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The pain of working in glass. I had spent 2 months working on a picture only to have accidently broken it. That is so frustrating and disappointing as it truly was my best work. Think I need a little time to pout about it before I attempt another, lol.

Step 1: The stained glass is crushed to approx. 1 mm in size with a hammer after placing it in bags.

Step 2: The crushed glass is run through various strainers to remove the large pieces and sand.

Step 3: An image is placed behind a clear glass sheet. Using a magnifying glass and toothpicks a tiny area is covered with glue. Tweezers are used to pick up one glass sliver at a time to place onto the glue.

Step 4: A positioning tool aids in packing the glass tightly, then more glue is applied and the process repeated.

To see a detailed explanation of how Crystal Imagery is created visit www.loonargifts.ca

I created the art process in 1978 which I refer as Crystal Imagery since the final product has a crystallized affect from the irregular shapes of the stained glass (approx. 1 mm in size).

The affect is stunning as the glass reflects the light creating a sparkling affect. Although somewhat limited with the colors of stained glass I have found that by placing them on individually I am able to blend and give the perception of various colors. Because the slivers or shards are placed one-by-one it produces a wonderful paint brush appearance and allows for detailed control.

The entire process is labor intensive (1-2 weeks for a small image) and requires a pure love for the art as the material must be prepared (bags sewn, glass crushed, image drawn) before the long process of placing each sliver begins. Although there is a high risk of being cut when the initial stained glass is broken, the final shards or slivers have never posed a threat as I'm able to run my hands over the image or through a bowl of glass shards without injury.

Once the image is completed, the excess glue is removed, and the glass sheet is cleaned with a cleaner taking every precaution not to place any liquid on the stained glass shards. A paint brush is used to remove any debris from the stained glass slivers. A well wrung out cloth is used to blot the stained glass and remove any remaining dust.