New window necklaces

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I needed to do some more stained glass window necklaces for Grace cathedral, so I finished them off today.

Three of them are utilizing the scenes from the St Matthew window in the Chapel of Grace, and the fourth - the largest - is from one of the more contemporary style windows in the nave of the church.

I will take them to the shop at Grace on Sunday when I sing there.

They vary quite a bit in different lights.  I like that aspect as when you wear it, you see different colors and suddenly, the vibrance shines through....but then you turn and it looks different again.

Hope you like them - and I appreciated your comments on the bangles. Thanks for that.

Vibrance and Grace

I took some of my 'stained glass' aluminum jewelry down to Grace Cathedral this week for them to sell in their gift shop.  I was delighted that they wanted to stock it.

The jewelry is all based on the stained glass windows in the cathedral (yes, I have permission to use it).  The colors are so vibrant, which is why I chose to call the series "Vibrance and Grace".

It'll be interesting if I see any of the congregation wearing it when I go down to sing on Sunday.

I heard that they went on sale on Tuesday and two pieces sold straight away!  How encouraging is that.

Now I'm working on some new windows - and it looks like I need to get working!

Stained glass window bangles

I finished off some more stained glass window bangles today, in blue colors!

As I'm now looking to link back to a previous post regarding the predominantly red window bangles I've made, I realize that I didn't blog about those - only showed you the window photos! 

Anyhow, today's bangles contrast with the ones you haven't yet seen (!!!) in that they are predominantly blue!  They are based on the windows in Grace cathedral, San Francisco. Beautiful colors and more traditional in design that the others.  I'll show you the red ones another day...soon!

I had good news this week that the Gift Store at Grace Cathedral is going to stock some of my stained glass window necklaces, earrings and bangles...just as soon as I get them there.  It'll be nice to have my work sold where I sing.

Father and Daughter collaboration - Stained glass windows

Today's bracelets are a collaboration between my father and myself.  Any of you who remember him as my guest blogger for a few years, writing "Sunday's spotlight" may well recall that he loves photographing churches/cathedrals and flowers.  Yes, a few other buildings get thrown in occasionally, but it's very rare to find people in his photos.

I was checking his Flickr site the other day as he had added some new photos and saw a lovely photograph of a stained glass window from Peterborough cathedral.  It was a beautiful bright window, with such rich colors. 

Photo by Pete2010

Immediately, I thought it would make a wonderful color anodized aluminum bangle.

And indeed it, I think it does! The richness of the reds, blues and greens contrast so nicely with the silver of the aluminum and the black.  It is just rich!  You can see the saint with a bird here in this bangle (- maybe my dad knows the background to the window and who this is?):

I'm loving wearing one. And yes, it's shiny!  Quite a contrast for me who normally wears matt!

I think I'll be taking some down to Grace cathedral when we start singing there again next week and see what reaction I get.  What do you think?

Thanks Dad. It was great to take something you created and use it in one of my creations.  There may well be more of these in the future!

Stained glass window bangle

I have been trying a different style in my color anodized aluminum today - looking for a more painterly effect.  My subject was a stained glass window:

So this is just a work in progress, trying a new technique and seeing how it works, what I need to change, etc, etc.

I was hoping for more vibrancy in the colors but I guess painting them on leaves them paler. Maybe I need to use more concentrated colors for a painterly effect?  Or maybe I need to try this not on a matt finish aluminum, but on polished aluminum...

Hmmm. I like the idea.... it encourages me to keep going with it.... What do you think? Soooo many possibilities!!!

Cathedral rose windows

I made another pair of cathedral rose window earrings, as I had a request from a seller in Germany.  This pair I made using different colors of "stained glass": one is predominantly blue and the other red.

I love the combination of silver and colored aluminum and want to do more of this style of things.

I have very few pairs of earrings are that totally matching.  What about you?  I think earrings should look like a pair, but don't have to be a mirror image.

I'm interested in what you look for in earrings - matching or coordinated?

Sunday's spotlight - Lincoln Waterlogged

By guest blogger Pete.

Lincoln has existed in even more chaos that normal over the past few days. Being an ancient city our roads are mainly narrow, limited, and single carriageways. There are just three arterial roads into the below hill part of the city and three into the up hill part. Early Monday morning the High Street in the below hill part of the city was closed, causing the other two remaining arterial roads to exceed their normal overcrowding and rush hours became a matter of patience rather than progress. The cause of this disruption was a burst water main, which sent gallons of the wet stuff up into the air. Fortunately, all this happened in the early morning hours and Anglian Water were quick to turn that water off BUT not quick enough to save the surface of the road. Thus for the next five days the High Street was closed to all non pedestrian traffic. No notice was given about the new bus routes that were set up. One day you could spend the whole day waiting at a bus stop for your bus (only to learn that it was going on a different route) and the next day the bus would run normally and you could pick it up from the same stop.


It's a few weeks now since I last inflicted on you all a photo of my latest and ongoing painting. I am fairly pleased with it but have purposely left the most difficult section to the end. Can you guess what part that is? No prizes on offer but self congratulations are permitted.


I have also been experimenting with some photographs again. In sunny July Pam and I took a holiday in Suffolk and during that week we visited Bury St Edmunds. That city has a great cathedral, which possesses some really fine stained glass. Using kaleidoscopes, I have been trying to get some rather different shots of some of the windows' features.


Isn't it a pity that there are only twenty four hours in a day? I could manage a few more without an hassles. Mind you, I speak as a retired person . There were times when I was working when I thought a reduction in each day's hours might well have been an advantage. Do you think each day has sufficient hours? I never seem to complete everything I want to do.


My magnolia appears to have given up its attempt to become the first evergreen magnolia in history and is now shedding leaves in a fashion that would suggest there is no to-morrow coming along. Add to this the fact that my plum tree still hasn't borne any fruit and you can see some of my frustrations.
Keep on enjoying life and keep on finding things to do.

Cathedral rose window earrings

Finally I've made some earrings! It seems that all my inspiration tends towards bracelets, bangles and necklaces lately..... Not quite sure why......And I can't even say the earrings are a new design as I have previously made a similar necklace.

Anyhow - the design of the earrings is from the rose window at Grace cathedral in San Francisco where I sing every week. As I sing, this is what I see! Just a gorgeous geometric array for stained glass. Here is the window:

In the earrings, the "stained glass" is actually blue, red and yellow resin.


What I like about the earrings is that the light shines through them, like the window. With the necklace, as you wear it is against your skin so you don't get the transparency of the resin, but as earrings you do. The other great thing is that the earrings are really light weight and comfortable as the silver is all cut out and the resin is much lighter than metal.

Hope you like them....