Nine commissions. Nine stories. One busy studio.

Several collectors have recently begun new commissions, which means the studio schedule is now filling toward autumn.

Right now there are nine separate projects in progress, ranging from anniversary gifts to memorial pieces, from a French architectural window to a mountain landscape designed to recall a client’s hiking days.

Some are public and easy to share.

Others are still secret, slowly taking shape before they surprise someone special.

Here’s a glimpse of what’s happening in the studio this week.

Orchid Bloom - turning a painting into glass

One of the most challenging pieces currently on the workbench is Orchid Bloom, commissioned by a watercolor artist in Miami.

He sent Linda one of his own paintings and asked whether it could be recreated in glass.

'Orchid Bloom' glass art in progress

At first glance it seemed simple enough. But once the design began to take shape, it became clear just how intricate the project would be. The image is full of sweeping curves and complex petal-like structures, which means every individual piece of glass has to fit perfectly with the next.

Each section was cut by hand initially using a hand glass cutter, followed by bandsaw or ringsaw if required, slowly refining the curves until everything aligned.

Complex pieces of art glass - part of 'Orchid Bloom' in progress

People watching the progress videos on Instagram and Facebook were intrigued, and a bit puzzled. Several commented that the piece looked like something that couldn’t possibly work in stained glass.

They were right.

Because this work isn’t stained glass at all.

It’s kiln-fused Hard Edge glass, where the pieces are fused together under heat to create a single solid artwork. Once the entire image was assembled, it went into the kiln for firing, that moment when all those carefully cut pieces finally become one.

The result is something quite special.

Both Linda and the client spent a long time choosing the colours together, comparing different glass sheets to capture the strength and light of the original painting.

Choosing the art glass for 'Orchid Bloom'

Originally the plan was for the artwork to hang in front of a window. But after seeing the finished piece, a better idea emerged.

Instead, Linda is now designing a large forged metal stand, working with a local blacksmith so the glass can stand freely in front of the light. The stand has to be strong enough to support the work while staying visually unobtrusive, letting the glass remain the focus.

The finished piece will be revealed later this month.

Vernazza - a honeymoon remembered

Another major work in progress is a 15th wedding anniversary commission.

The client wanted to surprise her husband with something deeply personal, a memory of their honeymoon in the Italian village of Vernazza, one of the jewels of the Ligurian coast in Cinque Terre. Easily comparable with the more southerly Amalfi Coast for cliffside grandeur, which is already famous as THE movie location when the film director wants to capture something special of Italy’s uniquely marvellous flavour (Talented Mr Ripley anyone?)

She sent a collection of photos taken during their trip: views from their hotel, favourite corners of the village, moments they remembered.

Interestingly, many of the photos were taken on grey days. But the client was very clear about one thing: The finished artwork should be full of colour.

If you’ve ever visited any of these sunlit Mediterranean villages, you’ll know why. Even when the sky turns cloudy, the houses themselves glow in soft tones of coral, pink, yellow, ochre, and cream.

Choosing the art glass for 'Vernazza'

Capturing that colour is one of the pleasures of the project.

The piece will contain around 180 individual pieces of glass, each representing one part of the village - rooftops, two towers, harbour walls, fishing boats, and the famous row of colourful buildings that make Vernazza instantly recognisable.

Like the orchid piece, this will also be a free-standing work, so another custom stand is being designed with the blacksmith.

Over the next few weeks you’ll see the construction process unfolding on social media, where the scene gradually builds piece by piece. It’s an incredibly photogenic project and one Linda is very excited to share.

The stories behind anniversary commissions

Anniversary gifts have been particularly popular this year.

Right now there are three anniversary commissions underway, though two of them must remain secret for the moment. In both cases the husbands are planning surprise gifts for their partners.

These pieces often come with wonderfully detailed stories.

Clients send photographs from weddings, honeymoons, favourite places, or meaningful moments from their lives together. Sometimes the subject might be a landscape or memory from a trip. Other times it’s something symbolic, like a flower from the wedding bouquet, or a butterfly they once saw together, or a special animal that means something to them.

Because of that, anniversary commissions are often among the most personal artworks Linda creates.

Each one becomes a kind of visual memory - something that holds a unique story inside it.

A gentle reminder about Christmas

It might feel early to mention Christmas.

But in the studio, time works differently.

At the moment Linda is already booked with projects through to the summer, and new commissions starting later in the year will naturally be the ones that arrive in time for Christmas.

Creating a piece of Hard Edge glass art can easily take 150 hours, perhaps more, from design through cutting, building, firing, finishing and delivery. That’s why most collectors start the conversation several months in advance.

'Orchids' - a recently completed fused glass wall panel

If you’ve been thinking about commissioning something special for Christmas, the best approach is simply to start the conversation early.

Once a project is agreed, a small deposit secures a place in the schedule. Before long, the time arrives when the studio turns its attention fully to your piece.

And that’s when the real magic begins.

Around the studio this month

Alongside these headline projects, several other works are comfortably progressing through the studio:

• a French architectural window commission of three women pointing at a star
  
  
• a mountain landscape created to remind a client of her hiking days in Nepal’s Himalayas
  
  
• a memorial piece for a glass-topped large memory box, designed for holding souvenirs of a deeply personal story.

Nine projects in total, each one moving steadily forward - sketches and designs being approved, glass pieces being cut, colours chosen, kiln firings scheduled, and stories gradually becoming visible.

It’s a busy, creative time.

And as always, the studio door remains open, at least virtually, for anyone who enjoys watching new glass art come to life.

Glass artist Linda Rossiter building 'Orchid Bloom' in the kiln