. We’ve enjoyed lots of time with family and friends along with a busy studio schedule. Thank you to all our patrons for your support.

My favorite piece this Christmas is one I made for Monica. Here is the story and photos of its creation. Hope you enjoy An Antique Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Monica and Nelson at Nellyglass Studio

nellyglass stained glass

Springtime in the Studio

This week, Nellyglass Studio expanded with the addition of a new glass storage unit and a proper light table both built by my friend Glenn Ketchum (awesome carpenter). You cannot imagine how much this improves my handling of the glass; the storage unit allows me to see in a glance what inventory I’ve got in various colors and the light table let’s me see the grain and true colors in the glass. Both wonderful and long dreamed-of additions. Thank you, Glenn.