By Emma Paisley
I have been creating stained glass pieces for over 20 years and get my inspiration from everyday life. I started creating stained glass pieces from my own children’s artwork and had them inset into our front porch. They started with the very basic pictures they drew when they were 5 or 6 years old and have evolved into more intricate pieces as they grew older. I have to admit, my favourite pieces are from their early childhood when they painted pictures of trees in the sky or houses with multi-shaped windows. I receive many comments about my front porch from neighbours and people passing by who are always excited to see what is going to fill the remaining empty panes. People have knocked on my door and asked me to replicate their own children/grandchildren’s artwork, and I have been happy to do so.
Since starting stained glass, I have been commissioned to create many beautiful pieces for others, either incorporating their own children’s artwork, patterns they have seen or I have designed original pieces in collaboration with them. My client’s often work with me to choose the designs they like, the colors they want and the feel they are trying to capture with the stained glass piece. I love the way the light captures the different colored glass in their homes and how it can change the look of a room depending on the time of day and how the sun passes through the glass.
One day while sitting at my desk, I had some scrap glass sitting on the side and after a long day at work, I noticed the reflections of the glass that just lifted my mood. This made me think, “wouldn’t it be nice to have stained glass pieces incorporated in wood or stone which would sit on my desk and give me enjoyment during the day”. This made me move on from panes of glass to 3D pieces again using my children’s artwork as inspiration. Now that my children have grown up, I have found I need to get my inspiration from other things in life. I find myself picking up a leaf or looking at a landscape and imagining what it would look like in stained glass which I then recreate when I get home.
I am so very happy to now be a vendor at the Maker’s Market and have the opportunity to show other people my work and hopefully create some joy and happiness in their world too. I am showing many different types of pieces but you also have the opportunity to contact and work with me to create some personal pieces for yourself or someone else you love.