Stained Glass Creations

(Diana Sanders displays a room full of her paintings)

"I'm living the life I dreamed of" says Diana Sanders of Peabody, Ma.
The former Chicago native moved to a local retirement community just 3 years ago following her previous work as a medical secretary, allergy lab technician and X-ray technician.
Drawing was something she took up following her retirement.

At the age of 15, she had been granted a scholarship to go to the Chicago Institute of At but instead of attending, she says, 'I needed to work." She found herself decorating wedding cakes and other pastries. At the recommendation of on of her instructors, she, too, taught classes for the Wilton Decorating Company. Life later led her to the Cook County Medical School. Eventually she used her skills of drawing to lead her to create a variety of stained glass objects.

Entering into her home, visitors are welcomed into a museum quality exhibit of her detailed and colorful artworks of both paintings and stained glass hung on the walls of her home, extending from her kitchen area into each room of her living quarters.
Those creations include displays of the interests of her family and of people she has met as well as many of her travels throughout various areas of the world.

(Kitchen creation by Diana Sanders)

Where her story begins as to learning how to create stained glass pieces was when she and her husband, Ted, were building their own home.

(A 554 piece stained glass project taken on as a challenge by Sanders and her husband Ted)

Sanders recalled,"We had a stained glass artist come to the house to give us an estimate on making this window." Sanders recalls "He noticed the paintings I had painted throughout the house. He said "You obviously know how to paint, take some classes, you absolutely can do this." Then he suggested the couple take some lessons at at a stained glass shop.

The couple took his advice and were able to create their own piece for their home.

(Displayed on her walls memories of her travels , people she has met and family .)

To achieve stained class creations is a precise, involved, detailed step by step process. As Sanders had taken up drawing following retirement, her detail in the artwork assists in what will eventually become a stained glass piece. "I always liked to fool around with a pencil."

In her explanation of how one goes about working with glass, first is the idea of what to create, then the drawing. Each piece of the drawing is colored in with colored pencil showing where each color should be placed for the design being created. Several copies of the drawing on paper are made and are numbered, the glass measured and cut. Sanders continues "After you cut he glass you have to grind it. Once ground it, the glass is no longer sharp. Cut all pieces for the project and fit it into a pattern. Each piece of glass has a number."
Once that process has been completed, she says, "I use copper foil," and explains, "each piece is surrounded by copper foil put into the pattern." An acid called "flux" is put on the copper foil and soldered. "Once one side is done," the other side needs to be done. Sanders smiles as she says,"Then you say a little prayer - the prayer is very important." Still the work is not yet a finished piece. When both sides are completed, there is the removal of magic marker from the numbered pieces of glass. This is done using soap to get those numbers off. Only then does it become a finished project.

One of her best customers is her son, who lives only a short distance from Melrose as his home is in Wakefield. Often he will request stained glass creations for various areas of his home. One creation is that of a replica of his home, along with the addition of a lighthouse etched into the stained glass and wired to light up its beacon.

Another work she is proud to have been asked to do is that of an area within a nursing home where she was asked to "make the elevator disappear" as it was located in an Alzheimer's unit.

Flipping through a photo album that contained pictures of all of her creations, she shows her visitor the photograph. She blended a stone wall into the area surrounding the elevator. The painting truly does make the elevator disappear. She also has fond memories of meeting the residents and seeing and hearing them as they got enjoyment from the artwork she was creating develop.

Today, she enjoys being involved in many projects and is thankful for the opportunity of being able to continue working on her stained glass pieces in a wood shop located on the premises where she lives.

Sanders is also proud that her granddaughters, Shiri and Rose share an interest in "the arts" of both painting and music.

What is displayed on the walls of he home is a representation of what is , Sanders says, most important to her "family and friends."

Those interested in her work can read her at 847-625-0745