Mea culpa, I suppose. I read your letters and watch your videos with great interest, but have I picked up a brush and done any actual painting? Sadly, no. I've been bedeviled my entire adult life with tremors in my hands. My doctor has thoroughly checked it out and says it's a genetic thing. My few remaining immediate family members have the tremors as well. When I discovered glass painting half a dozen years ago, after retiring from decades as an office worker, I was excited and fascinated by the whole thing. But I quickly found that the tremors that had kept me from painting tiny details on model airplanes as a boy, or from making smooth beautiful soldered seams on stained glass panels were blocking my ability to make the sort of clean, sweeping lines that I saw in the examples in your book and class materials. Despite extended periods of struggle, the best I could do were lines that looked stiff and mechanical. I found that for a very limited range of subjects, that was OK. I can do very passable copies of old aviation and auto related advertising, for example. But the heraldic and figural subjects that form the core of "real" glass painting are virtually beyond my physical capabilities. On the rare occasions when I achieve something I'm happy with, it's only after hours and hours of struggle and disappointment. Then there's the question of what to do with all the accumulating pile of fired pieces. There doesn't seem to be any demand locally for such things, and there's only so much glass that can fit in a person's own home. So I suppose I'm in the category of people who sign up for your material without really using it, but it's because I am sincerely fascinated by the processes and tools and techniques in their own right. I may never be an artist myself but I love understanding as much as I can about how the true artists achieve their results.
Being an Artist I a way of thinking . Not skills for me. The Artisan, that’s something else : he transcends science through skills. For me , that’s what they represent the most . Therefore , you can also be an Artist as much as anyone proclaiming it. Being creative , curious, daring, to go beyond oneself .
I print all the letters, take notes, & highlight notable items and download all the videos. I have cut 17 individual pieces of glass to practice the images at the end of your book “The Glass Painters Method” and I’m now at the stage of tracing each image, to familiarise myself with the curves and lines. Once I feel proficient I’ll move on with my work.
While I’ve been busy hunting out and cutting glass, I’ve been practicing mixing my paint and stains😊It’s so relaxing especially if I have music on in the background. I also play around with mark making another relaxing activity.
My Daughter has become extremely wise over the years and has pointed out to me on more than one occasion, if you really want to achieve something, nothing will/should impede your progress and ability in reaching your goal. My only impediment is “me”
Especially these days, with fragmented and contested information everywhere, it helps to focus on those things we know for certain: their "solidity", once we immerse ourselves in it, allows us to realise that most other things, however hotly claimed, are insubstantial by comparison and thus don't have to claim our unadulterated faith. Rehearsal and repetition go with the territory of "immersion". Indeed we are all of us limited by our anatomy and minds. But practice causes many changes in us. Practice is an honourable way to spend our time. It leaves us stronger when the moment comes for us to venture forth and face the world. It also leaves us stronger to find our own voice. Your approach - practising ancient designs before creating your own - is admirable. We wish you well.
Also...maybe it can help someone : trying to buy from my local independent store, I found these brushes : #10 DaVinci CASANEO (5598) and many Princeton Script NEPTUNE (I tried 2 ...and went back to buy all the sizes (I got crazy;)). I find them exceptional for the price !
Thank you-again- for a great letter. Hard to tell you how luck they are important to me. Learning all the time , even after all those years . One day I’ll be a master . But I’ll be dead ;) Now I must continue my Path.
Mea culpa, I suppose. I read your letters and watch your videos with great interest, but have I picked up a brush and done any actual painting? Sadly, no. I've been bedeviled my entire adult life with tremors in my hands. My doctor has thoroughly checked it out and says it's a genetic thing. My few remaining immediate family members have the tremors as well. When I discovered glass painting half a dozen years ago, after retiring from decades as an office worker, I was excited and fascinated by the whole thing. But I quickly found that the tremors that had kept me from painting tiny details on model airplanes as a boy, or from making smooth beautiful soldered seams on stained glass panels were blocking my ability to make the sort of clean, sweeping lines that I saw in the examples in your book and class materials. Despite extended periods of struggle, the best I could do were lines that looked stiff and mechanical. I found that for a very limited range of subjects, that was OK. I can do very passable copies of old aviation and auto related advertising, for example. But the heraldic and figural subjects that form the core of "real" glass painting are virtually beyond my physical capabilities. On the rare occasions when I achieve something I'm happy with, it's only after hours and hours of struggle and disappointment. Then there's the question of what to do with all the accumulating pile of fired pieces. There doesn't seem to be any demand locally for such things, and there's only so much glass that can fit in a person's own home. So I suppose I'm in the category of people who sign up for your material without really using it, but it's because I am sincerely fascinated by the processes and tools and techniques in their own right. I may never be an artist myself but I love understanding as much as I can about how the true artists achieve their results.
Your "mea culpa" - certainly, it's far more than that - moves me greatly. We thank you all the more for your attention.
Being an Artist I a way of thinking . Not skills for me. The Artisan, that’s something else : he transcends science through skills. For me , that’s what they represent the most . Therefore , you can also be an Artist as much as anyone proclaiming it. Being creative , curious, daring, to go beyond oneself .
I print all the letters, take notes, & highlight notable items and download all the videos. I have cut 17 individual pieces of glass to practice the images at the end of your book “The Glass Painters Method” and I’m now at the stage of tracing each image, to familiarise myself with the curves and lines. Once I feel proficient I’ll move on with my work.
While I’ve been busy hunting out and cutting glass, I’ve been practicing mixing my paint and stains😊It’s so relaxing especially if I have music on in the background. I also play around with mark making another relaxing activity.
My Daughter has become extremely wise over the years and has pointed out to me on more than one occasion, if you really want to achieve something, nothing will/should impede your progress and ability in reaching your goal. My only impediment is “me”
Especially these days, with fragmented and contested information everywhere, it helps to focus on those things we know for certain: their "solidity", once we immerse ourselves in it, allows us to realise that most other things, however hotly claimed, are insubstantial by comparison and thus don't have to claim our unadulterated faith. Rehearsal and repetition go with the territory of "immersion". Indeed we are all of us limited by our anatomy and minds. But practice causes many changes in us. Practice is an honourable way to spend our time. It leaves us stronger when the moment comes for us to venture forth and face the world. It also leaves us stronger to find our own voice. Your approach - practising ancient designs before creating your own - is admirable. We wish you well.
Also...maybe it can help someone : trying to buy from my local independent store, I found these brushes : #10 DaVinci CASANEO (5598) and many Princeton Script NEPTUNE (I tried 2 ...and went back to buy all the sizes (I got crazy;)). I find them exceptional for the price !
Thank you-again- for a great letter. Hard to tell you how luck they are important to me. Learning all the time , even after all those years . One day I’ll be a master . But I’ll be dead ;) Now I must continue my Path.
Honour and integrity in life will always matter, despite that our bodies will decompose.