Inspiration and Design- glass

Designing for art glass windows falls into two categories, fine art and commissioned work.
When designing for a fine art piece all the elements in oil painting are used here.
There a few more elements that go into designing for a commissioned glass window.  The first thing is the client's budget followed by what they are looking for such as a geometric design, flowing or something else altogether.  Once I establish a price range and get a feel for what they like I can then start designing.  Ideas/inspiration for a particular location come from the architecture of the building, design elements around the space both interior and exterior and pulling in elements of nature. With multiple windows I create designs that move and flow through them, moving the eye back and forth as opposed to one design repeated.

In this image the design mimics the hills in the background and flows through all 5 windows.  It is a simple design with complexities in the details such as hand beveled glass.  I enjoy creating this way- simple, not too much for the eye yet the details are complex.  The more you look the more you see.
Another element I look for in designing is the flow of the room/space to determine how the design should flow. If there is a wall to the right of the window/space and the room opens to the left then the design flows right to left.  In some cases I also look to the exterior flow.

Geometric design flowing through three panels.
Other design ideas come from the location of the window such as in front of a bathtub.  I created a design that looked like water flowing into the tub.
Inspiration for glass window designs comes from many sources and I enjoy creating a design that looks like it  belongs in the space it is going to occupy.