Watch this amazing artist, JD,  about using art to change the world:

Use art to turn the world inside out

This design is a mandala (a sacred circle) inspired by the San Damiano Cross from the Franciscan tradition.  The image in the center is the Jesus from that cross, only it is the countour of his body, however, highly recognizable as that Jesus.

The outer areas are a visual representation of the Canticle of the Sun, a poem by St. Francis of Assisi. This image has come to be my own personal signature style.  It speaks to a sense of who I have become in my life, a person representative of the sacred in my chosen lifestyle as a religious Felician-Franciscan Sister.

The Canticle is important to my love of nature but has become a representation of my fascination with the idea of alchemy, transformational ideas and imagery but connected with Roman Catholic Christian practices in contemplation and personal change.

The process begins with a pencil drawing, then black india ink with lacquer to make it totally waterproof.  I then take a digital image of the work for use in later black and white graphic design and possible changes.  I then add colored inks, watercolor and acrylic (all water-based mediums) on vellum or Japanese Yuppo paper to give it a translucent effect.  Some of the inks are sometimes iridized colors to give the effect of glass.  I digitize the colored image, again, for publication purposes. 

This particular image was produced as a logo design for the national Franciscan Federation Conference of 2010.  It was extremely well received and is now being used on note cards and perhaps a t -shirt in this current year.   I am also considering it for a stained glass window in the future.  It’s design would work quite well in fusion and painting, another process I use in my work.

Here are the newest designs for the third tier of windows at Niagara University.  It reflects the academic areas of the Niagara Alumni Nursing program.  At the very top, the Military Nurses are honored.  The star with the banner represents all of the branches of the military.  The alums say that these nurses are the most honorable of all nursing branches.

Each window is represented by three different types of deciduous trees.  The bottom, research, is represented by the elm tree.  The second, academics, is represented by the ginko tree and the third, leadership, is represented by the oak tree.  All of these trees are of an old and hardwood line.

This suite of  windows, created in 1990 for a Felician Chapel that has since closed in North Tonawanda, NY, has been temporarily installed in the Our Lady of Hope Chapel in Beaver Falls, PA, until the permanent stained glass windows are complete.
Top to bottom:  Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind/Sister Air, Sister Water, Brother Fire.

Working in Hunt Stained Glass Studios in Pittsburg, PA on windows for Our Lady of Hope chapel in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

This is the newest window for Niagara University.  It is #6 of 12.

Color designs for Our Lady of Hope Chapel in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
The windows actually go straight across in one row.

New designs for the Our Lady of Hope Chapel, black and white.

Color drawings are coming!  Stay tuned!

Tomorrow I'm headed for Beaver Falls PA and Pittsburg to the Hunt Studios.

In Beaver Falls I'll get a good look at the newly constructed chapel and measure the nich areas for constructing fused glass. In Pittsburg I'll begin the process of enlarging the work into patterns and glass selection.



Blessed Mary Angela and the Tree of the Felcian Family 

going out into the World.

St Clare of Assisi looking toward the sun.

St. Felix of Cantilice looking toward Creation.

This is Sarah Weaver's fused and leaded window for her kitchen door in Leroy, NY.  

She is Sister Anne Marie Jablonicky's niece.

Yet another Niagara University Window!

This one is the Nurses Cap.  This is, of course, without light coming through.  The nurses cap is a detail of the window.  The new design is for the next window up.

My classes at St. Bonaventure University for Spring 2011 are:
Art History 2, Renaissance to Romanticism
Women in Art
Stained Glass Studio
Senior Seminar 2

My online class for Felician College in the Spring of 2011 is:
The Art of Medieval Europe.

I completed another window for Niagara University.  It has been delivered for leading.
Here is a picture of it.

Today was the dedication of the window area at Niagara University.  The first two windows were installed for this and they look great.

I displayed the designs for the other windows and got some great feedback from the Niagara University Nursing Alumni.  I can proceed with more of the windows now.  There will be 12 total.
  

Web site of Stained glass designs

Here is a link to my designs for St. Gabriel Church in Elma, NY.  These windows were completed, with the assistance of the McHugh Studios in 2000.

http://www.stgabes.net/windows.html

      

Here are the three window that are being installed in the bottom section of the window area of Niagara University.  The two on top are already leaded and the one on the bottom is being leaded right now by Images in Glass, Glen Albig. The one on the top left is on the very bottom and contains the nameplate! The one on the bottom right is an example of the process beginning with the drawing.  They will be one on top of the other and will make up 9 feet in glass.  They'll be installed by Oct. 9.  Nine more windows to go!

Here is the newest progress on the Niagara University windows.
The glass is all cut and the last paint firing is cooling in the kiln tonight.
Tomorrow it will be all assembled for delivery to Images in Glass in Hamburg, NY.
There they will lead the window and prepare it for installation.

I'm in the process of creating the 35 foot tall X 20 inches wide stained glass window for Niagara University.  It has 12 panels, three to each four sections.  Above is the bottom most section which I'm cutting out and painting this coming week.  I built and assembled my new glass painting easle that is in my studio at Villa Maria Convent in Buffalo.
The window will be installed in Dunleavy Hall at Niagara U., across the way from the Castellani Gallery and Museum on campus.

For those of you who are in the NYC, and Lodi, NJ area, my sabbatical lecture will be on April 14 at 1:00-2:25 pm at Felician College in Lodi, NJ at Obal Hall Lecture Hall, 2nd Floor. The lecture is entitled: 

Stained Glass for a 19th Century Castle 

Sister Kelly's Sabbatical Work 

I hope as many of you as possible can make it!