Stained glass is a great way to add colour and light into your home. But as one artist shares, the possibilities are limitless when it comes to this versatile medium.
-
Some Courier online content is funded by outside parties. The revenue from this helps to sustain our independent news gathering. You will always know if you are reading paid-for material as it will be clearly labelled as “Partnership” on the site and on social media channels,
This can take two different forms.
“Presented by”
This means the content has been paid for and produced by the named advertiser.
“In partnership with”
This means the content has been paid for and approved by the named advertiser but written and edited by our own commercial content team.
Emma McDermott has been a stained glass artist for 12 years. Her interest in the medium began when she was studying jewellery and metalwork design at Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. After earning her degree, she found her dream job at Esk Glazing where she currently runs the Design Studio. Her role opened opportunities for her to work on different commissions. For her, there’s something about working with glass that makes each project new and exciting. Emma says:
My favourite thing about the glass is the vibrancy of that colour when the light hits. One of my favourite things to use is a colour changing glass. It’s incredible. It’s iridescent, like a dragonfly wing. During the day, it could be pink, and then at nighttime, when there’s no light coming through it, it’s just light from inside the home, it turns green and blue. So even at nighttime, it’s still so colourful and sparkly and pretty.
The artist is also drawn to the versatility of glass. At Esk Glazing, the overlay is carried out on a single piece of glass, allowing an infinite number of designs that are both aesthetically pleasing and durable. While hundreds of ready-made designs are available in the Design Studio, personalised designs are its speciality.
Here are some of Emma’s suggestions, just in time for the holidays!
5 creative ways to use stained glass:
1. Add colour and personality to your home or business
Stained glass is a unique way to inject some colour and personality into your home. You can create a statement-making piece for your front door, spruce up your stairwell window, or have it in your living room as a conversation starter. If your window looks out on the street, you can use obscure or textured glass to create some privacy. Unknown to many, it can also be double glazed to retain heat in your home and make it more energy efficient.
2. Create modern and contemporary stained glass designs
Think stained glass only belongs to old, stuffy churches? Think again! Emma recalls: “There was one house where (the clients) wanted to have a contemporary take but use the old materials from their old window. So, we took the old glass from their hallway window and I fused it to their new glass and put lead around it. It was a part that would have been thrown away. But it was brought into their new door and it looks so modern, though it was an old piece of roundel glass. It would have been hundreds of years old and you can’t buy them anymore! So it was great to be able to reuse that and have that bit of history in something so new.”
3. Give away fun and unique pet portraits
Emma says these are very popular, especially at Christmas. They can be little suncatchers, or tiny pieces of stained glass. She says she can put hooks and chains on them, then with little silicone holders, these portraits can be hung on windows or doors. They can also be framed like photos. Emma shares: “It’s a great gift idea for the person you don’t know who to buy for but they really like their cat or their dog.”
4. Dream up personalised stained glass gifts
Emma also takes many commissions for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. Last year, she created a stained glass daisy for someone called Daisy. They can definitely personalise anything, whether that means adding a person’s name or a memorable date on the art.
Emma says thistles have also been popular among customers who want to send a little piece of Scotland to their loved ones at home and abroad.
5. Adorn yourself with glass jewellery
Emma can also create custom glass jewellery – from earrings to pendants. “Once they go in the kiln and the glass shrinks down, the colours become so much more intense and bright. It’s lovely!”
With stained glass, the limit is your imagination.
For more inspiration, visit Esk Glazing The Design Studio’s Facebook page or for a quote, email designstudio@eskglazing.co.uk today!
