Local artist shares his passion at Stained Glass Art Show

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[May 25, 2016]   LINCOLN - On Friday evening, local glass artist David Alexander held a showing open to the public featuring his stained glass art.

The event was held at Regions Bank in Lincoln, where David and wife Sonnie have their Coldwell Banker Real Estate Offices. The artwork was on display in the downstairs entryway, as well as the upstairs lobby area and the Coldwell Banker offices.

Alexander has been creating stained glass art for several years. He noted that it was a favorite past time several years ago that went to the wayside for a while in lieu of other activities such as building a business and raising a family.

About eight years ago, at the encouragement of his kids, Alexander took it up again and began creating beautiful pieces of art from cut, colored glass.



Alexander uses his architectural talents to create the large finished works made up of many smaller pieces fit together.

Alexander said he created his art in a workroom in the basement of his home. He spends time there first formulating an idea for a piece, then sketching it out. His designs are made up of multiple pieces of colored and sometimes textured glass that he cuts and fits together like a puzzle. Once everything is cut and laid to perfection, he wraps each individual piece of glass with copper foil, then solders them all together to create his picture.

He noted that one of the most challenging parts of his process was the trip to the glass store. He said he purchases the colored glass, picturing in his mind what he wants. He laughed and said, "sometimes it looks right in the store, but when I get home, it just isn't."




To finish the work, each picture is framed in a wooden frame. On Friday evening, he pointed out a couple of pieces, in particular, noting that they were tree cut pieces of wood, with the bark still along the edges.




David is a fan of Frank Loyd Wright, and two of his favorite pieces are pictures of Wright buildings, the Guggenheim in New York, and one of the Wrights more well-known home designs, Waterfall house.

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Other notable pieces included the old fashioned steam locomotive that was hanging on the second floor. The piece shows the train crossing a truss bridge with smoke blowing from its stack. What is fascinating about this piece, as well as several others, is the fact that it is made up of several hundred tiny pieces of glass, all carefully put together to create a picture.




Some of Alexanders pieces lean to the abstract while others reflect the days gone by when stained glass adorned the front doors of many Victorian homes.



Another striking piece in the collection is the one with an Egyptian theme that features pyramids, the Egyptian Eye of Ra, and the Egyptian Mau or sacred black cat.



During the showing, Alexander's daughter Katie stopped in to say a quick hello and was also quick to point out her favorite piece, a colorful peacock with its tail down but slightly flared to show off its colorful plumage.

It was a busy evening in Lincoln on Friday, but for those who took the time to drop in, they certainly must have enjoyed seeing the colorful art that is a passion of Alexander’s. For those who missed it, there are always pieces on display at the Coldwell Banker offices, and there's a good chance that if David is around, he'd be happy to show you his work and tell you about it.

[Nila Smith]

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