Michelle (Basic) Hendry - Fine Artist & Author

Artist and Author - Landscapes and Ruins

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Landscape in Glass

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River Guardian
“River Guardian”, Stained Glass © 2003 Michelle Basic Hendry

While still working full-time as a graphic designer early in the last decade, I took some classes in stained glass, copper foil method. Being a designer, I was quick to start creating my own patterns. Within a couple of years I was asked to participate in and curate a show in stained glass. A few of the pieces I made for that show were heavily influenced by Emily Carr‘s style of painting. Emily’s paintings made the forest feel alive and dynamic, much how it ‘feels’ to be in the trees. The variety of colours from the yellow-green to the blue-green, oranges, browns and golds showed the forest in its richest cloak. I wanted to try and capture that with Light.

The model for “River Guardian” was a tree on the side of the Muskoka River at High Falls. It was one of those trees that leaned toward the rushing river and held the bank in place. It was early Spring and there was a light mist coming off the fast moving water. The coppers and bronzes of fallen needles contrasted sharply with the evergreens.

Emily's Forest
“Emily’s Forest”, Stained Glass, 24×36 © 2001 Michelle Basic Hendry

I won an award for stained glass in 2002 for “Emily’s Forest” a design inspired by Emily Carr’s painting, “Wood Interior”. It is a design that has inspired other artists to translate this painting in glass.

Winter Moon
“Winter Moon”, Stained Glass, 8×10 © 2005 Michelle Basic Hendry

“Winter Moon” was one of the last pieces I executed before turning to painting. It was completely imaginary, with a full moon made from pearlescent glass and solid metal tree trunks of textured zinc.

Stylistically, my glass is a million miles away from my painting. It is a difference I cannot begin to explain other than the media spoke to me in such different ways. In the coming posts, I’ll introduce some more of my early paintings. For me, this is a way to look back over where I have come to perhaps help me see where I might want to go. I am hoping you will join me on the journey!

I have returned to the Small Paintings blog I had started last year and re-purposed it. It is now called “Explorations“.  It will have some less formal posts on inspiration, stories and events that get into my head, as well as sketches and other creative work outside the scope of “Artscapes”. Feel free to join me there from time to time!

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Comments

  1. These are really beautiful. Winter Moon is my favorite Michelle. When I was a chef/caterer I once was asked to do a Stained Glass motif on a wedding cake. It was very cool looking.
    Love,
    Linda

  3. I LOVE “Winter Moon.” That’s awesome! Years ago I wanted to take some stained glass classes. My ex (who was a glazier, no less,) wasn’t very supportive of me ever doing anything, unfortunately (and thus he became my ex!)

  8. Wow. These are so beautiful, especially when I imagine them backlit with the light shining through and casting colours on the wall. Will be happy to check out you smallpaintings/explorations blog.

  9. OH…MY…WORD!! These are EXQUISITE! I have no idea (yet) why, but these brought tears to my eyes. I have to say, I was stunned. The first one reminds me of HUGE pine that leans out over a creek here in NM that I photograph a lot. The second one thrust me right into my beloved rainforest. Instant tears sprang to my eyes. And the last one was my youth in Maine on winter nights. Cross county skiing in a full moon.

    My god, Michelle, you are talented. Your paintings evoke a deep emotional response in me AND so do these. It is the EMOTION in them that brought tears to my eyes.

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen such beautiful stained glass and I’ve seen a lot. I used to be a professional glass FUSER, worked only with recycled glass, bottles, old window glass, and so on. I cut them on a huge saw with full hood and respirator (air coming from outside my cutting room, a diamond blade with water and then fused in a HUGE kiln. I miss it. Sold the business, when I went into performing music and then on to writing. Will do it again some day.

    Thank you for inspiring me in SUCH a MAGICAL way. You are just brilliant. I can easily see why you won an award. Of course. Good for you. I hope you will share more of your stained glass.

    Hugs,
    Robin

  11. It’s really good to see your work in a different medium – it is very different and for me, shows that it is within the limitations and restrictions of each medium that the freedom and creativity is found.

    Like Lana, I think Winter Moon is awsome..so cold and still…

    It was good to get warm by viewing Emily’s Forest…:)

    thanks for really lovely work

    xhenry