Grandfather Philip's Stained Glass

Small Window

This is an eight by eight inch piece that I wanted to look like a view through a small window. It is actually a birthday present to my wife.

Clearly Black and White

This panel is 18 1/2 by 20 3/4 inches unframed, contains 90 pieces of glass and depicts Aesop's fable of the Eagle and the Crow. For those who don't know the fable; a crow in the meadow with a herd of sheep sees a golden eagle swoop down and take a lamb back to it's nest. The crow thinks this is a great way to feed itself and lands on the back of a ram and entangles it's feet in the ram's wool and can't escape. The crow croaks and croaks to free itself and the farmer hears it's cries. He clips the crow's wings and takes it home as a pet for his children.
The pond in the meadow was an accident. The meadow scene was just a tad too big and as I attempted to trim it the glass broke! Another interesting feature is the plain white and black glass. It was flat and I wanted it to have some texture so I slumped it in the kiln. Pretty cool!

Medieval Morris Silver Stain

Here's the finished "Medieval Morris Silver Stain". It is 12 1/2 by 13 3/4 inches and framed in oak and pine. The glass is clear textured and the painting and matte are black. the yellow was accomplished with an age old procedure called silver stain used in the 14th century. When applied to glass and fired in a kiln at below 1100 degrees F the silver molecules replace the sodium molecules in the glass and turn the glass yellow by adding an impurity. Actually all glass colors are achieved with impurities. I really like the piece because it blends designs and techniques over a period of 6 centuries and it takes some to discern which is which. I especially like the bee, an ancient glass painters mark.

Sean's Knot

This panel was commissioned and will be sent to Ohio. The design concept was a celtic wedding band. The panel is a pictish endless knot woven with another simpler endless knot denoting forever intertwined. The panel is 12" x 30".

Just So Stories

I tried to capture the whimsey of Kipling in this piece. Just So Stories are the greatest! I mean the stories not the glass. This panel was donated to the Ephrata Public Library.

Kipling's Kim

This piece is a departure from my previous work. First it honors an author and second it's center is totally painted. For those of you that might wonder about the right angle inside cut that Rudyard's name settles in, it was done by hand with an ordinary glass cutter and grozing pliers. The size of the pane is 21 x 24 inches plus the red oak frame. The colors in the border represent the cool mountain lakes at the bottom melding into the greens of the hills then into the hot sun yellows of India. The protaganists are depicted in the center and the text on the right is part of the opening line of the book. The "litter" text just appealled. This panel was donated to the Ephrata Public Library.

Thirteenth Century Jesus

This is a replication of a 13th century Jesus. In 300 years there was little change in style. The hair became a little less cartooned and simpler while the facial lines remained the same. I did this using a new technique for me. Instead of painting the matte with a brush and badgering it, then firing and doing it again and again to get the desired effect I used an air brush and kept adding layers as needed. This reduces the number of kiln firings to one. A substantial savings in time and energy. At this rate I should enter the current century sometime in 2025.

Ross Crest

Here's the piece close up that gave so much trouble. The barbers got alot of glass coasters of 3 x 3" glass.

Old Glass

This piece is my version of the allegedly oldest complete stained glass in the world! It was done sometime in the eleventh century and it's original color was green not brown. My halo surround is a beautiful piece of Kokomo granite glass that I obtained years ago and couldn't find anything suitable to use it in. This was it and the glass makes the piece.

Meet Mel

June 19 and 20 were spent at the studio of J. Kenneth Leap learning how to paint faces. "Mel" was painted from a photograph and is actually a police officer in Edison NJ. It actually looks like a photograph! Kenneth is a great teacher.

Mary's Panel

I think this speaks for itself. All the colored glass is painted except the white borders.

Botticelli's Mary

This is my version of Botticelli's "Mary". It is 6 1/2 by 9 inches I can't remember how many times it was painted and fired before it was finished. Frances says it looks like a sepia photograph that was colored. I guess thats good. I don't know what I'm going to do with my collection of painted glass, but I can't stop!

Saint Michael Redone

After much thought, it was decided to add more blue intensity and more yellow shading to enhance "Saint Michael" in brighter light. Now there have been nine kiln firings but, what a difference!

Saint Michael

This is a piece of clear smooth window glass that has been painted after a detail from Raphael's "Saint Michael Slaying the Dragon". It is about 7 1/4 by 7 3/8 inches in size.The tracing was black and then two bistre brown mattes were applied. A matte of umber brown was applied after that and then a black matte. The next step was a blue transparent enamel on the opposite side followed with a yellow transparent enamel. Thats seven times painted and fired in the kiln.

Medieval Brownstone

This is a painted piece that has used all the techniques learned at the course with J. Kenneth Leap. It is 8x8 inches. The piece has been traced and fired in black. Two mattes were applied in black separately and fired to achieve the light shading. A brown matte was applied and fired for the final shading and a ginger transparent paint was applied all over and fired to give the piece some color. The texture on the back of the glass makes it change with the position one views it from even in the same light. Reflected light will cause the painting to disappear. Pretty cool!

Barber and Knight family Crests

This is the Barber Crest. It is 20 x24 inches not including the frame.

This is the Knight Crest. Same size. They hang beside each other in adjacent windows.

Silver Staining

This weekend was spent in Wheaton Village, Millville, NJ at the sudio of J. Kenneth Leap learning the ancient art of silver staining. Silver staining is a process developed in the 1300's to give clear glass color. The color line is limited to different hues of yellow or amber and is accomplished by painting particles of silver on the glass and firing the glass in a kiln. The heat causes the silver to displace sodium in the glass causing the yellow color. The color is part of the glass on the surface. The medallions produced during that century used this process. Coupled with glass painting (tracing and matteing) one can produce a very handsome picture of anything from people to everyday scenes. Here is the one I produced. I think of him as "Atta Boy Turk". The size is only 5 x 7 inches.

Arthur

What a wonderful way to start a "New Year" or end an "Old Year" than by posting a new glass studio entry. "Arthur" is a 94 piece came construction panel with six painted and fired pieces and two painted and fused pieces of glass. The panel is called "Arthur" for King Arthur whose crown and coat of arms dominate the panel. In the lower right is "Camelot" and surounding the main figure are painted pieces symbolizing Guiniever, Morgan, Lancelot and other "Knights of the Round Table".

Delivering the wine

This is a painted and fired replication of an old church window that was donated by the Winemakers Guild to the church. How much wine did they drink in the 14th and 15th centuries?

Edward Gorey

This panel was a request for a traditional Edwardian design. It is quite pretty in an odd sort of way. There is lots of clear glass and only the central design is opaque. I think the colors give the piece its character. Pink, yellow, brown and black are an unusual combination. It looks like Edward Gorey did this so I am calling it an "Edgoreian" design.

Just what is Art Deco?

Okay, why was this so hard to do? I guess I just don't know anything about art deco. Designing this was a trial because I didn't know what it should look like. Executing it was difficult for some reason but, it is now finished and it kind of grows on me. Love,hate????

Old English Pub

This window is 20" by 21" and came construction. It contains 47 pieces of glass that have seven painted and fired pieces. The opaque yellows are painted on both sides. I wasn't sure how this was going to look until I fired the painted glass. It kind of slow dawned that it looked like and old English pub window. It will be auctioned off for Ephrata Playhouse in the Park at New Year 2004.

Heraldic Panel

The panel is 18" by 18" not 16" by 16" as previously reported. five pamels are foil construction and the remainder is lead came. It contains 219 handcut pieces of art glass by different manufacturers chosen for the texture and color blending to achieve the overall effect of the panel. It is a great example of how different light changes stained glass. The picture above is transmitted light through the panel. The picture below is reflected light. What a difference!

Tulips

This piece has turned out even better than I thought. The glass textures are just wonderful giving the piece understated elegance with reflected light off the surface both front and back. I can't seem to find the right words for it so I think I'll just go on to the next project.

Henry II "The Saint"

"Henry" is a hand painted replication of a window in Saint Leonhard in Lavantial, Austria done about 1340. The outside design was reproduced using a repeated section from the center section painted on colored textured glass. I really like this one!

Another Phoenix, another lousy picture

I still have not mastered glass fusing but I'm getting better. I have not gotten better with photography yet!
This Phoenix was made with different coloration from the HP Phoenix and really looks nice. Drilling the hole is even getting easier.

Palms

This is the finished glass work for the West Cork bathroom window. It contains 166 pieces of translucent glass and is came construction. In the photo you can see the colors transmitted through the glass to the sidewalk it is resting on. Next is the frame for its home and shipping.

Modified Sibbet design

This is a modified design from a well known stained glass pattern book. It hangs acting as a room divider and is much prettier than the picture depicts.

Saint Mark

This is a glass painting done in the old style of a Celtic rendition of "Saint Mark".

The painting is done with powdered glass mixed with gum arabic and then is fired in a kiln to fuse the powdered glass to the clear glass. Church windows have been executed in this way for centuries.

Saint Crankyface

Here he is! Saint Crankyface! Four panels of a medieval church window somewhere in the world. The etching and painting adds something. Best seen in reflected light.

The Saint won first place at the Ephrata Craft Fair in 2002 and a "Judges Citation" at the WITF Art Auction on March 24, 2003.

Booth-Forbes

Booth-Forbes is a 9 1/2 wide by 13 inch high coat of arms for Anam Cara in Cork county Ireland. A "magical" place for artistic retreats.

Lion Rampant

The lion is engraved on a 6 inch by 9 inch clear bevel and painted. The fish scale bevels cast many colorful prisms and add a shape to this came construction.

Medieval Angel

A very pretty piece of glass 12 inches by 12 inches with a medieval design angel engraved in the center. It becomes almost ethereal in different times of day and light.

Oops!

Oops has an etched and painted medieval flower design clear beveled glass center with small moulded glass floral corners. The surrounding glass is an iridized red streaky cathedral glass the changes in the light.

You might notice the center is not a perfect rectangle. After assembly I discovered a scratch that detracted from the piece and attempted to polish it out. This resulted in a large crack that became even more distracting.

Taking a page from Peter McGrain, I cut the crack out and added a piece of moulded floral glass. It might be a bit avant garde but I like it!

Sunny Disposition

"Sunny Disposition" is a beveled, etched and painted center surrounded by yellow and white glass with yellow jewels. Another lousy picture but a pretty suncatcher!

Coat of Arms

A very simple came construction using a new dimension in my glass techniques. Etching!

If you squint you can see medieval heraldic lions on the yellow glass. I did not paint the etchings because in real life they are nicer that way and anyhow I ran out of black paint!

A Large Celtic Knot

This piece is a large version of the earlier "Pictish Celtic Knot". This knot is all came construction, expandable and measures 20 inches by 24 inches. The background is a Kokomo granite glass and the ribbon is four different clear textured glasses. The picture as usual does not do it justice.

Tree of Life

This panel started as a design for a door window but was reduced to 12 inches wide by 18 inches high.

It is an original design and is expandable. The panel contains 154 pieces of glass and a pound and a half of solder! It hangs in Gladwyn, PA.

Jubilate

This panel is hanging inside between a living and dining area so there is not much light.

The word was requested by my daughter, the poet. What could that mean? Hmm...!

Dragon Knot

The stained glass panel above is called a "Dragon Knot." It is a foil and lead came construction. The center is foil construction and the outside is lead came construction and can be enlarged from its current 10 inches by 18 inches by adding perimeter glass pieces. It contains 88 pieces of glass and hangs in our newly remodeled bathroom providing privacy and delight.

Edwardian Pane

Edwardian stained glass used alot of translucent glass that allowed light to pass through. This pane is lead came construction only. It is only 12 inches by 16 3/4 inches and contains 43 pieces of glass. Notice the difference between it and the "Victorian Pane". It has a different kind of beauty.

Hmm...

Frances, my wife requested this to hang in our kitchen window. It is my first attempt at letters. What do you think of it?

Front Window

This is our front window in the living room. It is 36 inches by 35 inches and is similar to the kitchen door window design. The bevels cast prismatic rainbows almost all day long! Can you tell I like clear textured glass?

Drama Masks

The Drama Masks is an original foil and came construction that is expandable from its 18 inches by 22 inches size.

Always beware of curved lines as well as symmetry! Can you tell where the glass broke? There is an extra piece of came in the panel.

Kitchen Door

O.K., so the season is different and the picture isn't very good but I took it to show you how different types of clear glass can achieve a high artistic impression.

Lilacs through a Window

This picture was taken by my wife, Frances through our kitchen door. The quality of this picture is due to her efforts. God bless her! Much better than I could have done.

It shows what kind of variety one can get with different glass. The beveled glass casts prismatic rainbows into the kitchen in the morning. Cool!

Pictish Celtic Knot

This Celtic knot is of Pictish origin. It is only 12 inches by 12 inches and foil construction.

The interesting thing is that is one continuous line! I used the primary colors ROYGBIV to demonstrate the single line with color. All right, I know "I" (indigo) is no longer a primary color. Humor me, I'm old.

Victorian Panel

Victorian stained glass almost always used opaque glass that did not allow light transmission. This pane is foil and lead came construction and is expandable like the "Dragon Knot". It contains 165 pieces of glass. It was very difficult and it seemed that if anything could go wrong, did go wrong. Glass broke after assembly and one piece was put in backwards! It was repaired before it was finished. Beware of symmetry!

This panel won a first place blue ribbon at the Ephrata Craft Fair in 2001