 This stained glass mirror is
actually two
separate stained glass panels held to the walls of this guest bathroom
with standard mirror clips. You can see how they reflect each other
(you can also see the camera shooting the picture on a self-timer),
which makes it the ideal bathroom mirror since one can see oneself from
the side as well as from the front, making it easy to straighten one's
hairdo!
Stained glass mirrors
are projects
that just about every stained glass artisan gets around to sooner or
later. I made lots of mirrors many years ago when I used to do what
most stained glass hobbyists do... use patterns that other people had
designed. Even after I started creating my own designs, I still made
lots of mirrors. Back then (and I mean more than 20 years ago!), I used
to make production pieces... I would design fairly small window-like
pieces, including mirrors, then produce them over and over again in
slightly different color schemes. I would show them in gift stores and
at craft shows. As for mirrors, I made the obligatory hand-held type,
the tabletop put-on-your-makeup type, and the hang-on-the-wall type.
I'm not knocking production work at all... more than a few stained
glass artisans have excelled at this type of work, and some probably
make more money at stained glass than I do! I'm just glad that it
didn't thrill me enough, and I decided to move on to mastering the art
of making one-of-a-kind stained glass artworks. Actually, this period
in my progress as an artist was probably more crucial in my achieving
the level I'm at now than I have ever given it credit. It allowed me to
practice, practice, practice and
to invent and
fine tune the techniques that I now use with every artwork. To those of
you who do this kind of work or who are novices who've progressed to
this stage, I want to encourage you to constantly push yourselves to
achieve more... both in design and craftsmanship. I believe
that everyone has it in them to be an artist. The biggest
block is the attitude "I could never design something on my own." YES
YOU CAN!!! Both design and craftsmanship are skills that
require only the right attitude, the willingness to seek out
instruction (which can mean books as well as people), and the
determination to constantly strive for more and never give up no matter
how many duds you create. Remember, Mark Stine says you're an
artist the moment you think you are one and begin to self-identify
yourself as an artist to others! Beyond that, it's just a
matter of how good an artist you become... and you
can control that too! If it's stained glass you want to
master, you might want to visit my instruction page here.
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