Jessie Lilac Blog

Ta da! My very first attempt at stained glass. My first (and probably last) attempt at a stained glass panel. I drew the design out on tracing paper and cut the pieces of glass to shape, with a few unexpected cracks, splinters and cuts. (The splinters and cuts were my fingers by the way!) I healed very nicely and I managed to salvage the broken glass by putting extra lead in between the shapes. Yes, I could have used a fresh new piece of glass when I made an error but I had no idea how expensive this 'hobby' was going to be so I had to make do and mend! I'm pleased with the results though. It's great to learn new things and now the mystery of how stained glass comes to be is no longer a mystery to me. What is a mystery is how people can make this and sell it at a profit at the prices you see in shops! I shall never balk at those prices again.

Even when I think I've checked my typing for errors, I still manage to let typos slip through the ( butterfly?) net! That's because my head feels like this. This morning was life drawing and luckily for me, I didn't need my brain to draw. Sometimes that's the best way, to disengage it for a while. I have no trouble disengaging it, it's the engaging bit I'm struggling with right now. Is it me or do other creatives have the same problem? hmmm....might just be me then.. No, that's not me, I'm not the model, I'm the drawer. Can 'drawer' be a word for someone who draws or just a place where you keep your socks? (If you're tidy that is and if you indeed have socks.)

It's so grey here this week. Half term and grey weather. So, to brighten up the greyness, here is a little grey elephant complete with pretty spots. He notices that the tree looks very similar to himself and feels compelled to climb it but of course he's the wrong shape for climbing! He'll stare at it for a bit and then get bored and go off and find something more fun to do. Goodbye little elephant!

Layers

I've finished two more paintings! While I had my camera out I took some pictures of the stained glass I have around my house. It wasn't until I did this that I realised how much I actually had! This is my latest aquisition, made by Lizzie from my generic medium. I might have shown these before, they're from my favourite shop in Lyme Regis, the Mermaid Shop. On my last visit there I couldn't resist buying this too! This one was made by a friend many years ago. She's moved to Australia now and it's lost its crystal that used to hang from the corner but it's the first piece I ever owned and is a reminder of the time she was here. This is my front door. It used to be a mystery to me how a window panel like that could be made but now I'm beginning to get an idea how, with a class I'm going to. I'm learning to make stained glass and managed to slice my finger yesterday, not on glass, no that's too straight forward isn't it but on the lead! Y...

An elephant in the room is one thing and an elephant dancing on the spot is another! ;) This week's word for Illustration Friday is 'sweater'. I've never called them sweaters, or pullovers, I call them jumpers or long sleeved tops! What do you call them?

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing.. feel the love :)