chain maille

Shooting Stars – Mixed Media Stained Glass and Chainmaille

I’ve been plugging right along in the endeavor of creating mixed media pieces where I combine stained glass with chainmaille. The latest result: shooting stars.

Byzantine star - mixed media stained glassPreviously, I had been making all glass shooting stars from a sort of stock pattern I found on line, but I would often get frustrated with the narrow pieces in the tail, having a lot of breakage. It’s been a goal for a long while to create my own shooting stars as the glass ornaments have been fairly popular. Then I recently was playing around with making chainmaille byzantine stars, a fun looking piece I’d seen in many places online. The stars were smaller than I thought they’d turn out to be, about an inch across. And then it occurred to me – this might work for a new shooting star!

Shooting stars - mixed media stained glass chainmailleNext step was the tail for the shooting stars. Now, I can’t really draw worth anything, but a few passes and flourishes with pencil on paper, and I had something, a three piece tail. Not being one to start small, I immediately traced and cut 9 samples in various colors and glass textures. Looking at the cut glass with a star, the three piece tail felt like it might be a hair too much proportionally, so I took off the top piece on three, and the bottom piece on three others, giving me three versions. I kinda like all three!

I made enough chainmaille stars to match up the glass I had cut, and now I am off and running! The overall length is about 4 inches. Width of the glass depends on two or three pieces. Widest point on the 2 piece is 1 1/2″, and on the three piece version, it’s about 2″. There are many color option between the rings in the stars, and the colors for glass.

Check the Etsy store to see what’s available at any given time, with each ornament being $10. Or, make a custom request for your own colors!

 

Mixed Media Wreaths – stained glass and chain/scale maille

I am delighted to finally offer the first of hopefully numerous mixed media projects where I combine stained glass with chain maille and scale maille!

scale maille flowersA little background… Every summer I spend a week in Maine at a fantastic place called ‘Camp’ Camp. It’s a camp for LGBT adults, and I’ve been going since 2008. I actually teach stained glass while there. Happily, I also get to enjoy other offerings during the week. For the last few years, I’ve taken chain maille classes from my friend, Jason. He’s passionate and patient and has created a lot of new maillers as a result of his excellent class. It was not long after returning home the first year I got to try it out that I started digging into that form more deeply, discovering far more than the word of jewelry and other wearables (though I have been making a lot of bracelets and other things to practice). Wheels started turning about how I could combine glass and maille, to make some new and hopefully exciting, enticing things.

Last week, I pulled up some photos I had taken of leaves a few years ago when walking around Lake Waban at Wellesley College, and created a wreath pattern to make in glass. Meanwhile, I received some supplies and the flower tutorial from The Ring Lord for ways to fill that wreath. Then it was just a matter of making both elements, and making them work together.

Stained glass wreath scale maille flowerJust in time for Mother’s Day, or even just to have something new and different in your window, I am delighted to release this line of flowers that will never wilt, never need watering!

There are two sizes available, at about 7″ wide ($45 each, plus shipping) and about 5″ wide ($35 each, plus shipping). Specific details are included with each photo. Each flower right now is different, and I utilized a variety of different green and clear glass options to make the wreaths for each one. The only way to know how they will each look is to make them! Clear glue chip already offers a really cool natural look, with the appearance of leaves, twigs, etc ’embedded’ in the glass. And Pilkington makes a clear glass called Autumn that has the texture and shape of leaves in it. I really like how it looks on the larger wreath. Clear glue chip works great for both sizes of wreaths.

Please enjoy the photos below, visit the Etsy shop if you’d like to put one of these in YOUR window (or your mom’s!) and let me know what you think. I will be happy to customize flowers and glass for future versions of these, if people have specific desires along those lines. Thanks!