Recently, a dear friend of mine asked me this: Would I be interested in making a stained glass window as a present for her sister's wedding? I promptly answered no. HAH! Fooled you. Of course I said yes, could you ever believe I turned that down? Silly goose.
My first task was to take measurements. There are four windows in their main living area, which let in a beautiful amount of light to the open space. After talking with the two nearly-weds, it was decided that two hanging panels would be created for the inner-most windows. I settled on the measurement of 11x20 per panel, and will eventually create a 1-1/2" frame, making the total dimension 14x23.
When designing something that is obviously not for yourself, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Firstly, like I already stated, you are not designing it for yourself: Your likes and dislikes may come into play and influence the final piece, but it should not dictate the design. It was really important for me to ask them what they would like... and of course what they would not like. You don't want to spend all your time and effort making a giant peacock out of glass and find out that they hate birds. Then your friend who asked you to do this is no longer your friend because you asked her to pay for the failure peacock glass and she said no. And the couple is obligated to hang the glass, which eventually causes them to fight to the point where they divorce. The glass gets sold at an auction for $5.00, and you're living in van down by the river, warning others about peacocks and glass. FAILURE. After conferring with them, they did both point out something I found interesting: The painting hanging across the room that the both admired: It was a copy of Gustav Klimt's The Kiss. They also mentioned that besides neutral colors, they both liked pops of color, like blue and red. It's an awesome coincidence that both colors appear in the painting, and I drew further ideas from that as well. My next task was to design the actual window itself. Well... windows, since there are two panels. I decided to study the painting, just concentrating on the lines and shapes. I came up with a geometric, mirror-image non-representational design that I hope they'll really like. I will try to morphs the design a little along the way while I'm working on it. I'd like to see some more lines and circles appear so the two panels look slightly different. (I'd share the design, but I want it to be a surprise!)
I also made a test selection of Spectrum glass colors for the panels, all inspired by The Kiss. Tomorrow I'll be prepared for my shopping adventure, since I'll be driving to Warner Stained Glass up in Allentown, PA to pick out the colors. If you haven't been there, it's quite a sight to see, and they have a remarkably HUGE selection. Here's to new projects, and I'll keep you updated along the journey!
