“What would you do with a piece of glass like this?”

 

Once in a while something catches your eye in a shop or suppliers that you simply can’t leave behind. Well this piece of glass is a fine example of that. A one of a kind , expensive and utterly unique sheet. I had no idea why at the time but found myself packing it into the car and bringing it home. 

A year later and I still had no project for it,  that I felt paid it the credit it deserved. It has so much going on in the pattern that just left as it was, would have been enough to pay credit to its beauty. If I’m honest, I was probably more worried about ruining a beautiful piece of glass and that’s why it sat there, occasionally muttering to me to be used for something….

I am a member of the IndieJunction community.  An online bunch of fantastic and very creative people from all over the world. As I was not finding any answers for a use of the glass I put it on the forum, to see what feedback or ideas they may come up with. (Maybe I was looking for the backing of others to give me the confidence to tackle it)

Here are some of the comments….

“You know it’s a sunrise over the ocean – you know that right? A bright blazing sun………..”

“Im not sure what it is but those colours are bloody gorgeous, It looks like a vase to me. But then also maybe an avant garde lamp, circa 1959″

“Oh wow the colors are beautiful. I agree,  this would be a gorgeous vase.”

“Pardon me, but it’s a Gothic window you can hang in your big Bay window. It’s classic Gothic shaped with the high arch at the top. Steve it’s so awesome,  cut it into intricate pieces, but keep the brilliant Bright Orange yellow for the top of the arch, as the sun streams through it, one feels an overwhelming feeling of positive energy and warmth.”

I have to say I was tempted with the Gothic Window idea as they really do drive a passion in me but The Vase thoughts seemed to be a good track to follow. I knew whatever I did had to be about the glass and not something with too much intricacy in the design, so cutting it up too much was a bad route.

This is how I reached the flat pannel idea – It is the best way to present the glass in large sections and how I felt would best show off what was going on within the glass. But this then threw up another question – “Which side of the glass to use?”

One side was bright and vibrant, as in the picture above, but when i turned the piece over I got a totally different image. One that was more uniform and with a finer pattern and lots of texture. On top of this I dont think ive ever been so worried about cutting a piece of glass – One mistake with the cutter or too much pressure and I could have easily broken the whole sheet.

Luckily, this didnt happen and I managed to find four sections from the overall sheet. Those with the best patterns rather than just cutting from four areas next to each other. Still undecided about which side to use, “Ok”, I thought, “ Back to IndieJunction and see what they think”, so I posted the two pics below to the site and asked for votes on it…

Original View

Second View

It didn’t take long to get a decision and the resounding result was for the second view, as it had more of a flowing image in the pattern, and one that would work well around a vase.  So I went with that. Switched on the soldering Iron and got to work on it. I wanted the solderwork to follow the rippled effects in the glass rather than trying to get a smooth line and added the solder in drips, so that I got this effect. Then, rather than leaving the solder shiny, which did look great, I decided to use a copper patina to finish it off. Its not too dark and still allows for a little shine to come through from the metal, highlighting the ripples.

Well here it is – The finished piece ..,

Oh and to finish it off,,,Just add flowers!!

And a last note: “A huge thank you to my friends on IndieJunction, who gave me their time and helped so much with this project!”

“PIECE NOW SOLD    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

~ by cherishedstainedglass on 1 April, 2010.