Custom, Handmade Stained Glass Art
Specializing in original designs. Created using the Tiffany Method with copper foil and solder.
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Interested in buying a piece? See my shop here: bdglassdesigns.etsy.com
Red Rose with Kauri Wood Bowl and Chipped Glass Heart
This was a quick and fun project. I made this for my wife for Valentines Day. The red glass was the absolute worst to work with. It was slightly thicker, with a wavy texture, and more expensive the most of the glass I have used. That red glass fought me, and probably got more red from the cuts it gave me along the way! I ordered some brass rods to use as the stem and figured out how to tin and patina them. In the base, I chipped a lot of extra green shards that I had laying around from other projects.
I do love how it turned out. It was a hit, and it made excellent use of an Kauri Wood dish I had made 29 year earlier, when I was in New Zealand. The Kauri Wood was leftover scrap from a designer shop, and a local with wood working equipment allowed me to experiment and make it for fun. I have had it sitting around in storage ever since, and it has become a great base.
The smaller heart piece, with chipped glass was actually something my wife requested for Valentines, so I was a bit busy for this holiday. She originally requsted something like a heart mosiac, but I am not very experienced with those, so I made my own twist on it.
The heart is cut and soldered into the larger piece of clear/white streaky glass. Then I chipped a variety of scrap glass shard colors and weld bonded them to the heart. I made sure it was several layers deep. Once the weld bond dried, I scraped the excess glass away that hadn't stuck. (reminder to self -- use glass gloves next time. Ouch).
Desert Saloon 3D
See this in the shop at: bdglassdesigns.etsy.com
I got the idea for this from a friend who likes western art. I had an image in my head of a rustic old desert saloon with red-rock mesas and a lone saguaro cactus. Instead of doing it as a panel or a suncatcher, I decided to build on my Hummingbird 3D idea, and turn it into a diorama.
The design process was quite tricky. Instead of one design template, I had to create 6 seperate templates. One for each mesa, cactus, and saloon. Then one for the base, and finally one for the overall layout and support system.
When I was building this, it ended up becoming five individually built stained glass sections at first. Then the sections were permanently joined together in a final soldering step. Since I used a multi-section construction, it helped me to focus on structural strength. Each piece has several support trusses added to it, and the saloon has an added glass beam to stop any damage from a hinge joint.
I loved the colors for the glass. The mesa colors ended up being exactly what I was hoping for when it is in directly light. The saloon has two colors of brown, with one duplicating the look of "old barn wood". The saloon windows are a streaky black and clear glass, which allows you to see through them, but gives them the appearance of being old or dirty.
In the end, this became quite a substantial piece and very one of a kind. There is over 97 hand-cut pieces of glass, with each piece individually foiled and soldered. It is free-standing, no stand or easel is required . It will sit securely on a shelf or table and small rubber feet are attached to the underside to help protect surfaces.
This was truly a fun yet challenging build. I love the original design. I don't see a lot out there that is similar. It would make a great addition to anyone who likes to collect western or desert art.
Approximate Dimensions:
• Base width × depth: 14” × 9” • Tallest height (saloon): 9” • Cactus: 5.25” × 7”
• Mesa #1: 5.5” × 7.5” • Mesa #2: 5.5” × 7” • Saloon building: 9.5” × 9”
Beginning the Glass Cutting Process
Cut and Ready for the Grinder
Assembly of the Cactus
Assemby of the Mesa
Saloon Reinforcement
Putting it all together
Temples Collection
I have had the opportunity to make a few stained glass versions of temples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These buildings have significant symbolic meaning for members, and glass art is a great way to display their beauty. The first one I built was actually a gift for my mother, and was based on image I had seen of the temple during a sunrise. It was my first really challenging piece, and I learned a lot of about design. I had to completly redo the design several times to get the sky glass in shapes that are able to be cut. (hello clouds!)
I also had the opportunity to make a stand-alone figure of the same temple. This was a commissioned piece for a birthday gift. It proved to be also an interesting puzzle to solve, with lots of potential hinge joints. Copper restrip in the correct places really made a difference.
I also had the chance to make a version of the Twin Falls Idaho Temple in free-standing form as well. It was a comissioned piece for my sister to give to her daughter. I had to base the design entirely on photos that I had seen, and later on, when I finally had the chance to see this beautiful building in person, I was pleased to see the design matched reality better than I imagined.
I am sure that over time I will be asked to create other temples. Some of these will be quite challenging. One of which was the Pocatello Idaho Temple. I started working on the design, and found that I would have to be extremely large to accomodate all of the little details, or designed to be a more distant part of a larger glass piece.
As I build more of these, I will add more pictures here and in my piece gallery.
Hummingbird 3D
See this in the shop at: bdglassdesigns.etsy.com
An original design, when I sketched it out, I had no idea if it would work. And.....This piece turned out way better than I had imagined! At 11.5 inches long, body depth of 3.25 inches, and an impressive wingspan of 15.5 inches wide. It was mostly an experiment to see if I could do it.
A lot of the challenge was designing and building it in a way that will support the weight of the tail and wings. The copper foil and solder alone are not strong enough to support that weight. Normally I would add a thick copper strip called "Copper Re-Strip" to add support. But the shape of this doesn't allow for that. So.... to solve my problem I used a wire frame of tinned copper wire.
After all the pieces were cut, ground, and foiled, I began the soldering and framing process. I soldered the tail first and included a tinned copper wire between the tail glass that extends 3 inches beyond the glass itself. Then I built and soldered the left wing and included a wire in-between the feathers and wing body that extended for 7 inches out the wing where it attaches to the body. Puzzled yet? I was too on whether this would work.
I soldered the upper portion of the main body and ran the wire through the body where the wing attaches. I had half a bird body and one wing with a wing wire now extended from the body right where the other wing needed to be. So I then built the right wing around the wire attaching it directly to the body. Then it was time to attach the tail, running the tail wire between the finished upper body section and the newly attached lower body. I finished up by attaching the beak. which was fragile enough to need a support wire that runs down the crest of the head, onto the beak itself to provide reinforcement.
Phew. I was pleased it held together and was stronger than I anticipated. I gave it a good cleaning to remove the flux, added some patina, and gave it a good wax and shine. I also attached a wire for easy hanging.
This turned out so much better than I anticipated. I was expected to have a little experiment, and if it failed, add it to the pile of glass scrap. But I learned that I can do 3D art. And with a little problem solving, it can turn out beyond what I expect.
Copper foil completed
Tail attachment
Finishing the tail
Final touch-ups
Pirate Moon
See this in the shop at: bdglassdesigns.etsy.com
Custom original design, 13.25 x 13 inch round stained glass pirate ship panel. My design was for a wooden ship cutting through the waters under a moonlit dark purple hazy sky. Originally I had stormy skies and lightning, but after breaking the glass from it being so thin, I changed the design and really like what it became. The colors include cream/amber sails, dark purple streak sky, deep blue ocean and light blue ship wake. The flag is a dark purple/black spotted glass and the moon is a unique yellow spotted glass.
This is actual authentic stained glass, not a glass or a acrylic sheet with a picture on it. It is sometimes frustrating when people sell "stained glass" but it really is just a digital picture stuck to a glass panel. I think in some ways it cheapens the meaning of stained glass. Real stained glass is a complex and time consuming process.
To make my stained glass, I use theTiffany method with copper foil and solder. Every piece hand cut, foiled, and then soldered. As a custom designed handmade piece of art, and due to the artisanal nature of this work, slight variations in solder lines, including tiny bubbles, subtle tool marks, or minor imperfections in the glass edges and soldering are natural and part of the handmade process. — they add unique character to each one of a kind creation. To care for this piece and keep it shining, I suggest cleaning it with pledge furniture polish.
Cutting Glass
After patterns are designed on an Ipad, they are printed on vinyl. The vinyl is attached to sheets of colored glass, which is then cut in the shape of the vinyl with a glass scoring tool. Then, round or grozing pliers seperate the glass on the scores.
Glass Grinder Fitting
The glass is then ran through a diamond bit grinder to create smooth edges and ensure the pieces fit together correctly. The grinding process will remove sharp edges and can also fix small errors in the cutting process. (It makes quite a mess!)
Copper Foil
Each glass piece is meticulously wrapped in copper foil. Solder will not stick to stained glass. Copper foil allows the solder to hold the glass together. After the foil is added, each piece is burnished to remove any wrinkles or bumps in the foil.
Solder and Finishing
The glass is soldered using a Tin/Lead solder at 410° C. After both sides get soldered, and the outer edge gets either tinned and beaded or metal came is added. The piece is then cleaned of flux, patina is added, and it is waxed and polished.
Scrap Glass Trees
These are a great way to use some of the extra scrap pieces that I have acculated. The scrap glass really adds up! I am happy to make you one too if you would like. They are simple and very inexpensive. And they are really fun for Christmas time. I am not listing them on my shop. If you would some, go to my contact us page and send me an email. Please list any colors you might be interested in and I will get back to you with the details, availability and the price.
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