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214 Stained Glass Art Pictures · 17 Artists


Blue Star Glass Art

Blue Star Glass Art

Posted by BlueStarGlassArt on 7/18/2008
Purple Tulip Cameo
12" x 20"
640 x 480 pixels  (117 KB)
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Suncatcher in Robin's Egg Blue & Smoky Topaz
Our Suncatchers are more like Jewelry for the home. The convex surfaces of our glass gems combine with the concave contours of our signature inverted soldering technique creating hundreds of facet-like reflections in any lighting atmosphere.
768 x 1024 pixels  (206 KB)
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The Manoosh
The winner of our most recent online design competition, Manoosh Djadali, created this glass ornament of extraordinary balance & reflection.
768 x 1024 pixels  (181 KB)
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Amethyst Dreamcatcher
One of many styles of our Suncatchers, this piece features generous lead inlays which gleam as bright as polished silver. Combined with Forest Green, Clear & Lavendar Iridescent gems, this piece really shines!
768 x 1024 pixels  (197 KB)
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Tier Pendants Gem-Linked in Red, White & Blue
Our Gem-Link Pendant set has two Diamond Pendants (red and cobalt) and a center Medallion with an opaque opal gem. Most notable for our Crackle Gem Effect on the clear gems which give them a glimmering interior metallic "web".
768 x 1024 pixels  (167 KB)
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Periwinkle Blue Grapes
Our Grapes are suitable as both window Pendants or Wall Art. Each of these is made free-hand, no two are ever alike. This one features blue opaque and rare blue jelly gems, with shades of green flat glass leaves.
768 x 1024 pixels  (207 KB)
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Lavendar Grapes
Another variation of our grape cluster designs. In lavendar opaques and desert lavendar iridescents.
768 x 1024 pixels  (191 KB)
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Red Grapes
These images of our grape clusters illustrate that they make fine adornments for a vanity mirror as well as window and wall art. This bunch has a whimsical leaf impression made with a large green gem.
768 x 1024 pixels  (231 KB)
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Flower Cross in Turquoise & Meadow Green
With turquoise and meadow green gems, this cross has an interesting effect of glowing even in low lighting conditions.
768 x 1024 pixels  (196 KB)
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Medieval Style Cross in Turquoise & Cobalt
This stately Medieval style cross stands 11-1/2" tall.
768 x 1024 pixels  (199 KB)
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 Artist:   BlueStarGlassArt  Contact Artist 
Johnny Blue has been working with traditional stained glass for many years. Like many of us, he is - simply said -intrigued with "shiny things". One day he noticed that glass gems seemed to have better shine and reflectivity than most flat glass, and he began to experiment with ways of overcoming the inherent difficulties of working with glass gems as an exclusive medium. Due to their circular shape, glass gems require a large amount of solder to fill in between them, excessive heat, and present great difficulty in achieving a smooth burnish on the copper foil due to both the small size of the gems and the compound curvatures which tend to wrinkle the foil. An experienced machinist familiar with many metal-working techniques, Johnny utilizes his own version of "spin-forming" to achieve a completely smooth and wrinkle-free bond between the copper foil tape and the glass gems. It was immediately evident that the traditional method of building up a raised solder bead between the glass pieces not only required an excessive amount of solder, but also subtracted from the gleam of the glass gems. This lead him to develop a technique which he calls "inversion soldering". Inversion soldering is an art form unto itself and gives the appearance that the piece was dipped in molten solder rather than hand soldered. It takes advantage of the surface tension properties to create a meniscus in the solder. Whereas the traditional method of soldering flat glass gives the solder a raised bead, this method conversely stretches the solder for a concave or "sunken" solder joint between the gems. It is also necessary to eliminate all surface irregularities in the solder in order to give it the appearance of a highly polished "silver" setting much like that of jewelry. This method is the result of lots of practice, and demands a great deal of heat, time and patience in order to achieve the desired effect of maximum reflection and shine. This soldering technique, when combined with the convex surfaces of the glass gems, breaks a single light source into hundreds of points of reflection.

For more images of his work, please visit his online art gallery at: www.bluestarglassart.com. Thank you.

Johnny Blue
Austin TX 78704 US
Phone: 512-276-2012
www.bluestarglassart.com
Profile Page: http://www.StainedGlassArtists.org/BlueStarGlassArt
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