Lovely letter of thanks from my Tuscany Villa window client

From a happy client ...

"Yesterday, late afternoon, Eric and Tom installed the window and it was instantly 'home.' Well, well, well... I cannot say enough! Absolutely beautiful! Beyond even the great expectations!

"Kathy, your efforts and dedication are immediately evident ... in all the glass choices of color, texture along with arrangement of pieces that have resulted in such a beautiful work of art.

"Our window now makes a dramatic entrance with views from almost every room on the 1st fl main living areas, as well as the first view coming from the 2nd fl... Good Morning!

"We are back traveling the roads, making our way from Rome to Florence to Venice and then again from Bologna back into Tuscany, heading for its seaside coast.

"We will now forever have our Tuscany vistas in glass, a perfect composition which appears to change with times of day & night. Our window will be alive with changing light, weather, and seasons.

"Thanks for helping make a 20+year plan realized! Absolutely beautiful! Love it and Love you for all your detailed decision making, long hours, and painstaking work!"

Tuscany Villa Window finished!

This past Thursday, after 5 weeks, the Tuscany Villa stained glass window was completed.  The changes to the original design from Paned Expressions can be seen, above, with the altered skyline and the addition of the sunflowers in the foreground, as well as the hillside vineyards.

This window is 19” x 32” in four panels, has 275 pieces of glass, used 40 yards of foil, 1-1/2 pounds of solder, and weights 8-1/2 pounds.  I signed and dated it at the bottom right with a Dremel Tool and a small rounded tip engraving bit from Inland.  It will be installed in my client’s home in about two weeks using short lengths of chain in the three eye hooks which I soldered to the top to evenly distribute the weight. 

My client has not yet seen it but it received rave reviews at a recent gathering of friends. I haven’t yet added up the total time to build this window.  I estimated it to be 35 hours but I anticipate that the actual time will be much longer.  Well, when these projects turn into labors of love, who’s counting? 

Thanks Rosanna, for entrusting me with your window.  I hope you love it!

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More progress ...

As of yesterday, the front and back of each of the 4 panels are soldered and are awaiting the zinc “H” channel which will bond them together.  The “H” channel has been cut but not yet installed and soldered.  My photography gigs are always welcome and this week and last week, I spent many hours behind the camera and then behind this computer, editing shots.  But the Tuscany villa will soon see the light of day, I’m happy to report.  The finished window should be unveiled within this coming week.

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Tuscany Villa window home stretch

Three panels foiled, one more to go!  Here’s another view of the top half of the Tuscan Villa window.  (The full scene will be unveiled when its complete). So far, I’ve gone through 105 feet (or 35 yards) of a combination of copper and black-backed 7/32" foil.  Several pieces of glass, as usual, needed to be ground down a bit in order to fit.  That thin wrap of foil around the edge of each piece of glass can be enough to fill up the space between the pieces and make them fit too tightly.

I’ve inserted strips of colored card stock in between the four panels so that when I begun fluxing and soldering the panels, they won’t accidentally get bonded together.  I've decided to build the entire window inside the confines of the jig, to ensure that the piece stays perfectly oblong until I'm ready to separate it into the 4 panels.  I hope to begin those final steps toward completing the window within the next few days.  Onward!

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Yet another update ... Tuscany Villa

Another several days gone by, and more progress to report.  We decided the blue sky was overly blue, so I replaced it with Spectrum “Monterrey” Spirit glass in crystal clear/ivory. This glass looks like puffy little clouds on a clear background, nice for sky alongside the clear glue chip glass.  Just a few more pieces to cut near the sunflowers (not shown) and the window will be ready for foiling.  Since there are over 270 pieces of glass in this 19" x 32", 4-panel window, this will take some time.

Here’s a sneak preview … During this phase, the stained glass windows look like ugly ducklings.  The idea is there, but they don’t come alive until they’re soldered.  The villas will have hand-painted windows.  More to come …

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Tuscany Villa window .. Still cutting glass

Still cutting!  I’ve made my way around the window, top to bottom.  I'm now working in the lower left corner, cutting the leaves for the two large sunflowers I added to the pattern.  They were drawn by Joe Larson of Home Studio Art Glass in Munfordville, KY who gave me the OK to use them for this piece. I’m finding some good greens in my glass inventory for the leaves. I still have a few more to cut, though.  The 50-or-so yellow sunflower petals will be cut next.  Then its time to take out the big gun, my Gryphon Wire Saw, the loudest thing this side of the Appalachians. I intentionally left a few complicated pieces uncut because they cannot be safely or easily cut by hand.  The wire saw will take care of them, but this thing is loud!  When I don my earplugs, I’ll know the cutting is almost done and it’ll be time to start foiling.  Stay tuned …

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Tuscany Villa window .. The latest

It’s coming along!  About 11 colors down, several more to go.  Here’s a sneak preview.  You’ll notice several variations from the original pattern (posted below) on the skyline and perhaps one or two of the colors.  Part of the fun of working the glass is being able to make decisions on the fly, depending on what will look better or more realistic.  All of the villa windows will be painted on later.  Since my client requested transparency for much of the window, the villas are done primarily with Spectrum Cathedral and Artique glass.  I’ve discovered Wissmach glass and just love working with it.  The entire line of trees, side to side, was done in sequence with just one piece of Wissmach glass, no breaks.  Amazing. 

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Tuscany Villa window update

Just a quick update on the Tuscany Villa window, below … After a few more minor design tweaks, I completed the pattern and cut out about half of it.  I’m doing a photography project today, but anticipate starting to cut the glass first thing tomorrow.  I'll be cutting for a while ... This beautiful 19" x 32" window now has over 270 pieces of glass.

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Tuscany Villa window commission

This Tuscany villa scene is the basis for my next project for a client who has wanted a custom stained glass window since her now-28-year-old son was an infant.  Her original idea was a four seasons theme but we couldn’t quite find “the” design that would work well with her 4-panel horizontal window.  Knowing her taste, I went back and did more research for her.  As soon as I found this Tuscany scene from  Paned Expressions  it got an immediate thumbs-up from both her and her husband.  Yes!  Based on our collaboration, I’ve already modified it to include two beautiful large sunflowers in the left foreground as well as the addition of vineyards to the landscape. This week I’ll be focusing on inventorying my glass, ordering what I need, and then starting the pattern-making process.  With this lovely Italian countryside palette and the ideas that my client and I developed together, this window should be stunning.  Can’t wait to start cutting the glass for it!  Stay tuned for updates.

Click here for Boehm Stained Glass Studio website