RMW Ramblings

  "Queen Anne" Windows When we found our present home while house shopping in 1965, one attraction was the stained glass-bordered windows and doors in the room that is now our library.      These stained glass bordered windows were a common feature of the late 19th century architectural style that is called "Queen Anne" in the United States.  (It had very little to do with the actual architecture in Britain during the reign of Queen Anne, 1665–1714.)   I eventually made some additional stained glass windows influenced by this style.  In a posting over the Christmas season I showed you our Christmas mouse.  You will note that his door has a circular version of a Queen Anne window.  I have never actually seen a round Queen Anne window or found one on-line.    I've also used this motif in a painting,  Beth Salem, haloing my imaginary personification of our house.  Recently I bought a pendant necklace for Mary that I later re...

Visual Echos   Stained Glass Echoing Heron Echoing Vine   Spotting a heron on our seawall through a window screen, I notice his shape echoing the vine in the foreground.   And then, I saw the pattern of a dried weed that I laminated in a stained glass panel years ago. Putting them together in a montage...          

  My Library Globe 4 A Christmas Visit   A Christmas Visit is a pop-up book I created that brings the viewer from above the house, through the transom window, then in to see a Christmas tree and packages in our library.   The library globe appears on the cover.  On a pop-up page within the book you look into the library and see the globe.   And through the transom we can peer...   Here's that transom window under construction...    

  24 June 2021 PORTRAITS OF MARY Today is the sixtieth anniversary of my marriage to Mary.  Over those six decades Mary has supported and encouraged me in many ways, and  has also been quite literally my muse. Over the years I have made several portraits of her.  Here are a few favorites.  In the 1970s when I was exploring stained glass, I made  a Celtic cross necklace for Mary.  I took several photos of her wearing the necklace at the time, and years later used them as a reference for this painting, "Mary in Black."  The painting is acrylic on canvasboard, now framed and hanging over my stand-up desk in our library.  Another favorite is "Mary on Blue," also acrylic, this time on gallery-wrapped canvas.   I later did a smaller variation on this to fit a thriftstore found frame.  The frame shape and baroque style made me think of a cameo, inspiring both the style and coloring of the small painting and it's title, "Mary Cameo."  ...

  8 April 2021 OTHER STAINED GLASS ADDED TOUCHES   There is a clear glass lunette transom over our front door into our entry vestibule.   I made a stained glass panel to overlay the existing window with a pattern of  flying birds against a sunset sky.   I followed the swooping pattern of the purple-streaked glass to plan the design. The glass segments were assembled using the copper foil technique. Copper foil is wrapped over the glass edges and the segments united by soldering.   A coating of solder covers the foil. This technique gives finer borders between the glass segments and is   used in lampshades and other work with smaller glass segments. The outside edge of the window is enclosed with lead came.   Came is a metal channel into which the glass edge is inserted. It comes in “H” and “U” cross-sections for use between glass segments and on the outer edge, respectively.   There are zinc, brass, and lead versions, with lead used where ...