Recent Arnot Studio Projects

Holy Innocents Grapes & Chalice

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:42:30 GMT

Below are the beginnings of the latest windows for Holy Innocents. Right now, I'm working on the grape and chalice symbols.

Holy Innocents Cockleshell

Thu, 26 May 2011 05:55:02 GMT

These are the images of the cockleshell. I wanted to have a feeling of water and movement and I used the suggestion of a net in the background of the shell.

#4 Fabricating the 2nd Window

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:03:44 GMT

The corner segment of the window is finished. This accompanies the lion of St. Mark.

Next is the lamb. I'll select and cut the glass for that window today.

#3 Fabricating the Lion

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 09:58:46 GMT

Finally we had a day of sunshine so I could take a picture of the St. Mark Lion.

The lion in this image has been soldered; the next posting will show my work on the swoop for the same window segment.

#2 Selecting & Cutting Glass for St. Mark

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:37:17 GMT

After all of the paper pattern pieces have been cut out, I start choosing the appropriate colors and cutting the individual pieces of glass. Each piece of handmade glass is unique so I regularly check to make sure that the colors flow and stay true to the design. (note that the glass below is set to a dark background and will appear brighter in natural light).

Once all of the glass is selected and cut, I begin to lead each piece of glass individually. This is the most time consuming phase since each piece has to be manually trimmed or adjusted to fit the neighboring pieces.

More pictures to be added shortly...

#1 The Creation of St. Mark (SE Corner)

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:02:01 GMT

This is the first segment of a 20 window project at Holy Innocents Catholic Church in Duvall, Washington. Throughout the coming weeks, new photos and descriptions will be added to provide an idea of the steps needed to create this beautiful art glass.

Design

The first two window segments have the Lamb of God as well as a representation of the Gospel of St. Mark. The church council wanted to carry on the design from the back of the church while using softer and more clear colors for the main sanctuary of the church. I chose primarily clears and tranparent whites. This will cut down on the amount of bright sunshine that has caused a glaring in some areas of the church.

Fabrication

I start out with a preliminary sketch, enlarge it to life size and create a second tracing. That second tracing is recreated and will eventually be copied onto carbon paper and made into pattern pieces.

I place the design onto a wall to make sure that the lines between windows match up, flow correctly, and are visually appealing.

More images will be uploaded shortly...

Blue Heron

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:07:03 GMT

This is a great blue heron for a client who owns a home in the Poconos. I started this in a similar way to some other painted glass projects. I had a couple of good life pictures as well as reference material. I didn't want the background to be too busy and compete with the bird so I'm using a nice, warm gold color to contrast with the bird's soft blue.

FULL SIZE SKETCH

IMAGE DURING THE FIRST WASH

CLOSE UP OF HERON DETAIL

BACKGROUND WITH HERON AFTER FIRST FIRING

Creating the Eight-Legged Fisherman (September 2009)

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:38:08 GMT

I've been thinking about this image for months. I am showing it to a gallery in Portland. My goal is to finish it by October 1.

To get the look of skin on the octopus, I paint and fire a lighter opalescent color on clear glass, then sprinkle a dark color on top. This gives the glass a more three dimensional look. In this picture, the majority of the background glass hasn't been painted or fired yet.

Close up of the sea ball

Close up of the octopus eye.

Susan G. Komen Project

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:55:06 GMT

The C. Art Gallery in Seattle is hosting the Passion for the Cure show during October (breast cancer awareness month). They asked for submissions that focused on themes of hope, faith, and suggested including the color pink.

These are the initial concept sketches I developed. Some of the idea came from another job I was doing. The sketches didn't work out for that client but I'm actually glad - the image seems to work better for this.

Selecting the colors - I have to consider not only the colors of the glass but also the paints that are available and how they will work on the glass. Ruby transparent red is practically a perfect match for the Komen ribbon.

I didn't like the original painting. To take on a certain tone of color usually requires several firings. After the second painting and firing on this, something bled onto the glass and it caused a major flaw on the piece. I had to restart with a new piece of glass. That means recutting the glass, repainting it and adding on all of the slight details. In other words, it doesn't always work on the first try.

The final product - a selection of soft purples and burgundies in the background highlight the pink. Every glass piece in the box is handpainted to give dimension. The glass is illuminated from the top of the box.

The box was handmade from recycled fir floor planks by yours truly. I take pride in every aspect of a project.