Retro fitting stained glass.

This is a Terence Conran table that i got in the last Newmarket Brocante.When i saw it i thought it would be ideal for one of my circular panels in the brass rings.As it turned out i needed to make a bigger panel to fit the ledge halfway down which supports it. I made it in strong primary colours which are illuminated by the clip on light underneath.Its got a curly red cable which i think is a bit noticeable.better maybe with black. Or if i could get some kind of rechargeable spot if such a thing exists. The clear glass table top is removed to get a good non reflective photo. Theres more glass on my website Lustrousglass.com

Yew Bowls

These are a couple of bowls made from yew,with nice grain and good colour. The top one is done with an Arbortech disc with chainsaw teeth on an angle grinder,the second one more conventionally on my Woodfast lathe. Its much more relaxing to be using the lathe as working with the arbortech needs 110% concentration if you want to hang on to your fingers and keep your flesh intact. Turning in the same room as you have your computer in is not reccomended either but doesnt hurt quite as much. If you want to see some glass theres lots at Lustrousglass.com .I have some different projects in glass which i'l put up soon.

Raised from the deep

This is a boat called Sundowner that one of my friends in the yard where my studio is has traded some labour for.It had been sunk and spent a little time underwater before being re-raised.Its condition is,as you can imagine quite poor. We moved it into the yard from the Liffey a couple of weekends ago on a truck with a crane which is rated for lifting 8 tonnes.The boat weighs about 6 tonnes plus a fair amount of water and sludge in the bulkheads which put it at the extreme end of lifhting as it was right at the end of the crane arm. It was touch and go but we managed it in the end. The plan is to put it back in the water ,in a restored state,by next season would be good but it will take as long as it takes! I will post more posts on it as the work progresses . If you would like to see my stained glass go to Lustrousglass.com We may even end up putting some stained glass into it!

Red Jelly

This a small piece of red flashed glass about 140mmx140mm,rescued from an old victorian window.Its been sandblasted and painted and has some silver stain to highlight the details.This old glass seems to me to gives a better gradation of shades when im sandblasting than modern red flashed glass that ive found.Its also very thin,about 2mm or so.Wish there was a ready supply of it. See some more at Lustrousglass.com

Little Boxes

As promised here is a slight diversion from the usual glass theme. These are some of the boxes i turned for the Newmarket brocante that i wrote about in a previous post. They are all made from Yew except for the top left hand one which is made from Zebrano. The Yew ive had for nearly twenty years so it was well seasoned by the time it ended up on the lathe.Yew tends to come in small section so boxes suit it well.Yew is not widely grown because of its poisonous berries,which cows are fond of and which has been know to kill them.Hence they came to be grown in graveyards and small parks and other such places.Yew is classified as a softwood but is harder than a lot of the timber classified as hardwoods.It makes for good turning because it is such a hard dense timber.It also finishes very well,doesnt need any sealer,just a handfull of shavings held against the object as it spins on the lathe.All in all a lovely timber.It also has a history of being held sacred by the Druids but thats another story. I should be back on the glass by the next post but if you want to look at some try Lustrousglass.com

Blue Dragon

This is a panel ive done for over a door before i got the kiln.It measures about 100mm by 700mm and is done mostly in undecorated glass with some sandblasted blue on green for the head,teeth and feet.The body is done in different blues,the background in bright yellow waterglass and some red/yellow Kokomo for other bits.He looks more happy than blue,maybe St George has just been polished off..Check out Lustrousglass.com for more panels

Sun Flowers

This is a panel ive done to go in the front door of my girfriends house.Its the one ive used on my profile pic.Its all in unpainted glass with a little bit of sandblasting.The surround is a dark blue Desag,the centre is a tangerine coloured piece of handmade glass , the flowerheads selected for the interesting bits of colour variation and the stalks are that blue-green Kokomo that works well as plant foliage.Its about 750mm square. The glass looks a bit grainy because we held a sheet behind it to get the photo due to the background noise..Theres more to see at Lustrousglass.com

Flowing Tide

These are a pair of panels that i have done for a client in Dublin.They sit either side of a front door and are intended to block out the view of houses across the street.They are done in different types of glass,a lot of semi-obscure Kokomo waterglass,Desag Baroque and various others.There are white walls either side of the door and on a sunny day quite nice displays of colour pass over them...I have been quite busy recently woodturning which is another passion and have been preparing for a craft fair around the middle of October.I will post some pictures of the turned wood in the next few days.I should get back to the glass soon though as this is meant to be a glass blog,though maybe il find some way of combining the two. See more glass stuff on Lustrousglass.com

Flora and Fauna

This is a panel I have done for my parents,to go in the sunroom at the back of their house,It looks out over my Dads beautiful garden,full of well nurtured plants, lots of feeding birds and the odd wandering fox.Its made with various different types of glass,painted and sandblasted and some of it just left alone.The photograph isnt great as its been a grey day any time i went up to take its photo.Camera shy maybe.. Check out Lustrousglass.com for more photos and text.

Rainbow Reprise

This is a door I featured in an earlier post about the Lantern Centre.While visiting there today on a different matter,I found the sun creating an almost prism-like effect in the corridor. Got the camera and got the shot. Thats the extra value of stained glass,all the ever-changing reflecting colour catching you unawares. See more colour at Lustrousglass.com

Eastern View

This is the last panel in the brass rings series.It has just four pieces of glass.A piece of art glass with some nice colours,sandblasted through for the mountain.A piece of plain purple Desag sandblasted and painted for the bridge/river.A piece of red flashed glass,sandblasted and painted for the tree.And a piece of plain blue Desag,sandblasted and painted with clouds for the sky.I think its the panel im most happy with,though the Pink Bloom i put up on Sept 1 comes a close second. Theres more to see at Lustrousglass.com

Late Riser

This is the penultimate panel in the brass rings.Its done in Kokomo blue/green with some painting.Flashed blue on yellow and flashed blue on clear, both sandblasted and painted.A little bit of dark blue Desag,painted as well. And some clear glass for the background.All put together in the brass ring with the grey lead patinated black so that your eye isnt drawn to it.You can see more at Lustrousglass.com

One Too Many..

This is another of those brass rings,nearly at the last of them.The flower heads are done in a flashed orangey-yellow glass,sandblasted and painted.The stalks are done in different shades of green waterglass,painted for effect. The background is a pale blue Desag. Think its more partying tulips.. see more at Lustrousglass.com

Tree Of Life

This is a panel i did for a client's extension in what is a light filled space with windows facing south ,east and west.Lots of light in other words..While i would have put a bright yellow sun in that space in the crown,Rosemary wanted a pale moon, which i have to admit works better.The background is all greens and blues,in waterglass,Desag,Baroque and any other varieties i could find.The tree itself is mostly Kokomo,blue/green at the top and various shades of purple as it goes down,with some waterglass in blue,green and purple as well.Theres also some shades of red in the base for a flamelike effect.The moon is a piece of seedy semi-opaque glass with some striations through it.. See lots more at Lustrousglass.com

Party Bunch

Surprise surprise,another circular brass ring enclosed panel. This one has red flashed glass for the flowerheads,sandblasted ,painted and fired.Blue/green Kokomo and green waterglass,painted and fired for the stems.And clear slightly rippled waterglass with a bit of painting for the background.They look a bit merry ,like tipsy wine glasses.Theres more to see at Lustrousglass.com

Pink Bloom ?

This is another in the brass rings..I have to say ,in the picture it looks a bit menacing,alienlike possibly,but in real life its a lovely piece of glass,that pinky yellowy piece of glass.I think its a bit of Lamberts. The blue-green is definitely Lamberts,painted and fired.The background is a Desag pale blue.Just a few more of the rings to go and then il have to go back to the scrapyard..Theres some more stuff at Lustrousglass.com

Sunny Blue Flowers

This is a group of flowers in green waterglass,blue flashed on turquoise and pale blue flat glass for the background.The glass is painted with Reusche Tracing black and fired in my Evenheat kiln.The flashed glass is sandblasted with my trusty Guyson blaster,bought on Ebay for a song and which i will feature at some point ,maybe in a post about my workshop.Theres more pictures on Lustrousglass.com
and be sure to check out the older posts!

Lounging Around

This is copper-foiled piece that i did as a mirror with figures draped around the edge. Its about 350mm across and is done with Waterglass,in different shades of green ,yellow and blue with a bit of recycled mirror for the centre.The tolerances in copper-foiling are finer than in leaded glass,the pieces have to be very precisely cut and ground and you need to be pretty smooth in your soldering.Theres no painting on this pieces as it is more about the shape of the figures. See more at Lustrousglass.com

Meditating Flower

Another one of my rings with a flower in what looks like the lotus position.It has orange flashed art glass painted for the flower head,green waterglass painted for the stem and some streaky Lamberts also painted with veins for the base.The background is a pale blue Desag. Theres some more interesting stuff on Lustrousglass.com

Three heads are better than one..

This is another one in the brass rings. Its a kind of flower,not sure what one .The glass is Kokomo,rose-pink,red waterglass and pale blue Desag,all painted and kiln-fired. See more at Lustrousglass.com

Family bloomers

This is another of my brass ring series which ive done a few more panels to fit in,on flower themes. This one is done with some red flashed glass,sandblasted painted and fired for the flower heads.Green/blue Kokomo painted for the stems and pale blue waterglass with a little painting for the background..Theres more at Lustrousglass.com

Bunch of Tulips

This is another in my brass ring series. Its in waterglass with Lamberts for the flower heads,painted with Reusche tracing black and fired in the kiln.The background blue is pale to show up the rest.If you paint the whole lot,i find it just gets a bit confusing and nothing shows up properly. See some more at Lustrousglass.com

Profusion of Planets

This is a commission ive just done for for a client in Dublin.Its a larger version of panels that ive previously made on a theme of interlocking circles.Its includes a lot of different types of glass,Kokomo,waterglass,baroque,Desag,even some Lamberts and antique flashed.It measures about 950x750mm.A child said it was like baloons but i think planets..

Sunset

This is another panel in a brass ring for hanging in a window.The top half is a piece of Lamberts that has some nice colouring and looked like a sunset.Thats what it became,with a few green fields for that Irish feel.There's some more pieces at Lustrousglass.com

First Flight

This is another panel in one of my depleting brass rings.The tree bark is painted dark red waterglass and the foliage is painted blue-green Lamberts,beautiful glass that works well as leaves and sea related stuff.The bird looks a bit disheveled,like he's just fallen from his bough. Lustrousglass.com

Funky Figures

This is a panel with a dancing feel ,bright and cheerful. Its made from waterglass and Kokomo, painted and fired in the kiln.It measures about 400x480mm. Have a look at Lustrousglass.com for more work.

Call of the sea

This is another panel in those scrap brass rings,with some deep blue Baroque glass and some painted clouds and assorted figures.It measures about 400mm across.See more at Lustrousglass.com

Blooming shapes

This is a circular panel of painted and sandblasted glass designed to hang free in a window.The background is in pale shades of waterglass.Ive set it into a circle of brass which is one of a dozen that i got in the local scrapyard for a euro apiece.They originally were sealing rings from the head of a large diesel compressor according to the patent number stamped onto them.I looked it up on Wiki Patent,which has it registered to General motors in the 80's.Interesting what you can find down in scrapyard! They measure about 400mm across. Ill post more as i make them. Look at Lustrousglass.com for more

A bird in the hand..

This is a panel i renovated for Tommy,a builder friend,82 years old and still grafting away. He bought the dismantled panel in the 1960's for five shillings(thats about 32 cents in euro money..) and kept it safe in a cardboard box for the next near half century. He wanted a panel for over a door so I put it together using as much of the painted unbroken glass as possible and piecing together what remained to make a reasonably good looking panel.I'd loved to have painted that centre panel,whoever did it was a skilled artisan.Thats Tommy and his wife holding up the panel for the photo before it was installed. Theres more to see at Lustrousglass.com

Red Lizard

This is a single piece of red flashed glass that has been sandblasted and painted.Its about 160x130mm and is from a piece of reclaimed glass from an old victorian window picked up in a junkshop and beyond repair.Sorry for the quality of the picture but it was taken up against a window.There are more pictures at Lustrousglass.com

Moorish Tower

This is a single piece of blue flashed glass about 220x150mm that I sandblasted a design on,then painted with black and silverstain.It is to go into a front door at eye-level.See some more designs at Lustrousglass.com

Bird of paradise

This is a leaded panel ive done for my own house,no painting.some flashed and sandblasted green glass for the tree tops and some double layers of sandblasted blue and greens for the bird.Theres some more on my website Lustrousglass.com

Pink Snapper

This is a single piece of pink flashed glass that i've sandblasted and painted and added a little silver stain.He doesnt look particularily threatening unless your'e smaller than him! He measures about 140mmsquare. You can see lots more at Lustrousglass.com

Sun and Moon

This is a panel about 450x450mm that sits on a landing,theres a lot of clear glass in it as it was the only light into that space and i wanted to keep as much of it as possible.The top section is a piece of dark blue flashed glass that i sandblasted a moon and some stars into.It reflects onto a white wall on the side with some nice effects.See similar at www.lustrousglass.com

Sunlowers

These are various panels of sunflowers that i have done for clients and for my own house.They are mostly plain coloured glass with small bits of really fancy stuff.See more at Lustrousglass.com

Encounter

This is a panel i made for a friend.It was done in a freehand kind of way.There arnt very many pieces in it so i was able to concentrate on getting it flowing in the right way.Its mostly done in Kokomo glass with a little bit of Lamberts glass for the flower head,the one that looks like tutti-frutti with blobs of red yellow and blue.See more at Lustrousglass.com

Fish views

These fish pieces are a selection i made for the experience and to try to do something i would be happy putting in a panel.I'd like to do a panel that has lots of fish in it that looks like a view through a tropical fish-tank,as good as the real thing though with less maintenance! View more work at Lustrousglass.com

More at the Lantern Centre

Lustrous glass


Here are a few more panels that i did for the centre.. You can see more at Lustrousglass.com