Swinger

Swinger is one of my bigger windows at over 2 x 3 feet. It was inspired by a muerto streetwalker I have. If I find it I’ll take a picture of it and post it. The thing I love most about the muerto is her pink yarn beehive hairdo. I had some salvaged pieces from a red robe so I cut them down into the beehive and halter top. The background pieces were ruined from brick cleaners spraying acid on them. They were tossed and I rescued them for this window. I painted her head and body along with the miniature skulls for her hair. The dangle earring is made up of 3 glass jewels plated with painted pieces behind them. One fun window. Swinger-2009

Crushed Glass logo

The logo I designed for my "Glass Studio". Big surprise that it features an octopus.

First public showing

Yesterday I hung 10 windows at the Dunn Bros. Coffee shop on 34th and Hennepin. Mostly tropical-themed windows all shown for the first time publicly. Kind of fun to see them up out of the basement and hanging together. photos by Alan Wilfahrt

Neptune Lamp

A friend asked me to create the panels for this lamp. Since he liked cigars and I liked marine life I had Neptune passing cigar smoke with the help of red squid to an octopus doing the same on the other side. Neptune lamp-2005

Pele- The Hawaiian Goddess of Volcanoes

I was given a salvaged painted face and a one-of-a-kind sheet of Fischer glass to build a window out of. The frame is one of those crude carved Mexican picture frames that are usually found framing a velvet painting. Pele 2008

Mangrove progress

A photo of this finished panel was posted earlier on this blog. It was inspired by the background piece of glass. Sometimes I build a window using only glass that I have had laying around for a while. I have the hardest time throwing away scrap glass so it’s fun now and then just to see what I can come up with with what’s on hand.

Neptune

I’ve been playing around with the idea of building a window featuring Neptune. This one just turned out to be a fun diversion and I still have plans to build a bigger, more detailed Neptune window. I used a lot of chipped and broken jewels and rondels that I had been holding onto in this panel. I’ll post a better picture of his goggles which are made from a brilliant metallic green piece of dichroic glass. Neptune-2009

Art Imitates Life

I love how the background turned out on this panel. Art Imitates Life-2009

Art Imitates Life progress

Salvaged glass with the exception of the brown glass of the figure. I had enough words to cut apart for letters.

Matador

I was playing around with some salvaged pieces and decided to go with it. Kind of like collage with glass. Matador-2009

Seahorse table

This was my first and last "mosaic" project. I used some actual beach glass and the rest was bottle glass tumbled in a rock tumbler. The orange pieces are stained glass and I also used half marbles. I left the table out in the rain and the next day it was full of water and the sides of the frame warped and popped off. It’s in my basement now somewhere in the pile of projects that will never really be fixed again.

Tako

Hawaiian for octopus. Used a sweet piece of Oceana glass for the body. The glass eye is a Dall sheep replica picked up at a taxidermy shop. Octopus-2006

Yes I have a thing for octopi

My self-employed business name and logo.

Octo-trace

My first painted piece using a tracing brush and Tracing Black paint. 2006

More Squid

Painting exercise at the Antrim School in New Hampshire taught by Dick Millard. This technique was done with a quill pen dipped in a mixture of tracing black and clove oil. I added a matte of Bistre Brown after the first firing. Food Chain-2007

Ink Station

If I ever become a tattoo artist this will be my window sign. I plated the dropper behind the ink bottle. Ink Station-2006

Captain Nemo surface light

Another bad photo but this shows off the cool cat’s paw pattern of the vintage blue glass used for the helmet and body.

Captain Nemo

Crappy shot of the window but this is the first window that I made using salvaged painted pieces. The clear glass is rain glass. I built this window right after my father suffered a major stroke. He was the first person to bring me into the ocean and he was on oxygen the last few years of his life. I miss him. Captain Nemo-2006

Wake the Blue Tiki progress

After 2 paint applications and firings and the blue tiki is ready for cutting into the rest of the window.

Wake the Blue Tiki progress

Salvaged pieces are cut to size and blue glass is ready to paint.

Wake the Blue Tiki

This piece is made entirely of salvaged glass with the exception of the blue tiki which I painted. Wake the Blue Tiki-2009

Tiki Still-life

Salvaged glass. painted glass and enamel firing samples. Tiki Still-life-2007

Blue Tiki sketch

Killing time at the Chalet.

Blue Tiki

Kitchen window. Blue Tiki-2004

Calico detail

Calico

Salvaged glass cat. Calico-2007

Geisha with rocks

Handful of pyrite, quartz, opals and amethyst. Geisha-1984

Winter

Various styles of white glass, gold mirror, German antique and salvaged glass. Winter-2006