My First Attempt At Stained Glass

So here it is, my finished stained glass panel!

One of my New Years Resolutions was to learn a new craft, so I was really excited to see my local art venue The West End Centre was running a 10 week stained glass workshop through the grey drab winter months! Maggie Beal runs the glass course, and was a great help and inspiration throughout. I really liked Maggie's personal work, and she encouraged us to experiment with painting on the glass, which I was particularly eager to try! I had no idea what to expect from the classes, but I believe they greatly improved my attention to detail and importantly, patience! Crafting is still a hot topic, but it was nice to try something which really put me out of my comfort zone - ie: basic maths, breakables and scalding hot welding equipment - all went well thank goodness!

Stained glass is a very traditional and (in my case) slow process, but I hope you'll agree, the final effect is lovely, as soon as the sun hits the panel, it glows, and you can see all different shades and textures in the glass. I chose a garden design (mostly because I was yearning for spring to arrive!) so we have a proud old tree watching over the greenhouse, with bean frames and veg patch in the middle, and a chirpy blackbird welcoming the sunshine!

I also used a variety of different techniques with the paint (luckily escaping any nasty inhalation complications too, turns out mine wasn't lead-free, whoops!) As well as walking away with the panel, it was also the first time I've used a sketchbook since graduating, an excellent step in the right direction! I am aiming to attend further day courses at The West End Centre to improve my technique so I might one day create some on my own, watch this space!

I highly recommend giving a new craft a try this year!