Movies That Feature Stained Glass

We love movies and we love stained glass. It just makes sense to find movies that feature stained glass windows. When ever we are watching a show we always point out all the awesome glass windows. We wonder which ones are real and which ones are sugar glass. Either way they are fun to point out. 

 This movie is "Young Sherlock Holmes". The knight comes right out of the window and starts attacking. It was a pretty cool visual effect. 

 In the movie "Burglar" Whoopie Goldberg and her sidekick meet at Merlin McFly's bar although the name was changed for the movie. The windows are amazing. 

 Marvel's TV show "Cloak and Dagger" features many stained glass windows in an abandoned church. They aren't very religious. 

 "The House With a Clock In It's Walls" has  several windows that move and change.

 "Doctor Strange" features a huge glass window that is also used in the trailer. 

 In "Harry Potter" there was a mermaid window that stole the scene. 

 Our favorite movie with stained glass is "The Santa Clause 2" We liked it so much that we made our own interpretation of one of the windows in Santa's workshop.

 Here is the workshop. I could work here. 

This scene in Disney's version of "Hunchback of Notre Dame" gets me every time. I have basked in the colors of a stained glass window and it's pretty dramatic. 

I hope you have enjoyed our movie memorabilia about stained glass windows. I know there are hundreds of others. If you know of others, let me know. We might need a reason for a movie marathon. 

We are all made of stardust

"We are stardust, we are golden, and we have to get ourselves back to the garden." Joni Mitchell sang the Crosby Stills and Nash song about going to Woodstock with pizzazz. I was taken by the phrase "We are stardust" because it is true. We really are made from billion year old carbon. I can lose myself while gazing up into the night sky just allowing myself to be a part of the universe and realizing all that is possible to learn. While exploring the meaning of life, the time of man and the what it means to get back to the garden,  I find myself designing all kinds of stars.
Just today I took a batch of mini stars out of the kiln. I love the variety of colors and the way they change as the heat melts them.

10 Glass Photo Tips, Learning By Doing

Learning to photograph glass is a trial and error activity. I know there are rules about ISO and aperture settings when you have a nice camera. What if you are shooting with your phone? It's still a valid photo and it gets the point across. As a matter of fact I have seen some awesome phone photos so do what you can with what you've got. We are still learning.
There are some tips that everyone can benefit from.

1. get out the glass cleaner and polish till it sparkles. Dust shows up.

2. Use a tripod. I'm pretty stable but sometimes a sneeze will sneak up on me.

3. Try lighting from different angles. Stained glass has a different look when lit from in front and behind. Both can be pretty dramatic. Even side lighting can look good.

4. Stage your glass in various settings. I have played with black or white backdrops, natural settings and installed windows.

5. Use the reflection to your advantage. I like when the glass reflects the light. It shows up the texture.

6. It's okay to have people in your photos. There is a personal touch when the artist or owner is smiling with pride while holding their masterpiece.

7 Stage on different surfaces. I have shot on a white marble table top that looked great. Out in the grass might be just what shows off your piece.

8. You don't always have to shoot straight on. Sometimes an aerial view, side view or even from underneath can be super fun.

9. Try shooting just a portion of the window for a different effect.

10. The best advice is to use your imagination.

The more you practice, the more you'll learn and the more you'll succeed. And don't be afraid to take many pictures, you can take a dozen bad ones and then get one that's gold and nobody has to know that you took a picture of your finger, or it was blurry...they'll just love the one you show!

A Little Glass Magic

I have recently had the opportunity to clean a house in preparation for an estate sale. My friend Kathryn and I are working hard to magically transform a hoarder's mess into an organized and clean  space. Who says you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear? It has been eye opening to see what someone saves. The lady of the house who used to reside here did lots of bottling fruit and vegetables. She was preparing ahead for her family. There was only one problem. They didn't eat what they stored so the food just went to waste. It's too bad. The same can be said for the "treasures" in every nook and cranny. The house is filled to the gills with things that couldn't possibly be enjoyed. The beautiful figures, glass, dishes and artwork were buried to the point of obscurity. We are bringing boxes of dishes home to wash because the water isn't on in the house. When we finish, everything in the house will be staged for a sale. There is lots to do before that can happen though. I have been enjoying taking photos of the glass as I clean it. I am loving the beautiful colors. I'm not sure when the sale will be yet but I will let you know by Instagram and Facebook. Here are some of my attempts at glass fashion photos. 

Feeling a little blue

Green for a day

Crystal clear

                                                              More  gorgeous green
                 

                                                         Delicate flowers in glass

                                                          Milky white glass.. lovely

                                                                 Amber crackle

                                                                 A yellow still life

                                         Stay tuned for more glass, estate sale information
                                             and creative work/play.

Airport Art

I hope you have had a fantastic Summer. The next few months will be filled with Fall experiences. Are we ready? I have been noticing some public art lately, especially in airports. This caused me to research some airport art around the country. Airports are the first impression folks have arriving at their destination so it's pretty awesome to have great art awaiting them. I was recently in the Salt Lake City airport and Denver International airport. This gave me a taste of what can be done and what can be imagined. I have collected some fun images to spark your creativity (and mine) to make some public art or at least to enjoy it as you scurry to your gate.

This mosaic is in the Bluegrass Airport in Lexington. I have done some mosaic work and it's pretty fun. I can appreciate this project even more having had a taste of the medium.

I love the idea of this window. The couple is dreaming and the sky is full of astronomical constellations. It is in the Seattle- Tacoma airport. 

In the JFK airport is this beautiful array of color and light. I bet these glass pieces are so huge. 

One of my favorites is this colorful window in the Miami airport. I think I would forget where I was going as I walked down this hallway. 

In the Portland airport is this swirly glass window. I would love to see how the light dances through the glass. 

There is beauty in the simplicity of this window in the Reagan National airport. 

It looks like this glass in the San Diego airport is painted. Can you see the shadowing? It's lovely. 

I haven't been to all of these airports yet but they are some of the places I would love to visit just to walk around. If you have some photos of  the art in your airport I would love to see them. Each window says "Welcome to our city"

Visiting Roots of Knowledge windows at UVU

If you get the chance to visit the Roots of Knowledge windows at Utah Valley University in Provo, Utah, you will have a treat. The Holdman studio designed and built a beautiful wall of 80 panels in the school library

It all starts with Earth's place in the universe.

. I was lucky enough to be invited to a dinner hosted in the room surrounded by the lovely windows. Aunt Annette is a donor to the school and was honored with the other donors with a dinner and presentation by one of the builders of the window.
Each panel depicts an era of time throughout history. The skill involved is so impressive. Having done this work myself, I know how much effort went into this project. The  objective of the project is to ignite hope and confidence in individuals to make a difference for good in the world.           

Some of these buildings are depicting real city-scapes while some are works of imagination using genuine circuit boards.

Most of the detail was painted with crushed glass fired a 1,200 degrees.

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It was fun to follow the history of explorers and events.

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Alexander the Great has his image in mosaic. 

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The detail is amazing along with the research involved. I recommend downloading the Roots of Knowledge app for more explanation of  the windows. Art has such an influence on our scenes and emotions. Especially stained glass. I was moved by the expanse and artistic vision of the piece. 

Hunting for treasure

This weekend I crawled around a house before it will turn into an estate sale. I was hunting for glass treasures. I am amazed at how much can be saved by one family. It was like burrowing in and around a rabbit hole of history. There were lots of lovely glass pieces hiding in old cabinets, drawers and cupboards. I found secret closets and a room full of cuckoo  clocks. I dug through piles of lace and linen, pots and pans, lamps and letters. The light started to dim as the evening came upon us and it was more difficult to see all the wonders of the place. Old Victorian lighting just doesn't do the trick.  We were very careful what we were reaching into. All in all it was a lot of fun wondering what some things even were. I came away with beautiful glass to incorporate into windows. I even found a clock for David for a steal of a deal. Its dirty and dusty but the exploration is a hoot.

There were many rooms full to the brim of "stuff". There was no rhyme or reason to the collections so we just explored every nook and cranny.

I was going to bring this 1930's table home with me to put a mosaic on the top but changed my mind. I couldn't bring home everything!

I got a few awesome table runners. 

This is the clock I got for David. He didn't even mind that the glass was broken. "I can fix that" he said.

I loved the color of this little bowl. Glass has amazing properties. Now to design some windows. 

Favorite Stained Glass Moments

One of my favorite stained glass moments is watching a client show us the installed piece in his or her home. We don't always get to experience this pleasure when we have someone else take care of the install. I feel elated to be able to bring joy to a family as they live with our art.
The Clarke's have a lovely home built in the 1800's. The original house was a tiny log house which they have brought up to date in a beautiful way. The original owner was a blacksmith. They have found many fascinating artifacts while digging around the property. They left an exposed wall of the cabin in the interior of the house where they have displayed these treasures.

I so appreciated the tour of their home and property and loved the joy they expressed while showing us where the stained glass tree of life now resides.

This gem of a house is so inviting.
It is a pleasure to be able to have a piece in such a welcoming home. 

Even the shed in the back is homey and inviting. It is original to the property.

This little shed window was made in our studio and looks perfect hanging here.

I loved the barn door effect that is below the window in the bedroom. The home owner made this window in class at our studio.  The colors look beautiful with the decor of the room. 

And here is the tree of life window. It is meaningful to the family in many ways. 

The colors in the tree represent a real tree in their back yard. The little bird had a red breast which is their daughter's favorite color. 

Eventually each child will be represented with a window and her's is the first. 

Just for fun I have added a close-up of their bathroom tile. I fell in love with it. There is an organic feel in the geometric shapes that is so pleasing. 

This is just an extra little something I thought you might like. I sure did. 

I did a "Wisdom Wednesday" Video That Goes With This.
"Decorating With Stained Glass"