Cherry Tree Birds

This is a set of seven panels with a Japanese theme that I have just completed. The trunk and branches are in that nice Blue/Green Kokomo glass with a mix of all types of different opaque,semi-opaque and clear glass in white and pinky shades for the leaves and a couple of little bits painted for the animals.It measures about
148cm x 162cm in total. Feel free to comment.

ART DECO ARCS

The latest panel that i have just completed,an indoor one mostly done in opaque and semi-opaque
glass in an Art Deco design which came from a couple of hours free drawing with a large home made compass.
It measures about 32 inches by 20 inches .I'm working on a big multipanelled design of a cherry blossom with some animals and i will do a post on that when im finished it.
Feel free to comment

Fluid Landscape

This is a panel Ive just completed for a house in the Eco village in Cloughjordan,county Tipperary. Its a south facing window with white walls all around .when the sun shines,as it does occasionally,the walls will be bathed in an ever changing kaleidoscope of colour. On the day i put it in,it was well overcast but you can still see the colour bleeding onto the surroundings. The glass is mostly waterglass with some baroque and odd bits of Kokomo.

Blooming Great

Further to the Bloom garden show at the Phoenix Park last weekend,I Got this publicity shot from the Crafts Council Of Ireland of the Irish President,Mary McAleese visiting the Craft garden with one of my pieces in focus.Im not sure what she is pointing at,but maybe its one of my stone mushrooms which were dotted around the garden! See more glass at Lustrousglass.com

Bloom in the Park

This is one of a number of my pieces that were accepted for the craft garden in Ireland's annual flower and garden show Bloom, in the Phoenix park in Dubin. it's one of my panel set in a brass ring which has been mounted in a copper stand made from a recycled copper heating cylinder. the feed back was good and the organizers of the garden,Inspiring Gardens won a silver medal.

Joy Fountain

This is Joy Fountain , a new establishment which has a big range of yoga equipment as well as a nice range of pretty gifts which of course includes one of my lightboxes with some of my stained glass in brass rings and the glass and stone mushrooms. Check it out.Its in the Royal Hibernian Way,just off Grafton street. in Dublin just in case you didnt know! Sorry about the photos but its difficult to get a good shot with the spot lights.It looks Much better in real life! Also check my website at www.Lustrousglass.com

Garden Glass

• This is another panel that i have just done for the garden of the same lady that i did this panel for.You can see that flower themed panel in the background of the second photo. Its in her back garden and gets the sun,which unfortunately disappeared just as i finished putting it up. Its made mostly with textured waterglass and semi opaque glass with some bottle ends,bullseyes and faceted small pieces to make the most of the fact that it doesnt have the magic of light shining through it. The clear background waterglass has a lustre on it if you look closely at the first photo. See more at Lustrousglass.com
  

Lemon Soap

This is the famous Sweny's chemist mentioned in Ulysses into which the hero Leopold Bloom enters to collect a concoction for Molly,his wife. He is told that he will have to call back later for the lotion and he asks if he can also buy a bar of lemon soap which he is told may be settled for when he returns. He heads off for a Turkish bath a few doors along carrying his mystical talisman for the remainder of the book. The shop has been kept as it was back in 1922 and is run as a bookshop and a homage to James Joyce and Nora Barnacle. It is run by volunteers,one of whom,PJ Murphy is standing in the doorway beside the mannequin of James Joyce in the third photo. I was thrilled to be lent the small side window to display some of my petite pieces which are for sale. The chemist holds daily public readings of one of Joyce's books which at the moment is 'Portrait of the artist' and weekly readings on a Thursday evening, of 'Ulysses' after which the patrons retire accross the road to Kennedy's for a pint of Guinness to quench their thirsts!

Noshington

These are the latest couple of panels,about 480mm in diameter in the windows of a fine eating establishment called Noshington thats located on the South Circular Road,Dublin.Just across the road from Griffith College ,it serves a whole range of fine food and also opens some evenings with a wine menu.Go there,eat well,see glass. The panels are planet themed,mostly with waterglass and Desag,but they have some nice Lamberts art glass too.One is mostly blue/greens with a pale blue background,the other red/purple/orange with a pale lemon background.They are for sale in the cafe and when they find homes il do some new slightly different ones. See more of my glass at Lustrousglass.com Feel free to comment!

Stoned birds

These three birds are more in my "glass set in stone" series. They are about 220mm high and are done with flashed glass that has been sand blasted,painted,silver-stained and fired in my kiln. They are free standing, set in recycled stone,limestone i believe. See more glass on Lustrousglass.com

Blowing in the wind..

Some more of my little window- sitting glass and stone pieces,just right for Christmas gifts!They are mostly flashed glass,sandblasted,painted and silver-stained.they stand about 100mm tall.The glass is stuck into the stone with a slightly flexible glue anything adhesive. See more stuff at Lustrousglass.com

Mushroom Crowd

These are some of the little pieces im working on for various outlets for the so im told festive season,though if you were to read the news about Ireland you wouldnt think so. We may yet be surviving on wild mushrooms before long! they are mostly made from flased glass of different types,sandblasted and fired.And set into interesting stones , slots cut with a diamond disc on the grinder .. just right to put on your windowsill ..There will be a series of them i think , with trees, flowers , cactus, houses and anything else that sprouts up along the way. Check out my other work on Lustrousglass.com

Djinn

This is a smallish panel (380mmx280mm) that I've just completed as a wedding gift for my sister.Mostly in flashed blue on clear and flashed red on clear,silver-stained for detail. There's also some Lamberts blue and yellow.Additionally the amber hair affair is some reclaimed Victorian silver-stained glass that's been sandblasted and painted and fired to good effect. have a look at some of my older posts if you will. And feel free to comment.. www.lustrousglass.com

Painted Lady

This is a smallish (150x120mm) very pale yellow piece of glass that's been painted and silver-stained.More practice,more needed probably! See more colour at Lustrousglass.com

Red heads..

These are a couple more pieces of glass,small(100x75mm) that ive just done. they are both done from single pieces of St Just red flashed glass that have masked with a film,cut with a scalpel,sandblasted,painted with Reusche Tracing Black,fired in the kiln to 673C,painted with Reusche Amber silver-stain,and fired to 543C,in that order. with inspiration provided by Harry Clarke! Take a look at Lustrousglass.com for more glass. And please leave a comment!

Creative Glass

A post about this nice book i was asked to be in by Danijela Kracun and published by Schiffer,who publish a lot of books about art ,craft and the like. I was very pleased to be asked to be in it as it also contains a lot of my glass heroes,too numerous to mention. I was especially pleased to find one of my pieces on the front cover(thats me in the midddle of the top row) . Here is a link to the blogpost about it. You also have a picture here too of my double page spread inside.Its available on Amazon. Please leave a comment !

More Practice

Ive been doing a bit more practice on my heads with some small piecesof glass apprx 120x90mm.The top and bottom are a red flashed glass with blasting,painting and silver-stain. The middle one a piece of reclaimed glass from an old fanlight which had been siver stained originally.I sandblasted and painted it and expected it to metal when i fired it at the higher temperature needed for the black but it didnt thankfully. Normally you fire the black first and then the silver stain at a lower temperature.The silver stain can go a milky colour if its fired too high. Based on Harry Clarkes doe-eyed heads.You can see more at Lustrousglass.com

Alas poor Yorick !

This is a small panel that ive just completed,similar to the last post's one.Its done mostly in red flashed french glass with sandblasting,painting and silver-staining.Theres also a bit of blue on green flashed and blue on clear flashed for the head.Its about the same size 300x200mm.The reference is to Hamlet,who when given the skull of of his pal Yorick by the gravediggers,holds it up and says "Alas poor Yorick,I knew him well" or some such speel.i know its not much like a skull but thats why im not doing technical drawing. Feel free to comment and check out my website Lustrousglass.com

Glow

This is a small panel,300x200mm that i did a while back to practice doing figures which i dont find very easy.All the glass is Lamberts handmade multi- coloured,im not sure of the exact type,very expensive and very nice. Its sandblasted in places and painted and fired in the kiln. Theres more to see at www.Lustrousglass.com Feel free to comment and be sure to check out the older posts..

French Horn

This is a panel Ive been working on for a friend who runs a wine shop in south county Dublin. He wanted something curvy with a wine theme.he also has a liking for Mouton Rothschild wines.This winery has a habit of getting a different artist to design each years label,going back to 1946.Everybody from Dali to Bacon to Picasso and others not as well known.The artists are paid no money for their work, but given instead a certain number of cases of wine of two different years, obviously including the year they provided the label for. Often theres some kind of horned sheep reference going on,mouton as you know being the french for sheep.My interpretation of the 1999 label which was by Raymond Savignac is shown above.It was probably one of the easier ones to interpret!Have a look at the other years labels Here . The size is about 760 x380mm .The glass is Purple waterglass for the grapes,green Kokomo for the leaves,red St Just sandblasted for the wine glass and a nice dark blue flashed on green for the wine bottle.The label is a pale yellow semi- antique with some painting and a bit of silver-stain.The background is a semi-antique clear,painted with scrolls to represent the sheeps horns.Im hoping to do the partner of this for the other side of the door,white wine,possibly Champagne. The bubbles appeal to me.See more colour at Lustrousglass.com

Dundrum Blooms

These are a few of my brass ring panels,for sale in a flower shop in Windy Arbour,Dundrum called appropriately Dundrum Blooms ,run by Eva,a friend of mine.We just did a re-arrangement of them from a side window to a front window where they catch the light better. A blooming great idea. Eva's flower arrangements are amazing.She is a medal winner at Bloom ,Irelands answer to the Chelsea Flower Show...See more Glass at Lustrousglass.com

Strangest Genius Harry Clarke

Have a look at the new Harry Clarke book launched last week in the Harry Clarke room in Bewelys Oriental Cafe in Dublin by Sunniva Clarke Sheridan,Harry's grandaughter and the authors Lucy Costigan and Michael Cullen.Published by The History Press Ireland. A real gem..Get your own copy!! Also check out www.harryclarke.net , going live at the end of the month

Wallflower..

This is a leaded glass panel that i did this week for a lady in Terenure who has quite a few panels hanging on her back garden wall. It was done in semi-obscure Baroque glass which shows the colour regardless of whether there's light shining through it,perfect for hanging on a wall.The background is a very pale blue waterglass which shows up as quite a deep blue against the white background..Feel free to comment... Theres more to see at Lustrousglass.com

Restoration saga..

This is a commission that i have just completed for an educational establishment in Marino,former city estate of Lord Charlemont on Dublins northside.The window as i found it had been vandalised by a would-be burglar using a tree support as a battering ram. The bottom three panels had been replaced about twenty years earlier possibly as a result of a previous break- in. The blue and yellow colours were not in keeping with the original colours which were of a very pale blue and green shade,semi obscure.To compound things further,the whole original window came from a bigger opening in a different building elsewhere on the grounds and was cut down in places and had some of the the edge leads left out completely to fit in the smaller openings.Great fun taking them out with nothing holding them together! Some of the painted and silver stained pieces were missing,notably in the six rectangular pieces which form the bottom of the lower shield.
So in total what i did was,take out the four long narrow panels on the sides of the window,disassemble,re-align symmetrically and re-lead whilst replacing any broken pieces,maybe 30% of it. I took out the shield panel,disassembled it, replaced some of the broken painted panes with new painted sections, re-leaded it and then replaced it one panel down which gives it more balance and echoes the placement in similar windows nearby.The two narrower panels at the bottom were amalgamated and painted and silver stained to complete the missing sections of the shield.The panel where the shield originally was,was remade in the very pale green that i used for all the blue/green replacements. I didnt go at the top arched section save for some heavy cleaning as that was not in the remit. The lettering in the panel spells YHWH,which reads right to left in Hebrew and stands for Jehovah as far as im aware but i stand to be corrected.Sorry for no inside picture before the work started but the boarding up worked against me. Feel free to comment and be sure to have a look at my older posts and www.Lustrousglass.com for lots more work

Jellyfish Shoal

This is a collection of the jellyfish pieces (140mmx140mm) ive been working on.All leaded together into a panel 550mm wide,put into a nice oak frame supported by an upturned bowl that i turned. The bowl has the old clutch taken from my transit van screwed into it to give it weight and stability.Lots of practice on sandblasting, painting and silverstaining.The glass is a mixture of St Just red flashed and Lamberts Blue/Green. More to see at Lustrousglass.com

Halls Pictorial..

This is a before and after of a door surround that i just completed in Terenure in Dublin.The client wanted a design that was on other doors in the house copied with certain colours added ,to replace the obscure panes that were there. The purples and small details are waterglass ,the diamonds are a Wismach blue and the background is a semi-antique clear which glistens in the sunshine. See more at Lustrousglass.com . Feel free to comment

Dan Tien

This is a panel that i've just completed for a friend of mine Dave Shipsey who runs a Complementary Health Studio in Dublin called Dan Tien Check it out,he's a top class acupuncturist and much else besides. It goes over the front door and will make his place easier to find.The top and bottom panel are made of St. Just blue flashed glass,sandblasted for the lettering and the evolving symbol.The middle section is a Desag blue sandblasted opaque self-colour, again with the symbol.The side sections are a plain dark blue Desag to match.Feel free to comment. More to see at Lustrousglass.com