Friday, June 19, 2009

Colorful Wind Chime

Click on the picture to see it larger
Colorful glass, beach glass inspired art wind chime.
Visit the Gallery Page of my website for more information.

For fourteen years I have been limited in colors to primarily greens, browns, blues and yellows for my glass. But a couple of weeks ago a friend dropped by some really stunning glass. The result is seen above: a radical deviation from my usual.

People frequently ask if I can't make something red, or purple. Since I don't usually have glass in those colors, several years ago I started making double-sided reverse painted wind chimes and mixed media wind chimes, where I try to put in lots of reds and purples. Purple and red, yes, but a far cry from the glass above.

This is the first time I actually have really bright colors in a beach glass inspired wind chime. Something different.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Wind Chime, New Design

Click on the picture to see it larger
New design!
Beach glass inspired wind chime with a large copper hoop.
For more information, visit Coast Chimes

Often new ideas are triggered by customers asking for something. A customer wanted my very large, heavy iron chimes with one piece of glass. I didn't like that idea very much, because first the look would have been unbalanced (bottom heavy), and second, even my thickest glass might have been challenged by the weight of those big chimes.

So I thought about it overnight, and in the morning I had a solution that pleased the customer, and me. I decided to make a large copper hoop. I put the glass in the hoop, and the hoop supported the weight of the chimes. This solved the weight problem, and also made for a much more balanced looking wind chime.

After I made the special order, I liked the look so much I decided to make another one. This time I put two nice pieces of glass inside the hoop, and used my copper chimes. Above, you can see the result. I like it. Be sure to click on the picture to see it much larger.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Wind Chime, Beach Glass Inspired, Blue and Green

Click on the picture to see it larger
wind chime, beach glass inspired, stained glass, copper
Wind Chime
Beach Glass Inspired
Blue and Green with
Copper Chimes
Visit my Coast Chimes Website to learn more.

It's been remarkably busy. Remarkable, I say, because of all the details about the rotten economy on the news every five minutes. My wind chimes are not cheap, but people still seem to recognize that there is value in quality, and they are willing to pay a little extra for something unique, well made, and beautiful.

I finally got time to make a few specialized kaleidoscope style wind chimes. I almost always have some with mixed colors in stock, but often run out of those with select colors. This week I put together two with blue and green glass, a mix I find very refreshing on these hot days. I also put together two with what I call earth colors, which is a mix without any blue.

I find I am spending even more time making each chime. I have always paid close attention to every detail, but now I see more details. After nearly fifteen years of making wind chimes, the eyes get pretty sharp. It's important to me to do everything the best that I can. The funny thing is, as I become more and more of a perfectionist in regards to my work, I have less tolerance for the sloppy work of others. There is too much poorly designed, poorly made stuff. In fact, it is hard to find something that is well designed and well made. That's just not in the cards these days. No wonder people appreciate my work!