This piece was created for a group show at Galerie Old Chelsea. It combines some of my favorite things - heritage glass, camera lenses, the colour of warm waters, and gentle movement that hints at the waves. The camera lenses challenge you mind as the perspective changes as move from side to side or as you approach it. It can sit happily in a window or on a table or shelf. 
Warning: do not place this in a window that receives direct sunlight if there is also a curtain or blind. Just like the experiments we all did as kids, direct sun passing through the camera lens and onto a curtain can start a fire. It is perfectly safe in a window that does not receive direct sunlight or a window that does not have a curtain or blind.  

Bachelor Party!  Here are all three Bachelors shown with and without a light source. Each piece of glass was carefully selected for its character and strength of color. They are all currently available at the Galerie Old Chelsea. These have been so much fun to make but more priorities are popping up. The Edmonton trip was grand and now I have to plan a quick run to Halifax. My stock of hearts and angels at the Galerie Old Chelsea is very low and there are a few themed pieces to get ready for the Fall. 

I managed to crash my computer while I was posting on my blog yesterday so here is a fresh link to my website. Please scroll down to see yesterday's images and post.

Summer has turned out to be pretty busy. I have started a new series which is evolving into a garden of flowers. The first was a commission which required a lot of consultation to select the glass, working to balance colors and textures and to be sure the glass would 'sing' with or without a light source.  When I thought I was nearly done, I actually changed the glass for the hill which drove the change for the glass for the outside edges! some of the 'rejected' options are shown on the side in one image. This piece is now happily basking in the sun in a window in Nova Scotia. 
I enjoyed the challenge of working to find that balance of colors and textures so the second flower started with the selection of the red for the petals and again went through a considerable process of selecting glass for the hills and edges. I learned that some of my favorite purple glass looks black without a light source, even though it rocks in the sunlight!
The flower and the hill for the third piece were cut from the same piece of glass which had 'hidden' colors in layers, making it look very different with full light. I had just enough of the clear background glass with the little blue flecks to cut the pieces I needed. The glass for the edges is full of texture and character and the layers of colors within the glass mean it looks radically different with and without a light source. The 'reject' pile of edges continues to grow!   I call the final image Two Bachelors Chillin' in the Rain!
There is a third piece on my table now. I decided to start this one with the background color and selected some pink crackle. The short story is the background is now pale green and there is no pink in the plan. I am now working on getting the colors and textures for the borders to emerge.  
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"Moxie" offered a significant challenge to my cutting skills. Glass does not agree easily to break around corners. Attentive measuring and scoring were followed by careful use of grossing pliers to apply just enough pressure to encourage the glass to break along the score lines. I confess to having to cut one of the pieces twice. The plum and white fracture streamer was a precious 'find'. This glass is not produced any more and the label indicated it was produced in 2015 so there was no room for error - one bad break would have meant changing the background glass completely as there would be no hope of finding any more.
"Spring Fling" was created with hand-rolled Freemont glass which reflect the explosion of colors nature offers each spring. 
Both pieces are now at the Galerie Old Chelsea, waiting for their forever homes. 

Apologies for the sideways image. I am having a few technical challenges this morning!
'Harmony' is 14" x 30" and has been on my table since the end of December. It went through a number of design changes and was competing with a few other time-eating priorities for attention. The diamond was created using two glass trays. Kevin at Stained Glass Stuff had cut the sides off for me and then it took all of my strength to cut the top piece as the cut lines went through the thickest part of the glass rather than the valleys.  It was only after I had cut most of the glass that I decided it was too wide and took a couple inches off each side. This will be available at the Galerie Old Chelsea starting on February 14 - my next sitting day.
Next I will be creating a new heart design ... watch this space!

September and October were pretty busy months and I gave priority to creating new glass over posting on my blog. These two pieces were both finished in September. 
Bringing Good News (Remembering Isaac Bignall) continued my series of technical challenges for 2023 and did result in some expensive off-cuts as the curve behind the bird's head was particularly difficult. I yielded and brought out the saw for the second attempt but the circular blade came off as soon as I started the motor. After a few attempts to get it back on and retain the tension on the wheels while tightening a series of screws with only two hands, I gave up and VERY carefully used multiple tiny cuts to carve out the space for the head. I would like to do another with a pale color and less texture for the background, and a stronger color for the head and wings ... 
Sunrise at The Lake was a commission for a bathroom window at a cottage. The panel allows light and seasonal colours to be drawn in from the outside while offering the privacy desired without closing the blind.
October pieces will be published soon!

Taking time for whimsy. 'Adventure' blends a hand-blown glass ornament by Asem Nada with some very happy glass. This small piece (8 x 11) is at the Galerie Old Chelsea, along with with my Evergreen Forest which was installed recently to celebrate a local organization which has, over a period of about ten years, saved ten forests in the area, ensuring they will be protected for generations to come and support wildlife corridors and local wildlife.