Commission Arched Window

This is a companion window to the arched one that I put on the blog on 7/20/08. The two windows are the same size and both are on the front of the home. This one is designed for the man's office window so I used more yucca and cactus. The pair of quail is in the foreground and there is a small Texas horney toad in the bottom right hand corner. He is camoflaged to hide from the quail. Lighting today is overcast so there is not the direct light needed to show colors.

"Sunflower Field" and "Sunflower Vase"

New sunflower pieces that will be shown at Artisans of Rocky Hill Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas. The "Fields" piece measures approx. 11" x 14" and is multi layer. One photo of it is taken with a beige fabric behind it. As with most of my pieces - the image is actually multi layer and transparent and is meant to be displayed with light coming through it. The surface of the vase is very dimensional!

Additional "minis" & another "Lazy Man's Aquarium"

A few more minis and one more aquarium. The Aquarium piece measures approximately 11" x 14". The rest are much smaller.

A Few New "minis"

Here are a few of the newest minis that I have completed. The largest is about 5" x 7". They are made using vintage rhinestones, mosaic tiles, polished gem stones, micro beads, seed beads, glass globs, glass enamels, etc. Each have several layers.

"Almost Sunset"

This is another multi-layer piece with a traditional mosaic border. It measures approximately 11"x14" and can be displayed on an easel. There are 5 layers of glass in the distant hills. The oak tree and the larger yuccas are on the top surface glass (along with the mosaic border) and the distant yuccas and sun are on an additional layer that is spaced about 1/4" behind that . The hills are created with a couple of other layers added to the back of that layer. It is frustrating because the various layers and depth do not show in photos. Because I use a lot of iridized and metallic colors there also tends to be a lot of glare in the photos.

"Dragonfly Dance"

Here is a new multilayer piece that was created with stained glass, fused dichroic glass, glass pearls, vintage rhinestones and glass seed beads. The large dragonfly and the bubbles surrounding it are applied to a background of translucent stained glass. The additional four dragonflys and the decorative border are all applied to the front glass to create the dimensional effect. Depending on how this piece is displayed - either on an easel in front of a light source, or hung on the wall the background glass is opaque as in these photos or it can take on more of a golden glow when backlit.

"Lazy Mans Aquarium"

This piece was fun to create - very whimsical. It could be displayed in a window or against a wall. I have photographed it both in a window and against a beige wall. You can see how the image casts shadows against the wall. The border is two sections of grouted mosaic tile edged with glass beads. The clear section between is dotted with vintage rhinestones surrounded by glass beads. These seem to "float" like bubbles. The fish are on a back layer of clear iridized water glass. It is recessed about 1/2" behind the front glass which contains the floating grasses. The fish are decorated with rhinestones, beads, milifiori, etc. They each have red "kissy" lips. This would be a fun piece for a bathroom window or wall. It measures about 16" x 20".

"Texas Royalty"

This is a multilayer piece illustrating fields of Texas bluebonnets. It is difficult to see the layers but the back group of bluebonnets is spaced about 1/2" behind the front group. The border is made up of green glass tiles and beautiful cuts of albalone shell tile. The flowers are created using glass enamels, glass beads and vintage glass and crystal rhinestones. The piece measures approx. 11" x 14".

"Crystal Tree"

The past two weeks I have been helping my husband recover from back surgery so have been unable to work in my studio. Instead, I have worked on a few smaller pieces on the kitchen table. This piece has a mosaic border made with vitreous glass tiles and glass beads. The image area was created with metallic paints and powders, vintage crystal leaves, micro glass beads, and very tiny transparent milifiori. The outside dimensions are approx. 15" x 9 1/2".

A CHALLENGING Commission

A daughter and granddaughter approached me about creating a special gift for "Grandma" for her birthday. She has a favorite painting that they brought over to request that I make a glass on glass window of it. They said that certain elements could be enlarged (the girls picking flowers and some of the flowers too) One child needed brunette hair and the other is a curly blonde to represent the two granddaughters as children. Also there were to be no facial features on the girls. I used mostly stained glass but the flowers are created using vintage rhinestones and millefiore. I am not sure how successful I have been - they haven't seen or picked it up yet. Hopefully it is what they are looking for. If not, it has at least been a terrific learning project for me. Many things I tried here will definately be used in later pieces.

Large Bluebonnet Vase

This piece measures about 13" tall and is about 8" across at the widest point. The bluebonnets contain many different types and sizes of rhinestones and teh bottom area is painted with glass enamels.

"Lavender Yuccas"

This piece is very difficult to photograph. It has a mosaic border and a multi layer transparent image area. It measures 15" square.

"Pink Flowers on Parade"

This window measures 16 inches wide by 20 inches tall. The border is made up of vitreous glass tiles and rhinestones. The image area is multi layer glass with flowers created with glass enamenls, stained glass, glass beads, and dichroic glass fused flower centers.

Yucca Field

This piece is created with a mosaic border, an embelished mat, and the image area in the center is multi-layer glass that light will pass through. It has a total of 4 layers of glass in some areas.

New Group of Minatures

Here are a few more minatures that feature Texas Yuccas and Bluebonnets. To get an idea of the sizes, the small pieces are 2"x2".