Stained Glass Family Tree
This tree was made as a Christmas gift for a client's sister & brother-in-law to celebrate their family. The tree itself is created in a traditional, stained glass style made popular by Louis Tiffany. The branches curve upward toward the sky and seem to wrap around each other. The brown glass of the tree is lightly textured like the bark of a tree. Within the tree, the background is a type of glass called fracture glass which has small flakes of green and red on a clear background that also has thin streaks that look like fine branches.
I made a leaf for each family member with their birth & death dates. Since it was a surprise and not all the family members of the brother-in-law were known, I left leaves without names that can be completed in the future. Each leaf is constructed with a small wire fused into the back. Once the tree was completed, I attached a small wire ring into the solder lines which provided a place to attach the leaves. The leaves can all be "unhooked" in order to add information that was missing at the time of creating. This style allows for more family members to be added on as the family grows.
At the base of the tree, I painted a quote which the client provided to me. It says, "Family, like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one." This was fired in the kiln so it is a permanent part of the piece.