Saturday 27 February 2016

Work ongoing at the end of February

I’ve been working with stained glass for over ten years. I started out of necessity: I owned a big Victorian house in Yorkshire which had some panels that badly needed work.


I’m now based in Bedfordshire, and I make mirrors, panels, ornaments and decorations as a hobby and an occasional source of income. I also do the odd repair if the work involved is within my capabilities (removing entire panels from churches most definitely isn’t!).  I’m going to keep this blog as a record of what I’m doing, what works well, and what doesn’t.



I’ve currently got three pieces on the go.The first involves a panel that I picked up in Cambridgeshire.


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The top lead is broken half way across:


There’s a broken lead at the top left of the green light:



… and also the bottom lead is quite corroded - it’s been subject to the elements for many years, and probably not dressed with linseed oil since it was produced perhaps eighty years ago.


On this piece I’m going to replace the top and bottom leads, clean it all up, and recement it. I haven't got anywhere in mind for it, it might end up in the 'for sale' column of the local paper. 


My next piece of work is a mirror that I plan to hang in the garden - if it works it will be the first of many to help lighten a small, rather enclosed outdoor space:


The silvering has all been thoroughly sealed, in the same way that I did some test pieces that have been out all winter and are showing no sign of failing. This panel needs some colour adding (rather in the style of Rennie Mackintosh); originally I was thinking of a sunflower design but I am now erring towards something simpler. 


The third project is a repair - three broken lights in an elegant panel in a Victorian house. The damage arose from a resident playing with a basketball:




For this one I’ve first got to source matching yellow glass - which is often not as difficult as people think. I'll update this blog when I have found some!