Joni Eareckson Tada wrote "recently when I was cleaning up my art studio, I discovered some broken glass on the counter by the window. I also discovered that when sunlight struck the shattered glass, brilliant, colorful rays scattered everywhere".
"What is true of shattered glass is true of a broken life. Shattered dreams. A heart full of fissures. Splintered hopes. A life in pieces. But given time and prayer, such a person's life can shine more brightly than if it had never been broken. Your life may be shattered by sorrow, pain, or sin, but God has in mind a kaleidoscope through which His light can shine more brightly. When the light of the Lord Jesus falls upon a shattered life, hope bursts forth in a thousand brilliant hues".
In the constructing of stained glass projects, you have many "broken" pieces of glass. When you, the creator, put the pieces together, the final result is something beautiful. When each one of the girls reached the high school years, I allowed them to try many new classes at Red Mountain High School. Heather chose to try her hand at stained glass. She managed to excel all 3 years under the tutelage of Mr. S. (Short for Mr. Satterthwaite) Heather was the only student ever to receive an award for her advanced and skillful work in stained glass. Heather created her own pattern for a long stemmed rose. She made over 24 of them her senior year to give as gifts to people. Heather loved to make butterflies and angels as well.
Heather had many projects that she was very proud of. I would like to share with 3 of them. Heather's main reason for beginning stained glass was to make a nativity creche. When I grew up my father brought back from overseas a stained glass nativity. The A-frame was the glass portion and then a solid white holy family were silhouetted through the stained glass. Heather had me come to her class and pick out the glass colors. She worked long and hard on this piece. Mr. S made the wooden frame for it. She went in a day or two over the first part of the Christmas break to get this finished. It is a beautiful art piece that sits in the foyer of our house all year long.
The next two projects are very unique and different just like Heather. She saw in a hallmark store a holy family out of stained glass. She then set out on a mission to make her own entire nativity set. Shepherd, wise men and animals included. Mr. S bought special glass just for her project. Much of the glass is one of a kind. I will take photos when I get it out this Christmas. The final most unusual piece of stained glass Heather made was called glass fusing. She cut pieces and left a small space when fitting them together. Then she put it in the kiln to melt the glass together to make one piece. She made a "Nemo" fish before there was a "Finding Nemo". She got the highest marks for the fish and how perfect it fit togther.
Years before she began her stained glass adventure, Heather loved to paint pottery. I use to take the girls for birthdays and just ordinary days to paint pottery. Heather always knew what she wanted to paint and brought pictures so she could get it just right. She was always the last one to finish. One of the first things she painted was a plate with her favorite precious moments statue on it. The girl holding her bunny entitled "Jesus Loves Me". As you can see it turned out beautifully.
Even with painting pottery, Heather would think about whom she could give it to and then begin her project. One of the first trinket boxes she made was for her beloved Grandma Coombe. The only grandma she has ever known. She picked the heart box because she said it was like she was giving grandma her heart. She then picked out some of grandma's favorite colors. She was thrilled to present her gift to her grandma for no special reason. Grandma kept the heart box on her dresser in her bedroom till she died. When we would visit, Heather would go into the bedroom and lift the lid to see what treasures grandma had put in there. The box was returned to Heather and she took the last photo taken of her and grandma and taped it into the bottom of the box. That is the treasure that Heather put in the heart box.
"What is true of shattered glass is true of a broken life. Shattered dreams. A heart full of fissures. Splintered hopes. A life in pieces. But given time and prayer, such a person's life can shine more brightly than if it had never been broken. Your life may be shattered by sorrow, pain, or sin, but God has in mind a kaleidoscope through which His light can shine more brightly. When the light of the Lord Jesus falls upon a shattered life, hope bursts forth in a thousand brilliant hues".
In the constructing of stained glass projects, you have many "broken" pieces of glass. When you, the creator, put the pieces together, the final result is something beautiful. When each one of the girls reached the high school years, I allowed them to try many new classes at Red Mountain High School. Heather chose to try her hand at stained glass. She managed to excel all 3 years under the tutelage of Mr. S. (Short for Mr. Satterthwaite) Heather was the only student ever to receive an award for her advanced and skillful work in stained glass. Heather created her own pattern for a long stemmed rose. She made over 24 of them her senior year to give as gifts to people. Heather loved to make butterflies and angels as well.
Heather had many projects that she was very proud of. I would like to share with 3 of them. Heather's main reason for beginning stained glass was to make a nativity creche. When I grew up my father brought back from overseas a stained glass nativity. The A-frame was the glass portion and then a solid white holy family were silhouetted through the stained glass. Heather had me come to her class and pick out the glass colors. She worked long and hard on this piece. Mr. S made the wooden frame for it. She went in a day or two over the first part of the Christmas break to get this finished. It is a beautiful art piece that sits in the foyer of our house all year long.
The next two projects are very unique and different just like Heather. She saw in a hallmark store a holy family out of stained glass. She then set out on a mission to make her own entire nativity set. Shepherd, wise men and animals included. Mr. S bought special glass just for her project. Much of the glass is one of a kind. I will take photos when I get it out this Christmas. The final most unusual piece of stained glass Heather made was called glass fusing. She cut pieces and left a small space when fitting them together. Then she put it in the kiln to melt the glass together to make one piece. She made a "Nemo" fish before there was a "Finding Nemo". She got the highest marks for the fish and how perfect it fit togther.
Years before she began her stained glass adventure, Heather loved to paint pottery. I use to take the girls for birthdays and just ordinary days to paint pottery. Heather always knew what she wanted to paint and brought pictures so she could get it just right. She was always the last one to finish. One of the first things she painted was a plate with her favorite precious moments statue on it. The girl holding her bunny entitled "Jesus Loves Me". As you can see it turned out beautifully.
Even with painting pottery, Heather would think about whom she could give it to and then begin her project. One of the first trinket boxes she made was for her beloved Grandma Coombe. The only grandma she has ever known. She picked the heart box because she said it was like she was giving grandma her heart. She then picked out some of grandma's favorite colors. She was thrilled to present her gift to her grandma for no special reason. Grandma kept the heart box on her dresser in her bedroom till she died. When we would visit, Heather would go into the bedroom and lift the lid to see what treasures grandma had put in there. The box was returned to Heather and she took the last photo taken of her and grandma and taped it into the bottom of the box. That is the treasure that Heather put in the heart box.
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