The apprentice piece

That looks brilliant Scotsgran, I thought it was a real balloon before I opened up the picture.

Well done ... lovely colours and good shape :o)

oh that is fantastic! i love the way the stripes in the glass are going across the blue ~ glass is just fabulous ~ its so different when the light hits it ~ lucky OH i say and all the best with the front door ~ would love to see it!

You might have to wait awhile to see the finished result of that Sticki but we did source some very promising colour matched glass this afternoon. He also got the tools of the trade and is raring to go. He will have to wait until Tuesday to get the go ahead from his tutor on a design we have come up with. In the meantime I have been instructed to come up with a life size design so he can get going asap. This first effort was made from small pieces of glass given to him by the tutor and the other students, all very nice ladies. I think he enjoys the company although it would be nice if another man joined. You work from a template so its a bit like cutting out a pattern TT.
I have this in my study window so that I can enjoy it Annella. I had a little chuckle when I saw the photo had come out looking as if the balloon was coming in to land on the drive.
This lovely glass was used to make Tiffany style lampshades and it is gorgeous. The ladies are very talented. It just looks two shades of blue until it is back lit and then the stripes appear on the dark colour and clouds on the pale shade. I sent photos to the kids and they think he is brilliant. He says 'just a little longer for that' lol.
I love to see the balloons around Bristol so it is very special to have one of my own.

will it be a pattern or a shape that you want in your front door? im fascinated!

at the moment i have an image of one of those tall lilies ~ not sure what style you would call it ~ might be edwardian?

i love balloons too ~ i have a little model of one above my desk ~ i think its the dream of escaping!!!

Wonderful! One of my friends also does this, she loves it. I look forward to seeing the front door in all its restored glory one day! I designed a glass window for my old house front door, but never had it made up....too expensive I think...it would have been a great thing to do one myself. It seems to be a craft that many people are becoming interested in, which is terrific.

He's done a great job Sheila. It's good that he's finally managed to fulfill a wish! He's obviously very keen to get going.
I love those colours. Well done W!
Can't wait to see what you choose

Its brilliant I to thought you had sent Walter on a balloon trip before opening it up

Added to GoYpedia :o)))

Thank you Tt. We don't need balloons to send each other up Bjs lol. The design is being kept under wraps as it evolves and the tutor has yet to agree that it is suitable. I will post a photo of the stained glass panel in the transom above the front door and I can say we are trying to incorporate that design which is Victorian Gothic type in to the new panels. As you say Ks price of commissioning a work like this would be expensive but worth it if you can afford to do that. The glass is expensive and that is reflected in the small pieces one sees in garden centres etc. It is also a labour intensive craft and as he is retired with no spare time at all he is going to have to juggle to fit it in. Don't expect results overnight. The joy of having restored the panels will be worth waiting for.

it will certainly be worth waiting for ~ its a brilliant project!

We have only been here for forty years so it could take a while to be finished. lol.

you have another 40 then!

Gothic Heard about them before.

How lovely that is!

Sticki they say youth is wasted on the young. We could not have afforded a house like this when we were young and by the time we came here we would not have considered refurbishing the door because we had so much else to do to the house and we had young children, then they grew up and got very expensive. Now in old age we have to find time for all the other things we dreamed of doing and there is not enough hours in the day. I could do to borrow back some of our mis spent youth lol. I dk that we'll have forty years but fulfilling your dreams is a very good way of spending time.

I think life is upside down and back to front ~ when i was younger and had some energy i had no money to spare at all, now i have a little bit of money i can choose to do some things but i havent got the energy any more.!!!!

Thats life Sticki. I'm pleased you like it Mel. Gothic was revived in the 1800's Bjs. Originally in the 4th Century I think, Gothic was considered an outrage to the senses and in very bad taste.

A great Hobby to have, so interesting, and a great Apprentice piece, well done OH...

Thanks Crissue.

o:))) x

This is really nice.....from the thumbnail pic, I thought it was a real hot air balloon flying in the sky!!!!

Its not bad is it Paul? Its only 12cm high including the basket so it was very fiddly to make. Jennifer the tutor is very strict about accurate glass cutting. If it is not right it has to be done again and the badly cut glass is cut again to make up something smaller. Fortunately he seems to be good at cutting so that was a definite plus. He was able to remove a complete small panel from the top of the door we want to restore to copy to make the two panels required for the bottom of the door. He took about an hour and a half to get the retaining wood off so that it can be re used. Matching that might be very difficult. Lead "came" will be used for the new panels to do a good job and they also require a frame to butt the work against. The technique is different because you put it all together with the came before soldering the lead. In copper foil work you can start and finish anywhere. Both are equally effective if done properly.

I think he has found a hidden talent Homebird.

Good for OH Sg...

Thanks Crissue. We had worked out a pattern for the middle panels of the inner door which we thought were brilliant. My daughter said it looked too churchy. She would have liked the design in a church but thought it out of place in our home. Having finished the two small panels for the bottom border, we were playing around with them against one of the four centre panels and thought we could go for something much simpler. The tutor had agreed he could attempt the first design but was noticably relieved to find he had changed his mind and the design. We went along to the glass supplier today and bought enough to do all four panels. He is itching to get started on the first one. We hope it will work. This time it only has straight lines and three colours of glass so it may not be as time consuming as the much more complicated design we came up with at first. It will be less spectacular but we will be happy.

That balloon is brilliant. Love the way it's coming to land on your drive!
And time consuming tell me about it!
I really look forward to seeing your door panel.

The door panels are all in place and we are thrilled with it. He has also made a small dinghy using the left over glass. We went along to buy some more colours so he can do one for each of our sailors. A bit more expensive than Easter eggs but better for them. He is still undecided about whether or not to age the came (lead) to match the existing. We felt if it turned out not looking good it would be irreparable but on the other hand the new stuff looks a bit too shiny for his liking. We got some of the special stuff needed to paint on and he will test that on a spare piece before commiting to doing all of it.