A very happy 4 hours spent cutting glass in my studio this morning. While Monica and our daughter, Sarah, baked Christmas cookies in the kitchen, I started on the rough cut of the letters for my “nellyglass studio” sign. The work felt important, positive and uplifting… who wouldn’t enjoy that? Part of the fun was choosing which colors for which letters to produce a harmonious but unpredictable flow of color across the piece. I love the artistry of free imagination. So many possibilities! And I love the sound of scratching glass with the carbide cutter and then the “snap” as you break the glass along the score line.
The cutting is not done yet. I’ve still got the background and the rest of the border to do. However, that’s for another day… right now it’s feet up to play with photos and record the journey so far… and maybe enjoy a Christmas cookie (or two). I’ll continue to add photos as the process continues.
Total tracing and cutting time for this project (letters and background)= 7 hours.
Up at 5:00 am picking through my inventory of project scraps to select 16 different colors for the studio sign. So many possibilities and most of them right choices… it’s a challenge to not continuously second guess yourself (which I can’t help doing a bit). By 7am, decisions were made and it’s on to step 3.
p.s. there’s always room for decision alterations early on in the process and I made a couple after this photo was taken.
I’m working on an original pattern for “nellyglass studio”… this piece is 2ft x 0.5ft and will hang over my studio in the basement. The first 2 hours were spent playing with different fonts on the computer until I settled on “Cooper”. The next 3 hours were enjoyed designing the pattern and cutting out the tracing pieces. Amazing how 5 hours can fly by like that. Creative juice gives you lots of energy but makes you forget the time.
I find pattern creation to be the most creative of all the steps in producing a finished product. With original patterns especially, the connection to the piece runs deep. I’m already feeling it.
The template shown here is yellow but the finished product will be multi-colored. Hope to have it done in a few days… stay tuned.
Total time for pattern prep = 5 hours.
I have been having a ball in my studio. Since retiring in September, I’ve completed 5 projects and am ready to start #6 (a Christmas gift for someone close…shhh).
Included in these projects are my first two official nellyglass commissions…a 5 ft window transom for a friend and a set of miniature village houses for another friend.
First four
What excellent practice I’m getting. I can see my technique improving steadily and that was my goal for the first year of retirement. This is perfect and I am blessed. Happy December everyone.
This was truly a great Sunday. First off, I played with stained glass in my shop for a couple of hours…how great a start is that! Next, as Monica is planning her Christmas decorations and in need of supplies, she and I went for a drive on the hunt for pine cones, birch twigs and fir boughs and just so happened along the way to enjoy visiting one of New Brunswick’s beautiful waterfalls, Welsford Falls. Spectacular.
In the afternoon Monica multi-tasked an incredible salmon, baked potato and veggies dinner as she surfed potential future adventures while I played with stained glass in my basement for a couple more hours. I’m on a little Christmas project…perhaps a gift for my wife (sneak peek below).
Ahhh Sunday, you treat us well. Thank you and see you next week.
Happily finished the mermaid panel project this weekend.
a mermaid’s tail in the seagrass
Still need to paint on her face and find hanging chain so not quite done yet but close enough to be able to post and share.
angel fish detail
You can read the full story of her making and watch the slide show of pics from start to finish on the Mermaid page under Panels. I will add more pics when her face is finally added.
Seeing all that stained glass in Ireland and Scotland filled me with more than enough inspiration to keep me going. Next I’m going to learn how to fix broken glass panels (I have three to do…sounds like an interesting project).
It’s so good to be home after 18 days of travel and exploration, discovery and astonishment throughout Ireland and Scotland. I’d like to thank everyone who followed me and especially to those who commented with words of encouragement and support…some of you who I do not even know personally – you all were my motivation.
Inspiration is spilling over every time I go back and look at some of those amazing cathedral windows. The entire experience was too big for me to see as ‘one trip’ and I can still only piece it together with the help of my blog posts. I knew these would come in handy someday!
I’ve been in the studio ever since returning and imagining many things – things seen recently and future hopefully. My latest project is progressing well and I’m ready for the foiling stage…my favorite step in the journey because I get to sit back with my feet up … more like a lay than a step 🙂
Our final day in Ireland was almost surreal for several reasons: 1) the weather was absolutely beautiful with not a cloud in the sky (not your typical day here) and although the early morning was chilly, the day warmed up quickly and by afternoon it was downright balmy. 2) We saw three more cathedrals, all more beautiful and/or significant than all the previous (if that’s possible). 3) We saw three of Ireland’s most historically important landmarks.
Up at 4:30 and chomping at the bit to get started, we checked out of our hotel in Carrickfergus and headed south on the M1 highway in the dark. The early start was a calculated attempt to avoid the Belfast morning rush… that was a good idea and even at that early hour, there were lots of commuters around the city.
First destination: the city of Armagh. It was here that St. Patrick established his first church in the mid-4th century. In modern times, Armagh has become the center for both Catholic and Protestant religion in Ireland. Therefore, there are two churches here; St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland. We arrived before either of them were opened so we found a little corner café that served breakfast and good strong coffee and waited for 8:30.
The first one we visited was the magnificent Roman Catholic Cathedral with its twin spires the tallest in the county. The sun was just coming up as we climbed the stairs. Every square inch of the interior walls and floors are covered with millions of 1 inch square mosaic inlaid tiles. Then there are the stained glass windows – and there are lots of them. Then there is the statuary and the priceless artifacts and so on. It is breathtaking. I really didn’t want to leave… but the other St. Patrick’s in Armagh also needed seeing.
St. Patrick’s Church has a more square look like a castle (not really) and is somewhat smaller than the catholic church… but no less incredible inside and with more historical artifacts of Ireland (sort of museum-ish). The windows, of course, are spectacular but there is a mosaic of the Last Supper that is particularly attractive as the halos of Jesus and the Disciples are made of mother of pearl… so different and so lovely.
Leaving Armagh, we continued south to the town of Monasterboice to see Ireland’s tallest high cross. At 7 meters it is completely impressive and must weigh several tons. We timed it perfectly and got the photos just before a bus tour of students arrived for a history lesson.
From there, we travelled just 15 minutes south to “Bru na Boyne”, a 5000 year old burial tomb in the area called Newgrange. It was astounding to hear and see how simple farmers of this land built this site out of hundreds of thousands of tons of rock… 6000 years ago! No photos allowed inside but we were escorted in by our guide and marvelled at the structure and wall art carved into the sandstone rocks. Nobody knows for sure what the purpose of it was (perhaps religious or sacrificial reasons) but it predates both the Pyramids and Stonehenge. Incredible history in this place and there are more than 40 other tombs in Ireland some similar in size and many smaller.
Next door to Newgrange is the city of Drogheda (busy and bustling) where we parked the car and strolled the streets to find several gems starting with St. Lawrence’s Gate – through which Cromwell ( in 1646 under Henry VIII) invaded Ireland and “took no prisoners”. We also saw Magdelene Tower (13th century) and St. Peter’s Cathedral with its three sparkling and huge circular stained glass windows. This is the only cathedral we visited with such grand circular windows.
And then we were done in Ireland and made our way to the Dublin airport where we dropped off our rental car. In total we had driven 1800 kms. Time now to make our way to Scotland for the next leg of our journey. Slán Ireland (goodbye in Gaelic). You were amazing beyond our wildest dreams.
on the road early and it’s chilly out there
where we had breakfast waiting for the cathedrals to open
beautiful early morning skies in Armagh
St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Armagh
St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Armagh (the walls and ceiling are covered in mosaic inlay)
one of many Windows at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral
the details are in the glass
St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, Armagh (Protestant)
one of the windows in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, Armagh
the window over the alter at St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland
details of the alter window
mosaic of The Last Supper – the halos are made from mother of pearl
the tallest high cross in Ireland at 7 meters (23 feet)
arriving at a 5000 year old megalithic site
at the Newgrange passage tomb
at Newgrange
the Newgrange Passage tomb (5000 years old)
St. Lawrence’s Gate in Drogheda (Cromwell invaded Ireland through here in 1649)
The Magdelene Tower (all that remains of an 11th century Dominican Friary)
I’ve wanted to expand nellyglass studio for awhile now so I would have more surface area to work on and so I could set up my grinder more permanently. This week I was able to do that while on vacation. With the addition of two new benches, I’ve tripled my working surface area. What a difference a little elbow room will make. Here are the before and after pics.
mid-late first decade: a happy little space. That’s the coral reef lamp in progress.nellyglass studio 2015. Imagine the possibilities (that’s really the NBCC mantra but it works for me at this moment)
I’m really looking forward to getting into the spirit of the glass very soon. I’ve got a project ready to go (a mermaid) but it may have to wait until after my inspirational tour of Ireland in a couple of weeks. The windows in the cathedrals are calling me and I expect to be filled with multidimensional energy when I see them. When I come home, I’ll be in the studio.
Just like my home page says, “This site is dedicated to the following…” i.e., all those things I said I would dedicate my site to, well they all just happened to come together this week at the same time: 1) I’m itching for a new stained glass project and have something in mind for my bathroom downstairs (hint: marine theme). So, while I was looking at some glass possibilities, I snapped a pic or two. Selecting the glass is step #2 in the process, after pattern preparation, and is perhaps second only to patterns in terms of the creativity factor. I love searching the colors and patterns in the glass for the possibilities. 2) There was sushi involved (thank you above for the Japanese who perfected this culinary delight centuries ago). 3) My favorite two celebrations of the year are back to back…our anniversary and Canada Day. Monica and I always love to celebrate our lives together and then have a holiday the next day. She somehow masterminded that 31 years ago, and I’m ever so glad she did. Two wonderful occasions to celebrate and I couldn’t be any more proud and patriotic of both.
I’m into a glass project and if I had to choose a favorite step in the journey, it would be foiling the glass. I love that!
With feet up, fid in hand and foil in lap, I can sit and do this for hours… and just let my mind wander to wherever it wants to go. Now I understand why my mother liked to sit and knit for hours on end. I imagine she thought about the wool, where the wool came from, the people who made it, imagined the finished product she was making and all the people who would use and enjoy it. I imagine that she got satisfaction from the repetitive movement of winding the yarn around her fingers and slipping the needles through the loops. I imagine she also enjoyed the gradual development of her piece, lifting her spirits with every row of stitches she added.
I get that. I enjoy the same things about doing stained glass. It’s good therapy.
Don’t you just love getting a break. Hope you had one. Any break is good – so long as you know “it’s a break” and you got it. March Break! Coffee Break! Spring Break! Vacation Break! Take a Break 🙂
If you could use one right now, come take a quick break with me. I know… let’s break something (heehee).. Let’s (wait for it)… break some glass! … what fun! and be careful of your fingers 🙂
Had a wonderful day on this warm (+6) sunny Saturday in March in Saint John. Even got some chores done around the house today (refundables disposed of, drain spout reattached after ice storm, Pinotage wine kit started, Sarah off to Cuba) and best of all, had time to break some background glass for the Schiffer Villa panel. Read more about it under Projects/Schiffer Villa Panel.
Sarah got off to Cuba today after a whirl wind tour 2-days home from Alberta. It is so wonderful to see her and …she’s gone again… Cuba! Sun! Sand! ….and dos cervazas, por favor. Can’t wait for the stories when she returns. It should be legen… (wait for it)… dary!
Monica and I enjoyed this day. I broke glass for 6 hours, in between chores and the to-dos with Sarah. Breaking glass is such good therapy. You can fee itl through your fingers and forearms: the snap of the glass as it breaks under pressure. A clean break is such a joy…every time! Of course, sometimes the glass doesn’t break the way you want it to. It breaks the way it wants to! That let’s you know where you stand 🙂
Halfway through my day, I decided to “take a break” (love that) and hang the new Mayan calendar art I got in Mexico. I will always remember Monica buying it for me at Tulum. She bargained a good price.
And the Wall of Masks is complete
The evening looks promising too; we are starting the HBO series “True Dectectives” with Matthew McConaughey and Woddy Harrelson. I don’t know what she sees in him but Monica loves Matthew McConaughey……….. whatever.
Hope you enjoyed a beak recently. I certainly enjoyed breaking with you. Cheers, Nelson.
I finished the celtic cross panel. You can read more about it under nellyglass/projects. It was a fun little project to help chase away the winter blahs. But seeing as we are in the grips of a blizzard today, I’m thinking another project right away might be just what I need to keep the spirits up 🙂
This weekend was the perfect time to see the Geminid meteor shower. I was up at 4 a.m. just as the moon was setting and saw a half dozen beautiful shooting stars. Thought of them all day on Saturday as I was cutting, griding, foiling and soldering the Stars Project. Monica wrapped presents and made Partridge Pot Pie… yummmm! Will take that to Dad’s Christmas morning.
We had a visitor today too…out the window I saw Mr. Cardinal on the feeder. Mrs. Cardinal was close by as well.
Sunday we are expecting a big snow storm so it will be another perfect day for hobbying. Maybe even a glass of rum and eggnog this afternoon 🙂
A nice evening of grinding small colored diamonds for the project. 65 in all (thirteen colors). Tiny work that chews up my finger and thumb nails when I get too close to the grinder. Next will start on the arms.
Monica and I are very happy our friends from Ontario have arrived. Lots of photos being taken…some are forbidden for posting I have been warned. Music and lots of laughs in the Garage last night until midnight…too foggy and drizzly outside for the deck. But the lobster and lighthouse mini lights said Welcome to NB.
Let the Little Lobster Light Shine
We are off to Havelock today to visit Dad. Looking forward to seeing him. Will have photos to show later. Meanwhile, the fun begins with the camera as I play with the new lamp (the artist is driven to expolre 🙂 Here is a short montage of close ups. The glass textures and color patters are better up close. Enjoy.
The last project isn’t really out of my mind yet and I’m already looking to the next project. This one will be an 18″ lamp with peonies for Monica, her favorite flower. I’d like to have it done for her birthday at the end of June but I don’t know. We’ll see.
I got a start on Box 6 after work but only got it about half done. Monica made a delicious red curry fish supper with naan bread and then we watched the final episode of Downton Abbey (end of season 3). Box 6 will have to wait until the weekend because tomorrow night we are going to see Classis Albums Live and David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. Can’t wait!
Got up early and left Havelock at 6:00 am. Dad was still in bed but I woke him to say good buy. The drive to Saint John was absolutely beautiful. Early morning clouds, feathered in taupe brown against a green/yellow sunrise. Wish I had a camera for moments like that. Regardless, a nice day was on the way.
Worked until 3:30 and then home to start box #5 (Blue Ripple). Finished by 7:30. It went well. Measurements were good and fit was precise but still it is difficult to get the box together exactly square…there always seems to be something a bit askew. I think a 3-D jig might have helped. Nevertheless, I am pleased and the blue ripple glass goes great with the wavy clear.
nellyglass studio 