A celebration of light (and dark)

As all of my stained glass commissions are bespoke and designed specifically to the aesthetic and practical requirements of the client, the brief is the most important part of the process.

'Day' with it's rainbow over the Dasset Hills

Some clients have very specific requirements, ' I would like two windows, one to be a Tawny Owl, facing to the right, on a branch at sunrise, and the other to be a Snowy Owl, facing to the left, on a branch at Sunset'.

Then there are clients that say, 'I would like two windows'.

'Day and Night' falls into the latter catagory. My client, a lady who already has one of my stained glass art panels in her house as well as a lamp and many other items, gave me a completely 'blank canvas' on this project.

'Night' with astral showers.

I set about discussion on what she loved and she suggested, 'rolling hills.... Shooting stars... (Not vic and bob) rainbows.....kind of links in with the Dasset Hills opposite where all kinds of astral showers etc can be seen. . Otherwise.... I am totally open to suggestions'...

So, I thought it would be great to have one window picturing 'day' and the other 'night', each 'celebrating' the spectacular sights that we can see in the sky. Rainbows during the day and astral showers at night.

'Day' from the reverse with the setting sun projecting coulred light from the panel onto the ceiling.

The two panels are linked together using the linework, where the lines of the rainbow dissappear into the right hand side of the panel, they reappear in the other one to become the trails of the stars showering into the sky.

The colours are chosen to reflect the time of day. The hills are three different greens, light and mid green for day and the mid green is joined by a dark green for night, The sky follows a similar theme.

They also contrast greatly with 'day' being full of many colours and 'night' being restricted to only four. This makes them work each on their own as individual panels and together as a pair.

'Night' at night with he hall lights projecting the sky onto the ceiling.

One of the most beautiful things about stained glass is the way the panel changes throughout the day and constantly provides you with wonderful little surprises. All day, and throughout the night!