The 31st of May

So here it is, the last day of May, and I have rather spectacularly failed in my goal to post every day with a new stained glass artist. I'd like to blame half-term and some rather fabulous weather, but I don't think that's really a good enough excuse. However, I have really enjoyed the process - it's introduced me to some amazing stained glass artists whose work I might never have found otherwise, especially while I've been so busy juggling the raising of children with the earning of crust! It has opened my eyes to new techniques, and made me re-assess my opinions on some that I had previously dismissed. It has made me feel inspired and motivated and re-stoked my passion for stained glass not only as a means of cheering up a Victorian front door, but as an art form in its own right. And finally it has made me sit down and write this blog far more than I would have done otherwise!

So, I have one final artist to show you whose work I have long admired. Linda Lichtman has a very fluid, painterly style. There is also a child-like freshness to her work that I find very appealing.

To see all the artists featured in Every Day in May, come here

A pot for pens

This is what we got up to yesterday - drawing on plates, cups and anything else we could find in the kitchen - and then "firing" it in the oven. Great fun. This is where we got the pens from.

Today, we've been doing baking and decorating - I call them 1-2-3 biscuits, because it's 1 oz of sugar, 2 oz of butter and 3 oz of flour...pretty easy eh?!


Every Day in May

I have to go back to Judith Schaechter again I'm afraid...I just ordered her book from Amazon which arrived today. Mind-blowingly good stuff - wonderfully dark yet funny, complex, thought-provoking, and technically amazing. Here's a couple of favourites so far...

"Specimens"


"Autobiography"

Sunny Sunday

Ahhh, summer at last! What a classic weekend - we did ice-creams, sand castles, paddling in pants and vests (the girls, not me), shell collecting, double decker bus rides and drinking in that vitamin D (with sunscreen on, of course!).

And while the girls were happily splashing in the paddling pool today, I got busy with a pencil and notebook (a rather lovely one that I got for Christmas...)

Hmm, maybe I've been watching too much Night Garden lately...that opening sequence has always deeply affected me though....



Need to change that bird in her hands to make it look a bit more "dead" - it just looks asleep at the moment!


Idea for a larger panel - there are some trees a bit like this near where we live...



Detail of the inhabitants....


(Not Quite) Every Day in May

Tailing off a bit on this aren't I? And this is a bit out of my remit of contemporary stained glass artists... But I have found some "oh my god I want them" items for you today, Ladies and Gentlemen. Oh yes indeed. If you can get past the massively complicated ordering system, they could be yours...

Lovely stained glass Ukrainian Pysanky

Nearly there...

It's been intermittantly sunny today round these parts, so I've been able to take a few pictures of latest pieces. Not sure I've got quite the shots I wanted, but perhaps a bit of Photoshop love later tonight can iron out any contrast issues...

So here's a sneak peek of "Queen of the Castle"...my homage to flower-picking, crown-wearing, rain-dancing, hillock-loving 5 year olds everywhere...



I have birds, boys and more birds to show you too...but that will have to wait

Every Day in May

Bit of an obvious one I'm afraid, but I had to mention him at some point, so it might as well be now. Not stained glass, but beautiful, organic, alien-like, tentacular (is that even a word?!) glass forms. Dale Chihuly.

If you like your art dark, creepy and kooky...

...(as I do) you absolutely must have a look at Judith Shaechter's stained glass.
I think I could spend several hours in her company. I love what she says about her beginnings as an artist and her choice of glass as a medium:

"My parents, not artists themselves, accidentally made me an artist by ascribing genius to every scribble I made. My mother kept and labeled everything. Looking through this stuff in college, I was surprised to find out what a case of arrested development I was. I drew dead lions, crying kitties, and Winston Churchill in his coffin.

I never thought of myself as an artist. The real reason I went to art school was to eliminate phys ed and math from my life.

My involvement with stained glass dates back to whenever it was I got my Lite-Brite toy. Later, I made those melt in the oven suncatchers. I guess it can all be chalked up to phototropism. I took stained glass as an elective in art school (I was a painting major at the time) and haven't quit yet.

I guess the most appealing thing for me is the tedium factor. I don't have too many worthy and profound ideas, so each piece needs to take a certain amount of time. This keeps my hands busy and in sync with my head.

Ironically, I find my "artistic voice" is liberated only by the severest of technical restrictions. The more monotonous and difficult a process, the more exciting I find it. Incidentally, for this reason I've always found the process of painting intolerable. Nothing is more horrible than a blank canvas and nothing more easily filled with meaningless, arty brush strokes. I went through a phase as a painter when I would gesso over all the superfluous elements. I would always end up staring at a white rectangle again.

Another major reason I stick with stained glass is because I think the raw material is pretty. The uncut sheets of colored glass are really seductive, awesome, and unarguably lovely things. Naturally, the temptation to cut and damage all that pristine beauty is too much for me to resist.

Finally, my atheist upbringing accounts for my attraction to the spiritual aspect of transmitted light. Some medieval guy said it best when he said stained glass is enlightenment embodied."

The above panel is called "Birdthief" (2001)

Too many things, too little time...

is basically my life, and in fact, probably most people's lives. Especially if you have small children as well. In my tidy-up this evening, after we put the girls to bed, I found three half-drunk cups of tea. I suppose on the upside, at least I had the time to make them, and drink a few slurps before losing them again.

I've been wanting to find a few minutes to sort out my header on here/Folksy/Etsy (when I get round to opening up there) but not a moment has been found today, although I have downloaded a rather gorgeous font from Dafont (a site recommended by Francesca from Mrs Eliot Books) for the purpose. I was a little alarmed to find my poor solitary heffalump on Folksy has been delisted - presumably it has been 6 months since I put him up (scratches head, looks blank, realises she has no recollection of the passing of 6 months). Luckily, I do now have more stuff to list... just got to find a few (more) minutes. Maybe I can get Isla to watch a 12 hour Wiggles marathon tomorrow....

Every Day in May

Oh this is just beautiful work. Her designs are based on and inspired by Japanese fabrics. The detail and colour in these panels is incredible. I am awaiting her permission to use some images on here...in the meantime, go and have a look for yourself - you'll not be disappointed.

Kate Gakenheimer

My workshop at night....

....is lovely. The kids are asleep, the radio's on and having just given it a pretty good clean up, it looks quite nice. Angel panels are in the cementing shed ready to be done tomorrow (groan) and then I'm all set to start on some new bits and pieces.

Oh, and also - not a great photo I know, but I couldn't get the little critters to stay still - how cute do my tadpoles look with their little froggy legs?! I was starting to get a bit weary of changing the water every 3 days and the general worry about their welfare, but now I'm in love with them all over again. Well, maybe "love" is going a bit far...



Every Day in May

OK, so having said I wouldn't do any more pics unless I got permission, I've just got to put this up because it's wonderful:



By Toshio Takami

A couple of other little gems on his site include:

Hummingbird

Friends

I have a feeling that his son may have provided the inspiration for these panels (shhhh, don't tell anyone but I've been mining Nelly's drawings for inspiration too)

Graham Norton - Nul Points

Hmmm, not keen on him myself - bit tooooo snidey for my liking. What's wrong with a bit of national dress eh - isn't that the WHOLE point of The Eurovision Song Contest?

Anyway, enough of my ranting...

Every Day in May

I adore nasturtiums... the colours, the fact you can chuck them in a salad and it looks (and tastes) amazing, the way they cover up all the weeds in my garden in July and August... so I was quite taken with these wall panels. Even without colour, and reduced to a few simple lines, they still look brilliant. By Gavin Marshall.

Quickety Quick

Every Day in May

Lovely fused and slumped plates, lighting and wall panels by Hazel Burnham

Must dash, there is a rather delicious smelling curry calling...

Consequences

Just for your amusement, here are a couple of rounds from a game of Picture Consequences I played with Nelly last night. I do love that balloon tied to the rabbit's ear, and the teeny-weeny sombrero on the funny-lookin' kid's head. His T-shirt says "I Luv Yoo Brad" - Nelly's current year 5 crush [sigh...she's only 5!]. I think that game is about the most fun you can have with 2 pens and some paper.

Every Day in May

Skip on over to Sue Woolhouse's website, for some wonderful examples of cast glass. Lots of lovely plants, flowers and fishies cast in glass.

Oh you pretty things....

I had such a lovely surprise today. Sara, who runs our local emporium of gorgeousness Girl's Own, gave me 4 beautiful skirts for Nelly and Isla. This is the red one (for Nelly) and there is a blue one in the same pattern for Isla. Then there is a pair of matching green and pink floral skirts in their sizes. I am so excited! Needless to say the weather is grotsville, so no chance of giving them an outing today, plus Isla is still Poorline McPoorly (her neck glands are so puffed up you would not believe - she looks like Shrek) and has not been out of her jimjams for 3 days now....

Also - has anyone seen the fab brand overhaul on the Mornflake brand of breakfast cereals? I've been trying to find out if Angie Lewin did actually design the packaging, or whether it is a very good rip-off...but regardless, I am completely sold on it.


Edited 26/05/09 I had an e-mail from Simon Lewin today, saying that Angie didn't design the packaging. Although she had been approached by Mornflake, she declined.

Every Day in May

Clare Johnson designs, makes and conserves architectural and stained glass windows from her studio located in the heart of the glorious Peak District National Park. Here are a few images of her work - she puts so much life and movement into her windows, they are joyous!

What day is it now....?

Sorry, I have a poorly kid at home, so I've kind of lost track of things a bit. She's poorly in the nicest possible way - snuggly, sleepy, cuddly - but is only happy cuddled up to me, so I'm not getting much done.

I'm still working on the church windows in any precious spare moments - but this is also going quite slowly - due to the presence of rather nasty and toxic "red lead" in the old cement (substance between the glass and lead). This means I have to be super cautious while handling the panels and pulling them apart to repair so that the dust doesn't get all over the workshop - the effects of lead poisoning are not pretty...

"When inhaled, lead tetroxide (red lead) irritates lungs. In case of high dose, the victim experiences a metallic taste, chest pain, and abdominal pain. When ingested, it gets dissolved in the gastric acid and gets absorbed, leading to lead poisoning. High concentrations can be absorbed through skin as well, and it is important to follow safety precautions when working with lead-based paint.

Long-term contact with lead tetroxide may lead to accumulation of lead compounds in organisms, with development of symptoms of acute lead poisoning. Chronic poisoning displays as agitation, irritability, vision disorders, hypertension, and also a grayish facial hue.

Lead tetroxide was shown to be carcinogenic for laboratory animals. Its carcinogenicity for humans was not proven."

Mmmmm, nice...

(From Wikipedia)

Anyway, back to Every Day in May (I think I might have missed a day, but we'll overlook that...)

Today's artist is Dorset-based Gillian McCormick

Lots of goodies on her site - and as she has very kindly granted me permission to use her images, I've chosen a few of my faves:

I love that mermaid.


Clever the way the countryside in the distance becomes part of the window.

Beautiful Music

Went to see such an amazing band last night - Po' Girl (Allison Russell and Awna Teixeira). Their voices are so perfect together. This is taken from their website, and pretty much sums them up:

"...like genuine gypsies, these two wander and play. They move and move and play and sing. It's quite simple. Always restless, more often than not bone-tired, they write their flashes of sadness, their loss, their good love, their faint dreams of home into songs that matter deeply to them. Like any good art, they are little acts of self-rescue...and who couldn't use a little rescuing these days? "

To hear "Deer in the Night" - one of the most beautiful songs you might ever hear - and find out more, visit their site.


Every Day in May

Sunday's artist is Catrin Jones, for this incredible Welsh Quilt window at Maelor Hospital, Wrexham. I do love a quilt, so a stained glass one is a double joy.

Saturday - Nikki Cass

I love the bold graphic style of this - and the colours. Some really lovely images on her site of fused glass, which I am not normally a massive fan of - but when it's done well like this, it is stunning.

Back over in my workshop - plodding on with the repairs on the angel windows...

Friday - Cappy Thompson

It's a shame it's not a better quality image, but this has a magical fairytale quality to it. It makes me want to be on a flight delayed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport just so I can spend a few hours lost in that window....

Some close-ups here, here and here

By Cappy Thompson

The digital camera is currently being purloined by Mike as he puts the finishing touches to his latest waxwork creation - Barack Obama. Well, actually, 4 of them. For various wax museums around the world. Hence not many images of my stuff on here lately!

Thursday - Annie Rie

Sorry, more bird themed windows!

Annie Rie's windows are quite traditional, but there is something really special about the way she captures the countryside. You can almost smell it, feel the damp dewyness of the evening sky and hear the birdsong can't you?

Also - just another quick link to Susie Ghahremani's site, with all her latest stuff on it. I think I am becoming slightly obsessed with her work...

Oh, whoops...

OK, so I'm a bit green around the gills about all this... but I've just realised that I could get into a whole messy heap of trouble for using other people's images for my Every Day in May project - even if I am bigging them up and linking to their sites. So I'd better stop that right now, if my children want their mummy at home....

Wednesday - Olle Brozen

Ahem, well, it's a bit of a cheat... it's not exactly a stained glass window. But it is glass. And it does make me feel stupidly happy when I look at it, so that's good enough for me. By Olle Brozen

Tuesday - Danielle Hopkinson.... plus the soundtrack to our summer...

Right. This is just so gorgeous and lovely and it's got birds on it and pretty patterns and everything and I wish I had made it. There. Can't say fairer than that really.... By Suffolk-based artist Danielle Hopkinson.

I also feel that the lobster is a much under-used theme in stained glass....


On Sunday night we went to a party/private view of illustrator Paul Blow. His work is so cool and also everso slightly unsettling. I do think we need one of his paintings in our house actually.

Lastly, this is the CD we will mostly be listening to this Summer. Jaunty, quirky, oddball pop. Sung through an oxygen mask.

The video is pretty cool too:

Monday - Peadar Lamb

Phew! Caught up with myself at last. So Monday's artist is Peadar Lamb. Lots and lots of gorgeous windows on his website, so well worth a visit. These two (which are set into lightboxes) are rather marvellous aren't they. Red and Blue - such a classic combination in stained glass - I love the way they really "sing" together. And the simple, minimalist, graphic style of them is just so fresh and inspiring.