Bathed in light

One of the really great things about my job is that you get to visit places off the beaten track and meet some fascinating people who you would otherwise only pass in the street without a second glance. 

Last Friday was a beautiful day, warm early spring sunshine, a gin clear sky; one of those days you are glad to be alive. Walking through the graveyard of StMary's church Limpley Stoke was absolutely serene. A stunning English vista over the Cotswolds towards Bradford-on-Avon, buzzards riding invisible thermals and the song of a lark drifting timelessly on the merest zephyr of a breeze. 

The beautiful little church has stood on this spot for over a thousand years and sits so perfectly into the landscape that it appears organic with it. You enter the Saxon Nave through a uniquely wonky 13 century porch in the north wall. As the heavy, original oak door slowly creeks open, the visitor enters and descends some ancient and well worn stone steps to witness the most breath taking sight; this stunning ancient building is bathed in the most glorious light. Pinks, yellows, blues and a myriad of shades in between, and all coming from a small single window in the South Aisle. Unlike the very old lead lights and 18/19th century traditional stained glass windows, this small modern piece dominates and draws the eye. With the sun just west of south it casts the most glorious coloured shadows, dancing over the stone flags and radiating softly of the lime washed walls. 

It is a piece by a very well know Bath glass artist, Mark Angus. It is a thoroughly modern window and appears to depict a cloaked figure kneeling; beyond that, it is, in the words of the artist "what you want it to be". You can look for deep meaning, or just enjoy the beauty of it shapes, lines and colour. Like all great works of art, it makes you think and holds your attention, it is as organic to the church as the church is to the landscape. 

We can but dream. 

Business update

It's been a while since my last post so thought I should really update our current position. The run up to Christmas was very busy and to be honest, I was only able to do about a third of the jobs on the books. The problem was, as last year, studio space; or to be more precise, lack of it. I need to be able to work on two large projects and one small one, as well as running a course simultaneously. Current space is only enough for one large job, so working consecutively involves packing and unpacking. 

My long term plan has always involved building a larger studio, but a large capital investment would have to be paid for, and the only way to do that would be by going fully commercial and charging for my work, and that's not what we are about. 

So with a New Year hangover, I thought bugger it, just work harder for a change. Since then I have been working almost full time, doing 17 or 18 hour days. This has paid for a big log cabin, and with the ground works half done, I am hoping to be up and running by the end of March, on the same site. Lots of hard work needs relaxation, so our boat has had a bit of a battering as well. The photo is from our mooring at the wonderful Thornham marina in Chichester harbour, the tide is ebbing and a glorious sunset is dramatically lighting the storm cloud which has just passed. It is moments like this which makes life worth living. 

More stained glass hearts

Continuing the Christmas present theme, and stained glass hearts, daughter No1 hit me with a request earlier in the year. One of her best friends absolutely loves hearts and has a massive collection which covers an entire wall in her house. Each year they make each other a Christmas present, and this year she wanted to make a heart in stained glass. It had to include a rose, her middle name and be in red. Okidoki, this would be a simple project, but would involve a short course in stained glass. 

The design was soon completed and would be a thin walled classic heart with a painted red rose hanging in the centre. I cut, painted, enamelled and fired the rose in plenty of time, this would be beyond a "crash course" and I wanted to get that bit ready in plenty of time. Meanwhile I had a visit from the husband of the heart lady with a design of his own. Unfortunately the rose design was on the board at the time and the cat was out of the bag. So we had two very similar projects for the same lady, how good us that!

Daughter No1 is a very busy teacher in Portsmouth, so the heart was left to the very last minute. It's testament to her abilities rather than my instructional skills that she was able to cut a complicated shape, copper foil and solder it all together in a single afternoon. The result is an absolutely stunning gift. Well done Em. 

Stained glass Christmas gifts

Now the dust and turkey have settled on Christmas, thought I would post a couple of our more interesting present projects. 

The customer came to see if it would be possible to make a glass heart and place some ashes from a much loved pet dog, sadly recently deceased and cremated, in a smaller heart in the centre. There are hundreds of different ways people deal with the ashes of a loved one, but a common theme is retaining a small amount as a keepsake, and this looked like a really beautiful way of preserving them. 

The heart was to hang on a wall with many other hearts, so we decided to back it with thin mirrored glass, the central heart would be cut out of the main red one, and a clear glass heart would be mounted proud, capping the central space filled with the ashes. The whole project would be copper foiled and left in a silver finish. 

It is a stunning and very personal way to keep a loved ones memory close to heart. 

Happy Christmas

We thought a festive post might be in order and have included a picture of one of my very favourite windows. It is a very modern window and sits at the west end of StMary's church in Shirehampton, Bristol. It depicts the traditional nativity scene but uses vibrant modern art glasses and a very modern style of design and painting. It is breathtaking to look at, the detail leaps out in almost 3D and the scene just comes alive. It is mesmerising to look at, as fine an example of modern stained glass as you will find anywhere. 

On the eve of Christmas, 100 years since the start of the First World War, we at Bishopstrow Glass would like to wish all our readers, followers, customers, friends, family, and servicemen and women everywhere, a happy, peaceful Christmas, and a safe and prosperous New Year. 

Per Ardua

More stained glass Christmas stuff

Further to my last post, all the Angels are finished and look fantastic, and most of the other Christmas bits are done as well.  I have made several mirrors of different shapes and sizes with textured coloured glass surrounds as simple gifts, and more tree decorations. These are made from interesting and beautifully coloured and patterned glass, cut into traditional shapes and finished with a shiny silver soldered band. They are designed to really sparkle on the tree with lights behind. On some I have painted a decorative pattern and fired them in the kiln. The last little things are some cute little snowmen, made from melted blobs of opaque white glass, with detail again painted and Kim fired on. They are finished off with a nicely battered old top hat made from opaque black glass and have already proved very popular; I only have two left and there is still a week before the craft fair. 

For those who don't know how I work, my client only pays the cost of materials used, I only ask them to make a suitable donation to one of my supported charities. The charities for November are (as you might guess) the Royal British Legion and Movember. Both I have supported for years and have topped many thousands of pounds over time. 

If anyone has any ideas for any other little Christmassy bits, or would like some of these, please let me know. 

Stained glass Christmas presents

With the festive season rapidly descending on us, the phone is hot and the order book rapidly filling. Most of the presents I won't be able to put on my post until after they have been given, but one I have confidence will not be viewed; I hope you like the hot air balloon. It is designed as a garden ornament and looks beautiful in sunlight, slowly rotating and spreading colour everywhere. 

I have also been persuaded to attend a Christmas craft fayre and am making a lot of little trinkets. The batch photographed below are little angels to hang on the tree. I have used highly textured handmade coloured glasses which will look fantastic with the tree lights behind them and the wings have an iridesent finish which looks like shimmering gossamer. Really pleased with the prototypes but an awful lot of work to do.