I thought I'd start my blog with a little ode to one of the great loves of my life, and terrible addictions - art glass! I started writing this thinking it could be one and done but turns out, I've got a lot of glass and a lot of feelings about said glass. So we embark upon a series...Sarah's most treasured preciouses, Part 1.
Hopefully, when you're requesting custom changes, or we're talking over a larger commissioned piece for you or a loved one, this will help you nail down the types and colours of glasses you'd like to include. This selection won't be exhaustive, and each type I talk about won't necessarily always be available, but it will give a great jumping off point so that someone who doesn't spend their life mooning over what glass to buy next knows what the possibilities are. It's also important to realise that not all glass is created equal, and whether you're happy with beautiful, readily available glass or if you want something especially fancy might change the final price of my work.
NOW...TO THE FUN STUFF!
There's not much point showing you your basic transparent colours, so let's start with my favourite...pink ring mottle glass. Pink glass is my favourite, because pink is a wonderful colour. I spent a lot of my childhood pretending I didn't like it, and that I was way too cool for pink BUT I WAS A FOOL. Deep, cranberry pink glass is pretty much the most expensive glass there is, as the colour is achieved using gold as a pigment. So, I live my life buying all the other kinds of pink glass that are marginally less expensive. Ring mottle glass has the ring pattern you can see in the photo, and looks especially amazing when backlit.
Next up, you guessed it, more pink! Except this one is especially fancy because it has an iridescent coating. No only does she look gorgeous lit from the back, but when lit from the front you get to see all the sparkly rainbows. Princess Barbie Mean Girls Chibiusa gloriousness!
Next up, my other all time favourite...Neolavender Shift glass (Not to be confused with regular neolavender, which is also lovely). I first found a shard of this in a scrap bin and became totally obsessed once I realised its colour changes depending on the light. Sometimes it looks a pale blue, and others a really intense violet colour. Just a perfect angel of the glass world. Makes my eyes water to actually buy any though, OOF.
Then we've got this beautiful herringbone pink. Herringbone refers to the texture of the glass. As you can see this glass is very heavily textured, which means it can be a nightmare to cut (and tends to like to develop long stabby pieces on cut edges that will get you when you're not paying attention!) but it scatters the light beautifully. There are a hell of a lot of different glass textures, and most are available in lots of different colours.
Next up is a glass I tend to use a lot, but also makes me super anxious 'cause she ain't the cheapest. Imagine splurging on a sheet of fancy glass, and then having to cut it up into tiny pieces and make no mistakes. Squeaky bum time! I love this glass because its a gorgeous baby pink colour, but when backlit it really shows off. As the light goes through you get all kinds of warm, amber and golden pink tones that remind me of a summer sunset.
This next sheet is known as confetti glass, for obvious reasons. I've been hoarding this for a while, just waiting for the right project. The green included is aventurine glass (it has glitter through it and wooooaaaah to accidentally quote Baby Box from Gabby's Dollhouse...glitter makes everything better).
Next a little more time to appreciate iridescent glass. I love using clear iridescent glasses, usually with texture. This Florentine glass is one of my favourites because the pattern is so pretty and delicate. It's a great way to add subtle pink and rainbow tones to a piece without it dominating.
Finally for my first blog post, this deep luxurious purple. This can look so dark when not lit from behind, but gives the most rich colour when backlit.
What colours and textures from my collection will I show next time, and what could they be used for? Who knows, but I'm sure I'll come on here and wax lyrical about it soon. Probably all the different clear textures if I'm honest, because I have many, and they are all BEAUTIFUL. And they make the most interesting backgrounds to things like pet portraits.
See ya later!
