Barn Glass on Glass Window

This is a present for my mother-in-law that I would like to share how I made.

I found an old window at a recycle construction material store. I stripped & varnished the frame. I had a pattern I was following blown up at Kinko's & taped it behind the window. I used Mac glue & started gluing the pieces to the window. This was my first glass on glass. 97% of the glass is Youghiogheny glass & the rest is scrap glass. I hope you enjoy the progress of this window in the making.

I was working on the preparation of the window, staining, varnishing - I started nipping the leaves so the trees was where I started on this project. I made strips of the green glass & then used wheeled nippers to trim up the leaves. A little bit of grinding to smooth out the shapes.




I then started on the barn itself. This was the easiest to make. I used my Beetle Bits System to make the strips & then my wheeled nippers to trim all the barn boards.








Then it was basically filling in the background. I sandwiched a pic of a border collie & placed in the road. My inlaws have a border collie named Shelby.







The sky was the last part to be finished.












This is the finished piece grouted. I did a color wash for the sky of a silvery blue & the roof of the barn a copper wash to depict rust.











Here is the finished piece with the light shining through. The Yough glass just sings.













Here is a pic of the original pattern. I originally wanted fall colors in the trees but I wanted to include cone flowers in the window (mother-in-laws favorite flower) so I had to use green leaves.

This pattern was made from a photo taken in the 1940's. What was really awesome is that when the owner seen the finished piece, he said that it is exactly how it looked when his Dad first built the barn - down to the pine trees. I hope you enjoyed seeing this in the making. I sure had fun making it.

Wedi Board

Wedi board (pronounced "weedy") is an ideal substrate for mosaic artists. It consists of styrofoam encased in mesh and cement. This sturdy material is very lightweight and cuts easily with a utility knife (no need for any power tools!). Wedi Panels are about ¼ of the weight of Durock and other cement boards, and ½ the weight of MDF or birch plywood.





















It is rigid, waterproof, and weatherproof. It does not warp, does not require sealing, and can be used on floors, walls, and as art panels. It is made of a middle core of blue styrofoam with a reinforced polymer modified concrete coating on both sides. The foam core center makes it lightweight. You can use Weldbond, silicone, thinset, Mac glue, etc.

How To Hang

Because of the foam core, washers are required when attempting to screw into or through the panel. Without washers, the screws or nails would go straight through the panel. ‘Wedi Washers’ are specifically made for this purpose. Wedi Washers have four prongs that press easily into the Wedi, with a center hole for an 8 gauge nail or screw. When fully installed, the washer sits about 1/32” above the surface of the Wedi and can be mosaiced over. Standard washers can be used as well.


Here's the back of the washer with the picture hook attached. Notice that the cement is cracking a little - that's OK. It's the only way to get the front to lie flat.




There is also wall hangers. The plastic piece screws into the wall. You then place the screw on the wedi board & then screw into the plastic piece into the wall. You will mosaic on the board on the wall.

Either way, you have to have your hangers in place before you start to mosaic.


















Where To Buy

www.tileshack.com
www.mosaicsmalti.com
www.themosaicway.com

See http://www.wediusa.com/ for local distrubutors. I was fortunate in that a supplier was 20 minutes from my home & bought a 3' x 5' sheet of wedi.