Glass Tile Window Art with Transitional Color Design

Sold at a neighborhood art show. Dimensions: Height, 28 inches; Width, 12.25 inches; Thickness, 1.25 inches; Weight, 7 pounds. If you love stained glass like I do, you might like this faux stained-glass window, made from precut squares of glass tile glued to a pane of glass, with charcoal grout taking the place of lead. The grooves on the back of the tiles, little air bubbles that get trapped with the glue, and other minor imperfections combine to give this new glass the appearance of really old stained glass. Two D-rings are attached so you can use a string or wire to connect the two in an A-shape and hang the piece from a nail or hook in front of a window where lots of sunlight comes in. Or you can just sit it on the sill and lean it against the window. Because they are metallic vitreous glass tiles, this piece looks pretty good even when light isn’t shining through from behind; light in front of it will highlight the sparkly gold streaks on the front of each tile. Was asking $200.

The Story

I found this picture frame curbside, leaning against a tree, across the street from Stoddert Elementary School in my Glover Park neighborhood of D.C. It had been through at least one rainstorm and the frame was wet but still solid, and the glass was in good shape. I knew immediately that I could become another of my faux stained-glass pieces. The glass had a thin film of some substance that made it opaque around the three squares of the triptych, which I removed easily with some paint stripper. I sanded the wood frame and stained it with Minwax “Jacobean” for a slightly rougher and richly dark finish.

For the design, I wanted to do something quite different from all my other faux stained-glass projects, which I’ve called “quilts” because of their symmetrical designs of squares and rectangles. When I considered all the colors of the tiles I had in stock (from Maryland Mosaics), it occurred to me that I could create a piece that featured a rainbow-like transition from violet to blue. I settled on (bottom to top) Amethyst, Merlot Gold, Honey Gold, Pistachio, Prickly Pear, Bottle Green, Marine Blue, and Cobalt Gold. To help me keep the rows straight I put painters tape the underside of the glass—my usual process. I glued the pieces down one at a time using MAC Multi-Purpose Craft Glue. I started with the middle rows in both directions, then filled in one quadrant at a time. The grout is unsanded Charcoal, a look that best evokes the smooth dark gray we associate with the lead used in real stained glass art. I secured the glass in the frame with 14 window points.

Related Items: Colored Glass Tile Mosaic “Quilts” 1–12.