Capturing Light and Rainbows - the Art of Don Joyce

In a back nook of the Haven Isle shop on 2nd Street, you often see a man diligently working over a counter covered in scraps of paper, and bits of colored glass. His name is Don Joyce, and he is a stained glass artist, who captures light and makes rainbows.

Mr. Joyce has always loved stained glass, and first started working with it in the 1980's. After taking one class to learn the basic steps, he was hooked, and has been working with it ever since. The process requires more than just artistic skill; it takes mechanical knowledge, patience and a steady hand.

Creating works of art from glass is painstaking work that looks deceptively simply at first glance. You need an initial idea, a picture in your mind of what the completed project should look like. Next comes the sketches, just basic lines to start, and then each one fleshed out with more and more detail, till the drawing reflects the image you want to create. From the final sketch a cardboard pattern is created, and marked with all the colors that will be used, and their position in the piece. The next step is a crucial one, the choosing of the glass. There are hundreds of colors and textures to pick from, and each one is affected by it's position in the work, and how the light will filter through it. When the final choices have been made, a second cardboard pattern is made, and separated into segments to be used as templates for cutting the glass.

Don Joyce and a commission piece being created for the Kent Realty building

The pattern is then laid out and the pieces numbered, color coded and cut out of the glass. Each piece must be carefully wrapped with copper foil, keeping the edges as even as possible. Once the pieces are copper wrapped and laid out, they are soldered together. This part of the process takes patience and a steady hand to insure an even line of solder around each piece. After the pieces have all been secured together, the solder is polished to a brilliant shine (and the piece framed if warranted).

Mr. Joyce creates objects in various styles, all different sizes, and for a variety of uses. There are simple window sun-catchers, desktop business card holders, mirrors and wall hangings. He has completed numerous specially commissioned works, and feels they reflect not only his skills as an artist, but the personality of the customer, making each creation unique. His commissioned works include the shark panel for the Cedar Key School (and yes it was saved from the fire), the windows of the Cedar Key Methodist Church (his largest project), and the newly finished piece for the exterior of the Kent Realty/Chamber of Commerce building (lighted from behind it is stunning at night).

Don Joyce with Jaymie Brunofsky of Kent Realty, with the nearly completed stained glass panel.

Next time you're downtown, stop by the Haven Isle shop and you just might catch Don Joyce making another rainbow.