For reasons I don't quite understand, sometimes I get a number of similar commissions in a row. For example, this spring/ summer, I did 3 flower-themed windows in a row. They were all different styles but for each one, the subject was flowers. In the past few months, I have gotten 3 commissions for lamps. Again, the execution will be very different but for some reason, lamps are all the rage! The photo above shows one of a pair that I am currently constructing. Often glass artists build lamps on plastic molds that come directly from a factory with patterns already plotted onto them. In this case, my clients wanted to replace shades on hanging pendant lights in their kitchen. The plain, clear shades had broken but they never really loved them anyway. They envisioned something colorful and unique so I designed the pattern and created a custom mold. Then I started the process of cutting and fitting all the pieces together-- attaching them onto the mold temporarily with tacky wax to be sure they all fit correctly. The next step will be to wrap each piece in copper foil and then to solder everything together.  Since the mold is solid, no light is getting in, leaving a very flat looking lamp. But when they are finished and light shines through, the jewel-toned glass that they selected will glow and create a beautiful artistic focal point in their kitchen.