Sailboat Stained Glass Panel

Barb approached me for a panel to capture the time she and Ken and their kids spent on their sailboat. It was to be a Christmas present for Ken with a companion piece representing their life in Huron Woods to be a birthday present for him in February.

After trawling through images of sailboats on the net, I designed the piece using Glass Eye 2000, which easily allowed me to tweak the size and placement of the boat within the panel.

The folks at Sunrise Glass were, as usual, very knowledgeable and patient in helping me choose the glass and figuring out the amounts I would need.

I had Glen Baillie make the frames for both panels before I began, to minimize the chance I would finish the piece and find it didn't fit the frame, the external dimensions of which needed to be 53 centimetres.

The pieces are foiled with 7/32 black-backed foil, and I added a black patina to the solder to contrast with the bright, light colours of the glass.

...and I'll call Rusty...

I used a combination of leading and foiling in this window I installed beside my front door. This way I can greet guests even when I'm not home. And the message to would-be burglars is an unambiguous (well, maybe not so ambiguous...), 'Stop! Grrrr.' In fact, wonder if that's how most people read it when they arrive, and that's why I have so few visitors. Hmmm.

The pieces in my head (yes, I rattle when I dance) were foiled to maximise the glass surface area, while the rest is lead camed for that great supple strength it provides. It's the same height as I am and I'm not saying whether it's any narrower. The glass is largely translucent to allow light into the foyer and so I can peek out to keep an eye on the neighbours. Oh, they're a rascally lot.

I sent a photo to the Delphi online gallery today. You can check out other cool pieces people have made there...well, they didn't actually make them there, but you can look there to see pieces they've made elsewhere. You know what I mean.