With a show coming I need to have some new pieces to that haven't been seen before. I've had a few ideas percolating in my head for months now and finally got them from the idea stage to the sketch pad and then to glass. But it's been nearly a year since I did any glass painting and found that I needed to brush up on my skills (no pun intended)
My inspiration for this piece were the flowers that grew in my new flower garden this summer. I don't remember choosing this amazing color when I bought the bulbs early last spring, but when the bloomed they were pretty amazing.
![](/sites/default/files/glad1.jpg)
The first step is to prepare the color sketch to get an idea of what I wanted the piece to look like. I'd been mulling it over for a long time and finally had the concept.
![](/sites/default/files/glad2.jpg)
I cut my colored glass and put it in the kiln to fire. I'm using a "striker" glass called Tangerine. Strikers change color in the kiln. Tangerine is a tough one because it's easy to confuse with the amber glass.
![](/sites/default/files/glad3)
You can see the difference in the tangerine striker glass after its has been fired
![](/sites/default/files/glad4.jpg)
The first step in painting is the outline. And then back into the kiln to flash fuse the paint and adhere it to the glass.
![](/sites/default/files/glad5.jpg)
Next comes the first layer of shading. The entire piece is covered with a mask of Bistre Brown and this is what it looks like:
![](/sites/default/files/glad6.jpg)
I put it on a light box and remove everything that "isn't" the darkest shadow. Then back into the kiln for a flash fuse.
![](/sites/default/files/glad7.jpg)
Finally a layer of Umber Brown shadow and back into the kiln for a final time. This time instead of a flash fuse the glass goes through a full fuse to properly anneal the glass to avoid any unfortunate breakage down the road. And the final piece is complete:
![](/sites/default/files/glad8.jpg)