A client asked for a Privacy Window for a bathroom. “I don’t want anyone to be able to see inside, but don’t make it too dark either.” I chose large amber shapes, with bevels and colored accents. The photo on the right shows the window with “outside” light bounding off the surface. The photo on the left was taken at night, inside. The center photo captures daylight entering the room, displaying traces of outdoor vegetation. It’s like two windows in one.
The glass panels on the top left have just been soldered, and they are held up to the sun for the first time. Compare them with the panels on the bottom left — still on the work surface. Notice the vivid orange on the sunlit windows, in contrast to the subdued orange on the right. Stained glass in the home appears translucent in the daylight, and opaque at night (reflecting ambient house lighting). It’s Two — Two — Two windows in One!
A friend asked for windows that would follow the numbers from the Fibonacci series — 1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 1 = 3, 3 + 2 = 5, 5 + 3 = 8, 8 + 5 = 13. We decided to split up the “8” and “13 ” iterations of the series into conical sections for a more varied effect.
Dimensions: about one square foot.
These two windows represent an abstraction of a total solar eclipse. The blue-green curve of earth lies beneath the daytime blue sky, while above the dark shape is tracing its trajectory (red or orange). The dark circular orb is not actually black — it’s a nearly opaque red, through which one can actually see the sun, but nothing else.
Most of the pieces in these windows follow this pattern. But to fit the rondel in the center, I adapted the design (below).
The blue within the rondel determined the blue of the triangles, complimented by the lighter blue of the squares. The central hexagon is a deep translucent cobalt, despite its black appearance in this photo.
Are four rondel better than just one? I thought I’d find out with this green/red window. I chose to use more than just one red shade — the triangles and center square are magenta. The border is a very deep green which only lights up in direct sunlight. All windows in this section are 16.5” x 10”.
The colors of the rondel suggested all the shades of glass (except the textured clear glass, which I included in all the windows os this page). The third shade of yellow in the hexagons is three-dimensional, due to the thickness of the rondel. A friend thought the blue/yellow elements suggested the flag of Sweden — or IKEA. But you won’t find this kind of window in a place like that!
For decades I’ve admired abstract art. The two smaller windows were crafted side by side, with variation in the upper section. Direct sun light reveals their deep textures. At night the windows take on a different aspect — more subdued.
“Square Spiral” is the name I’ve given to the central panel. I built a study piece to determine its size. I chose several pieces of “mottled” glass to catch sunlight at different intensities. I’m not done with the design yet — the next version will spiral out four pieces of the same color rather than three.
This was my first large project, undertaken with my first teacher, my father-in-law Roy — the man responsible for my stained glass addiction. In my studio, when I surprise myself with sudden expertise, I find myself thinking, hey, thanks, Roy!
I found this design in The Book of Signs, and it’s an ancient abstraction of the Christian Trinity. The primal blue triangle (Tillich’s Ground of our Being) brings forth the cross, symbol of Christ — and this wood-patterned glass is wonderful to craft. The hovering Spirit also suggests the final Greek letter: Omega. That in turn suggests an “Alpha” for the blue triangle — the top of an “A”.
