Art Project

Well, it's sort-of an art project.  When we were in New Orleans this past December, we were browsing the antique stores (read that "junk shops") which have all manner of random ephemera for sale.  From voodoo dolls to Victorian cabinets to cobalt and jadite glassware, there's something for everyone.  We were visiting a place called "Greg's Antiques" (I kid you not.)  What caught my eye were these... interesting... sculptures of birds made out of brightly painted bits of metal.  My father collects flamingo statuary (again, I kid you not) and I thought one of these would make a GREAT Christmas gift.  Alas, plenty of pelicans, no flamingos.  (Sorry, dad!)

But they did have an astonishing array of architectural salvage... doors, windows, archways, all kinds of stuff.  We saw some small stained glass windows that were obviously from the craftsman era - very simple and geometric.  Some were in decent shape, some were cracked or broken, some had busted frames.  They were selling them at a price we could afford (read that "cheap" - he's not kidding on his website when he says he has "the lowest antiques prices in New Orleans".)  Later I looked up similar windows online, and they were selling for hundreds of dollars.  So for about 50 bucks, we got a DEAL.

Anyway, we bought one.  It was one of the few that didn't have a geometrical design, but rather an abstract flower.  The window was loose in the frame, but the frame was reasonably solid and all the panes were tight to the lead.  So we purchased it, wrapped it up and brought it home.  The philosopher reset the glass in the frame and reglazed it, and we roughly sanded the remaining paint and gave it a topcoat.  We tossed around a bunch of ideas on where to put it, and finally decided to hang it over the railing between the kitchen and the study.   Voila!

This is looking down from the kitchen to the study (yes, our house has a crazy layout!)  The window is about head-high.

This is a view from the study looking up, with the new track lighting beautifully illuminating the glass.

Yay, art project!