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.
Category: stained glass
a blog of my journey through hobby-life with stained glass
Lamp Lights
Two very different lamps, two very special stories.
Click each image to see more.
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”.
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.
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.
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
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:
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.
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 😀
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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‘.
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.
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
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.
Stone Church in Saint John
Monica and I took a walk this morning around the Saint John uptown area. As luck would have it, we found the doors open to St. John’s (Stone Church) at the top of Germain Street. Build in 1824, it is one of the oldest Anglican churches in Canada and is so named for the gothic stone tracery. Inside is filled with stunningly beautiful stained glass on two levels; angels in the upper level windows and biblical stories in the lower level windows.
Here is the photo gallery of Stone Church (Taken with my phone camera so there is a bit of wash-out in some shots).
World Stained Glass Windows
As Monica and I are preparing for the “Road Trip of a Lifetime” to the United States in the near future, I am researching how best to organize my photos. I’ve always used (because it’s easy) and liked Google Photos and Google Albums. So to experiment, I’ve organized my previous photos of stained glass windows into albums organized by country and city. You will find the links to each album on my main menu under Gallery/World Windows. As I continue to travel (God willing) I will add to this list.
nellyglass studio 