Maple and Purpleheart Stained Glass Candle Centerpiece

I know my last 2 posts have been on new tooled leather projects, but of course I don't work only in tooled leather. I have some gorgeous new pieces in wood and stained glass too. In fact this new piece has both wood and stained glass.

Artwork that is easy to provide "wow factor" is usually visually captivating in it's detail and intricacy. Sometimes however, the simple appearance of clean lines, gentle curves and beautiful colors can have it's own wow factor that grabs your eyes. This maple and purpleheart wood stained glass candle centerpiece falls into the latter category.

It wasn't simple to create. In fact, it's requirements for precision show me just how much I need a professional sized table saw. Or at the very least one with a truly flat table. But at the present I have neither the space or the budget for that upgrade. Sigh :)

This piece was fun to make and deceptive as to how much time went into it. I honestly spent twice as much time making this as I thought I would (although I still priced it based on how long I thought it should take in order to keep the price reasonable).

Before I even start my construction drawing on a piece I spend time visualizing in my head what I want to make. I visualize the overall finished project plus the necessary details that go into construction, such as joinery and material selection. When I visualized this piece I knew I wanted to make the wood parts from maple and purpleheart. They provide such an amazing color contrast that goes so well together. I also knew that I wanted the stained glass part to be visually different but at the same time to go well with the wood. Notice that the wood is about clean simple lines, while the stained glass has gentle, sweeping curves.

I cut the wood pieces to shape first and then selected my glass colors based on the wood - with help from my wife. She usually helps me decide on the stained glass colors I use. It often helps to have a second pair of eyes. She can't visualize the finished piece I see in my head (of course), she has to see the materials I'm working with to get a sense of how it will look. This works out well because sometimes what I visualize in my head doesn't look the same in reality ;)

Once I put the whole thing together I was finally able to see the end result and I was very happy with how it turned out. I definitely plan on making more of these! For larger pictures, more details or to purchase this piece please click on the link: Maple and Purpleheart Stained Glass Candle Centerpiece