Cut them up and put them back together

How would you like to have a mosaic in your home like the byzantine mosaics of old: So maybe you don't have 10,000.00 to spend on one of these masterpieces. No fear, we are offering a beginner class on mosaic building here at the studio. Starting Saturday, July 7, we are offering two sessions of cutting bits and pieces of glass and putting them back together in a fun design. I have some designs for you but we encourage unique designs also. You will receive a 7 x 7 inch frame, enough glass for your project, glue and grout to finish your (almost) byzantine masterpiece. Sign up by messaging me or go to our web site for more contact information. Other similar workshops have been lots of fun for the students and they finish some awesome projects. The price is only $75.00 for  two consecutive Saturdays.
I am excited about sharing what I have learned about stained glass. It's a beautiful, meaningful and functional art that has been around for a very long time.

This is a byzantine mosaic probably from the 12th century. I love the detail. 

This cute cherry was made by cutting glass from a pattern I drew. You can use small squares or cut out shapes ,

I made a series of flowers, fruits and vegetables in mosaic bits. I have so much fun putting them together.

This is the tray you will be building your mosaic in. It is 7 inches square and will be perfect for your first project. 

I got ambitious and built a 12 ft. by 6 ft mosaic art project. It took three months but was lots of fun. It is hung at the Smith's Market Place in Springville, UT, in the food court. 

At the Country Club

The Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah is hosting a show for the Utah Valley Art Guild. I am pleased to have two stained glass pieces in their show. It's a beautiful building and the owners are very nice. They had a difficult time at first trying to know how to hang stained glass in the show. That seems to be a challenge for our artwork. I am trying to display in lots of venues to teach them the different ways to hang and enjoy the windows. I was happy that a spot was prepared to hang the windows where light could be shown behind it. That is always the best way.

This window is called "Sakura".
I like the simplicity of it and the movement of the background glass.

The artwork was lots of fun. There is a group of very talented artists in our area.

It is a pretty colorful show

The piece we call "Someone to watch over me" hangs in front of the work-out room.

Jenna Von Benedikt had a presentation upstairs. 

We are lucky to have one of her paintings in our home.

The windows shown in this blog post are for sale and I would be happy to have them adorn your home or office. 

Contact us at www.gsg-art.com or email at david.gsglass@gmail.com. 

I also love to teach stained glass classes and invite you to join me. 

Stained Glass for therapy and fun

I have been so blessed to be able to teach stained glass to hundreds of students. I am pleased at their  extraordinary talents and enthusiasm for the art. More than a few have said that they think about or dream about their projects during the week before their next class. Many have contacted me after their session to thank me for the lovely window panel that hangs where they can enjoy it every day. The colors and designs chosen are inspiring. Along with the sharing of stained glass skills we have amazing conversations, meet new friends and learn about fascinating subjects. We have met attorneys from Russia, marathon runners, musicians from local bands, midwives, esteemed artists, and fifth grade teachers to name a few of the wonderful students who have graduated from our course. At this time we have openings for summer sessions and would like to invite you to join us in the stained glass studio. Please call at 801-344-0178 to set up a time for your class. (or go to https://www.gsg-art.com/stained-glass-classes.html )

After Karl's first set of classes, We started a 3' by 4' window for his new restaurant in Midway, Utah. I will take you on a virtual tour when it opens.

When a student's window is almost as beautiful as the student, we are on the right track. 

The smiles are more valuable than the unbelievable masterpiece created. More photos of this piece installed in blogs to follow. It takes your breath away. Lynde Mott designed the window and is for hire for paintings and murals.  

This sweet little window is for a Father's Day gift. Go Steelers.

It may have taken months of classes but as you can see it was worth every minute.

On another note, this morning I went to the dentist about pain in my jaw. Looks like I'll have to wear a mouth guard because apparently I clench my teeth, who knew?. The visit was helpful and I'm sure I will feel better soon. The visit was also successful because I was able to get more photos of the windows we made for Dr. Weist's office. It is satisfying to think that our windows might calm a patient coming to the office in pain or anxiety. The staff were friendly and Gary Weist was thorough and knowledgeable. I was honored to have artwork there. Now to take care of my TMJ (Temporomandibular joint syndrome). Or.. when I feel stressed and my jaw is tight,  (Try Meditation Jeanne).

Don't you agree that offices of all kinds deserve beautiful stained glass. I thought so. We would be overjoyed to build windows for your home or office.
Please contact us for a free consultation. 801-344-0178

No Surface Is Safe

No surface is safe

Lynde Mott presented “What we  learn from Jane Austen” I love her presentations but my mind wanders. There is so much to see in her home. No surface is left untouched by her creative hand. The Nauvoo room takes me on a virtual tour of Mormon history. Every inch of floor, wall and flat surface is adorned in lovely painting. Her creativity is inspiring. In each window is a stained glass panel. Some were found in antique stores, some on e-bay and some were made by our studio such as the  Pioneer women entitled “Creative Opposition” I have only captured a small portion of the beauty of the home. Find a virtual tour by searching Lynde Mott’s home tour. It’s wonderful.

If that hasn’t peaked your imagination perhaps this brief tour through the fabulous antique store “Cat’s Cradle” in downtown Provo, Utah will. I always find treasures waiting for me there. I was especially taken by some fused glass mobiles made by Higgins Glass Studio in Riverside, IL. I left with some fantastic hats that I can’t wait to wear.

There is so much to experience and learn. I am drawn to beautiful glass no matter where I land. My studio is open for classes and visits about your stained glass dreams. You can find more of our work at Gomm Stained glass or www.gsg-art.com.

Showing Art

It has been a wild and wonderful week of art shows. Have you heard the phrase "If you build it they will come" from the movie Field of Dreams?  I suggest in our case it could be changed to "If you build it, then show it!". If your buyers don't find their way to your studio you will need to get your art to them. Galleries and shows are ways to do just that.
The Woodbury Gallery in the University Mall in Orem is hosting a show entitled "Coalesce". We are pleased to be a part of this show with many other talented artists. We are also in a show with the Utah Valley Artist Guild at a local Country Club. We haven't gotten a photo of that one yet because they are still trying to figure out how to hang it. Stained glass is sometimes tricky to hang at shows without windows to showcase it. We are encouraging curators  to consider hanging art glass on the walls such as here in the Woodbury.

At the Woodbury Gallery showing "What Goes Around Comes Around"

There was quite a crowd at the Zion's Bank show. There were 52 artists on 5 floors of the bank. Each floor had food and music along with the lovely art. It was fun to see our artist friends and make new acquaintances  as we talked about our stained glass

We had a good looking presentation with windows we finished just for this show and a few oldies but goodies. We appreciate galleries and other venues for hosting these exhibits for local artists. If you missed any of these shows we would be happy to let you know when the next ones will be. You can follow us on Instagram @jeannegomm or on Facebook at Gomm Stained Glass. To receive emails about future stained glass fun and information about upcoming classes, opt in to our newsletter by going to www.gsg-art.com and entering your first name and email in the dialog on the main page. 

Homeward Stretch

We are on the homeward stretch to the Zion's Bank Art Show on May 18th. We have been building windows to put in the show along with our other projects. We laid them all out on the living room floor to get a feel for the layout. There are a few little additions but for the most part we are ready. We hope to see you there. It will be an awesome show with artists from all over the area on 5 floors. We love to see the artwork and meet the other artists. We invite you to attend and be sure to visit our booth and say "Hi".

Here is a photo of the invitation. 

It looks pretty good spread on the carpet .

"Mother Nature's Sun"

"Jade in the Mist"

"Home of the Bees"

"Evening Song"

"Above the Door"

'"Cherry" and "Flower" mosaics

"Georgia"

"No Problem With Paisleys"

So you have a sneak peek at the line-up. We look forward to seeing you.

A Second Look

Folks keep advising us as artists that we need to tell our message over and over, as many as 7 times to get through. To Jeanne and I, we don't want to run the risk of becoming a boring, repeating record, skipping over and over.

But the advisors do have a point.

I saw The Last Jedi at the theatre with Jeanne and then found that when I viewed it at home, I liked it better. So maybe it's because I gave it a second chance. I found more to the story, I enjoyed the character development more. I watched it with different eyes, a different perspective. I liked it at the theater but I liked it more on the second viewing.

Does this mean that telling the story of how we build stained glass again might peak someone's interest. We showed how we put stained glass together on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD3Jh5SWKhQ&t=4s  

We like sharing our love for stained glass, with all it's nuances, we enjoy every project, there's always something to find interesting, Sometimes it's the challenges we encounter, sometimes Jeanne combines a different pallet of colors and creates something unique. So, maybe it remains interesting, even though we've said it before...let us know!

Cleaning for clarity

Getting clear in my business involved clearing out and cleaning up the studio. I should have known this would help because I cook better in a clean kitchen so it makes sense that I would work better in a clean studio. The truth is that I usually work on more than one project at a time and stuff gets messy. Truth number two is that finishing a project feels so incredible and freeing. Today we get to install some bathroom cabinets and I am already giddy about getting two more windows put in their permanent homes. My mantra yesterday while I was scrubbing and sweeping was " Every corner I unveil makes me feel a little bit lighter". It's true. Sure, things get cluttered and the studio will see many more days of three or four windows in various stages of completion. That's just how I roll. But once in a while it will look like this. Scroll down for studio awesomeness. 

I even added some plants for two reasons. 1. They brighten up the place. 2. I wanted the oxygen they provide to compensate for the solder, chemicals and other unwanted gunk in the air. Since it's Spring I can open the doors and welcome in the fresh air.

Every corner I unveil makes me feel a little bit lighter. Just hanging up the brooms and dustpans in this corner was like magic. 

Even Spidey is happy here.

The glass is so much easier to slide out of this corner now. 

You can't even imaging the transformation of the back part of the studio. This is where David builds crates, frames and all stuff wood. I am so excited to see the table tops again. On the back table is our "Book of Life" sculpture. I can't wait to tell you about that too.

I am ready to get some major work done in this beautiful space. 

And it's a wrap.

I have followed this project from inception to completion and now it's a wrap. The idea for this Tree of Life came from Tami Harris who has been a chaplain in the Heritage School residential treatment center since 1989.  . She was careful not to leave any denomination out when she offered me the opportunity to design the window for the center. I enjoyed building this window of beauty and significance.

 Tami explains " When the Heritage Worship Center was to undergo a bit of renovation it was suggested that stained glass would be a wonderful addition. As the Worship Center is for students of all faiths, several ideas for the stained glass were considered. Spirituality being the golden thread in the tapestry of Heritage was a runner up. We pictured a white fabric folded and draped with a golden piece of thin glass moving through the fabric. (I would still like that one done for something.) Another idea was to have many different religious symbols in one piece of art. In the end it was decided that the Tree of Life would be a wonderful addition to the Heritage Worship Center, as it is recognized by people of many faiths. For those who may not appreciate it spiritually, they will still enjoy the beauty of the artwork."

Here the installers are inspecting their work and admiring the finished product. 

The construction included building a new wall and a space for the new stained glass transom.

A frame was built to house the window.

The window started coming together 

After foiling, soldering and cleaning, the "Tree of Life" is ready to install.

It truly looks beautiful. To see a video of the process check our youtube channel.