Welcome to my blog, featuring various pieces from my collection of Oz books, artwork and memorabilia!

Sunday, January 3, 2021

Ozma Comes Home

Here’s the story of a window that was 30 years in the making!

Every year, Irwin & I close our studio between Christmas and New Year’s Day. This past holiday, with its lack of entertaining and socializing, seemed the perfect opportunity to finish a long lingering project. This began 30 years ago, when we created a stained glass window based on the endpaper drawing of Ozma in The Emerald City of Oz. This window was eventually sold through Books of Wonder.

Our studio was new at the time, and this was one of our first windows that required a painted face. As I was a little uncertain how things would go, I painted and fired two faces - one to be a spare in case of any accidents or problems in constructing the window. As it happened, the spare face was not needed and it was set aside. 

Miraculously, it survived years of being tossed about, filed, neglected, and left on a shelf. Then, 5 years ago, I decided it was time to use it. I drew up a new pattern, but a large window requires both time and considerable space for construction, and we didn’t have either - in fact, for the past several years we haven't taken window commissions, as we are booked up with lamp work.

So, this particular Christmas break seemed like an ideal opportunity to attempt the window. The timing worked out perfectly, with both of us cracking away, and there is now a new friend to keep us company in our window seat!

7 comments:

Jane Albright said...

Stunning!!! But where is the window that used to be in that window seat? As I vividly recall, it wasn't exactly chopped liver...

Bill Campbell said...

You’re right, we originally made the Oz Parade window for this spot - https://theozenthusiast.blogspot.com/2010/07/finished.html
But we ended up selling that one after a few years - partly because it never quite seemed to work in the space the way I intended, and partly because we had a client who desperately wanted it! That was back in 2013, so it’s taken 7 years to get the replacement done...

Glenn Ingersoll said...

Gorgeous!

scott said...

That is really really nice!

David Valentin said...

Incredible! I love it! A True Work of Art!!!!

Justin Steensma said...

Absolutely Spectacular! Wow!! Really gorgeous.

Sam said...

Oh Bill, if I were lucky and fortunate enough to be making FAITHFUL BAUM-based Oz Movies, I would SO ask and commission you and your studio to make the appropriate windows for the sets and scenes, especially the Emerald City (and other castles?)!!!