Other Items, Gifts & Miscellaneous

There are times when I like to depart from the usual and just try new things. Sometimes materials fall into my lap and I enjoy creating with them. My “Miscellaneous” items are those things that don’t really fit into a category, and they include things I have tried and may never try again. Each piece has a story.

Mosaic Table

I came across a Bath/Kitchen store that was going out of business. They were happy to unload samples and single pieces that were otherwise going to be hauled into a landfill. The mosaic table is made up of sample tiles, many of which were pried off of sample boards and carefully cleaned of paper and glue residue. Once I had a pile of tiny tiles, I started to place them, and this table is the result.

Jenna’s Dragon

My niece Jenna was getting married, and I offered to create a glass piece as a wedding present. Jenna requested a dragon to fit in an awkward space above her bathroom vanity. She planned to light it from behind. I combined a stained glass background with a fused glass dragon and his hoard.

Stringer Art

Glass stringers are lengths of glass that look like strands of spaghetti, and come in a variety of colors. The strands can be held over a candle flame and bent to shape. I find it a challenge to create very specific shapes with stringer, and I often use it in my vases and mandalas. Sometimes I come across pieces of stained glass that are particularly beautiful, or they might invoke a feeling of place or mood for me. My stringer art is a combination of fused glass stringer and stained glass background.

Stained Glass Stars

The stained glass stars are a good, meditative job. My challenge is to make the triangle shapes as precise as possible (not as easy as it may seem). I also enjoy solder work, and this is an exercise in soldering, as each edge has copper wire running along the side, and the solder must cover the wire and look as smooth as possible. Because my stars are wired, they are very durable. I have a few hanging in the trees outside that have held up for years, through all weather, sun and snow. I have a friend who insists they are Christmas Stars, but I also have customers that love them as Fairy Stars, hanging in the garden, or even standing on shelves indoors.