"In the Navy, you can sail the seven seas..."

photo credit: John Payne Photography

photo credit: John Payne Photography

One thing I love about making custom art is the variety of things people ask me to create. A client came in a few months ago with some very specific imagery he wanted for two windows in his home. He told me they would be hanging one above the other so he wanted the top one to look like the sky and have a star and sextant and he wanted the bottom one to look like the sea with a fouled anchor and squid. Perhaps I neglected to mention he spent his career in the Navy? I made the center panels for each one out of fused glass so the elements could “float” and not have to be bound by lead lines. I love the way the tiny air bubbles, typical of fused glass, create the impression of more stars in the top window and bubbles in the water in the bottom window. For the border, we found a blue glass option that looked both like sky and sea and he also requested a lipstick red that matched some other artwork he has in his home. I used fairly heavy lead to create a strong feeling and give the pieces some more presence.

Sometimes people come into my shop and ask if I have any premade windows. I do have a few but the joy of custom art is being able to get exactly what you want because sometimes it’s a squid, sextant, and lipstick red glass.