Oak tree window

That's the easy part done. All glass is cut, now comes the hard bit; leading up. This is going to be a nightmare and was a major influence in the design, reducing angles and putting joints where possible in the middle of a straight run. Again the photo does not do justice and if you were wondering why there are a lot of gaps, I have to allow for the thickness of the heart of the lead came, otherwise it won't fit. 

Oak tree window

After a couple of very windy weeks sailing, it's back to the grindstone; literally. The sky is all cut, using three shades of the same glass and I am half way through the green. Using six different glasses in a mix of shades and textures, two are whispey semi opaque the rest clear. This really effectively mimics the confusion of colours in a tree canopy. 

As usual, apologies for the photos, they really don't do justice to the glass. 

Stained glass oak tree window

A very quick update on the oak tree window, all the opaque glass for tree and fields are cut, some need a little touch on the grinder but I am generally happy with the first cut. The glass for sky and leaf are beautiful and I am really looking forward to cutting them. This is going to be really difficult to lead up though. 

Stained glass oak tree

After much pondering, the plan has now been turned into a cartoon with border lead and cut lines drawn in. I made a few subtle changes to improve the lines and make it easier to cut and lead up. A large proportion of this window will be opaque glass, this can be challenging to cut accurately because you can't see through it, so I use a different technique. Using very thick tracing paper we start by tracing accurately the outline of the piece to be made, this is then cut out and "test fired" for fit on the cartoon. It is then transferred to the glass sheet and very

carefully drawn around, leaving an exact copy ready to cut. Here are a few photos to illustrate the process. Very time consuming as any error will compound itself and end up wasting a lot of expensive glass, so you have to be anal about everything. The tree is starting to come to life nicely. 

Stained glass acorn

I have been unseasonably busy lately so thought I had better do a quick update on the oak tree window. The top (painted) panel is finished and installed, and it looks great. The full size plan for the main panel is complete and the client is very happy with it. Next task to draw the cartoon and get started cutting the glass, this is going to be a difficult piece to make, but will be stunning when finished. There are also a couple of quotes to finish, so hopefully we will have a quiet weekend. 

Painting done

Had a great day finishing painting the oak leaves and acorns. Their outlines, shading and highlights were already painted in a rich black on the face of each piece, I now had to add the colour. I decided to use low firing semi transparent enamels and to paint them on the reverse. These fuse with the glass at about 550 Celsius to a matt finish, which when looked at with light reflecting off it looks a bit flat and insipid; but viewed from the other side with the light passing through has deep lustre and beautiful colours. It also adds depth to the image and is almost three dimensional. 

Sand Rose finished

The lovely sun catcher is finished and ready for collection. The first picture shows it with the copper foil applied and the second photo is the completed article. I have photographed in front of an obvious  background which gives an idea of how the light moves through it. It is beautiful in the sunlight and a perfect copy of the logo. 

The charity is the Sand Rose project which provides free accommodation to recently bereaved families, with the emphasis on young children. Based at Marazion in Cornwall, it has three cottages overlooking the beach and is a national charity. 

Projects like this one are really rewarding. Most stained glass work runs over several weeks and even months in some cases and you can run out of enthusiasm for the project. The Sand Rose only took two days, made entirely out of offcuts it looks fantastic, and best of all is for a really worthwhile cause. It reminds me nicely why I do this for free.