We’re happy to have done the work we’ve done, but we’re far from sad that there’s more work for us to do–like a new project we’ve begun that we’re calling the Turner Transom. For this project, we were approached by our clients, folks who have some property in our own beautiful Texas Hill Country. They asked about our putting together a transom window so they can get a little more of the kindly sunlight for which–along with wildflowers, barbeque, and high school football–our part of the world is rightly known. They gave us the dimensions of the piece we’ll need to make–36 x 12 inches–and we took our first steps: drafting a design:
Turner Transom Design by Kevin Elliott is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
We ran that by the client and got the approval to start work on it–because we don’t get going on a custom piece for any client without their input and approval. For us, for a piece like this–one we’ll be putting into a metal frame, since a transom stands a good chance of needing to take some stresses–moves from a design draft to what we call a cartoon. That is, we print the layout out at full size, because having something in hand is a whole ‘nother thing from seeing it on a screen, and working in glass is as much about the feel of it as about anything else. That much done, we began making our reference pieces, giving ourselves something to lay under glass or over it so that we can get a good view of how the individual pieces will work with the specific glass we’ll end up using:
This part of the process is important for a couple of reasons. For one, it gives us a standing visual aid as we compile a piece of visual art; seeing what we’re doing while we’re doing it helps us make sure it’s done right. Architects and engineers work from blueprints, writers work from notes, and painters work from sketches; we take our cues from other arts to work in our own. For another, each piece of glass–not only the ones we make, but the materials from which we make them–is unique. Not every piece of blue glass, not even every piece from a single production run, will look exactly the same, for example, and making those differences make sense in a transom window–or any other panel–demands care and attention that we’re more than happy to give.
As with the Smith Panel Combination about which we posted previously, we’ll keep putting out updates about our work on the current project. We think it’s important to bring people into what we do, show a bit of the expertise and experience that goes into crafting works of stained glass that will add to a home’s value and enrich the lives of those who live in it–and we hope you continue to enjoy the ride!
We’d love to work with you, too! Please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via our “Contacts” page or the form below; let’s talk about meeting your stained glass and art glass needs and getting you your heart’s desire!
Heart's Desire Stained Glass 