KayBee Glass Blog
Septima. Civil rights activist. Educator. The “Mother of the Movement” (Martin Luther King Jr).
My favourite piece? Septima Poinsette Clark (1889 – 1987) Martin Luther King Jr called her The Mother of the Movement although her work wasn’t recognised by some male activists. She believed in knowledge as a powerful force for the marginalised – more powerful than changes in the law. Her father was enslaved at birth as…
Stained Glass Martina Kramers – Dutch suffragette
Stained Glass Martina Kramers – Dutch Suffragette Martina Kramer stained glass Martina Kramers, Dutch Suffragette (1863 – 1934) Martina Kramers joined the Dutch women’s suffrage movement (Vereeniging voor Vrouwenkiesrecht) in 1894. She played an active role in organising the National Exhibition on Women’s Labor in 1889, joined the International Council of Women in 1899 and…
“Good morning. Would you be able to produce something that was similar or recognisable as one of these pieces of art in glass?”
Find out what happened when I was asked to make something based on someone’s art…for the artist themselves
Theresa Kachindamoto; protecting thousands of girls from child marriage in Malawi
Theresa Kachindamoto – changing the lives of girls in Malawi “When you educate a girl, you educate a whole nation” (James Emman Aggrey) The Dedza District of Malawi sits in between Mozambique and Lake Malawi and has under a million residents. Most live in poverty with the average family wage being $11 a month. Theresa…
Who is Jaha Dukureh, my latest stained glass portrait, and what do you need to know about the Gambia?
Jaha Dukureh, under 40, is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, campaigning against female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. She founded Safe Hands for Girls and successfully worked to ban FGM in The Gambia. She is also the subject of a 2017 documentary-drama “Jaha’s Promise.”
Who was Emmeline Pankhurst and why was she important?
You might have heard of Emmeline Pankhurst. If not, read on.
Why do people hate moths?
Why do people hate moths? Did you know many of the very old stained glass windows are painted? Today we can buy a huge variety of colours and textures of glass negating the need to use traditional painting methods such as scraffito where layers are scratched off to reveal colours underneath. Many glass painting methods…
Woman Life Freedom
I didn’t expect to cry when I sold this At my monthly stall at Edinburgh’s Grassmarket market I was speaking to @amwhogirl, an author and lover of Scotland who was visiting from Canada. She has become a friend as she always stops by my stall when she visits Scotland, and we talk regularly on Instagram.…
Ada Lovelace – a 19th century Computer Programmer?
Ada Lovelace was a 19th Century mathematician. Ada was the daughter of Lord Byron and has been credited with being one of the first computer programmers because of her work with Charles Babbage and his ‘Analytical Engine’. The annual Ada Lovelace day is in October celebrating women in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Look…
Exhibitions; Razzle Dazzle and Whispers
Exhibitions! The world of art exhibitions is new and unfamiliar to me, but if you are looking to buy stained glass, an exhibition would be a great place to start! I was pleased to exhibit my stained glass Amanda Gorman at the Craft Centre and Design Gallery in Leeds earlier this year as part of…
Custom stained glass art; Zelda the wolf.
Why did I make this wolf in stained glass? I was asked to make a stained glass wolf for a customer who had previously commissioned me to make large and small pieces. Never having made a wolf before, I was a little nervous. I had looked at stained glass dogs and other animals on t’internet…
Exhibition time!
My Amanda Gorman stained glass picture is exhibited at the Craft Centre and Design Gallery in Leeds from 23 April to 04 June 2022. I was delighted to have been selected as one of 25 glass artists to exhibit as part of the Contemporary Glass Society’s 25th Anniversary Joy of Glass Showcase. Even more exciting…
Suffragette Panel
NOW SOLD (21 May) This latest suffragette panel has slogans from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and one of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Society’s (NUWSS) leaders, Millicent Fawcett. There is a splendid bronze statue of Millicent in Parliament Square, London by Gillian Wearing showing the Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere banner.…
Maya Angelou panel
Maya Angelou’s autobiograhical “I know why the caged bird sings” was published in 1969 and I used images from Random House’s first edition along with a quote from the book to create this zinc-framed stained glass hanging with a beautiful wispy amber glass. Progress pictures below from initial sketch to cutting, to copper foiling each…