Tuesday, May 25, 2010

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

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

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

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

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

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

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