AMILTON D E S I G N G L A S S The artwork of Jeffrey Hamilton

"Nel the Labrador"

2021Fanlight over front entry, Balmain (detail)

Very much a part of the family, my clients wanted to celebrate Nel in the new stained glass window. To create some sort of logic for Nel sniffing the flowers, I included a bee buzzing about.

This is the left hand portion of the panel; the centre is shown on the far right of this row of images.

"Casa de Grrr"

2011
28cm x 34cm
ventilating window to stairwell, Glebe

Quite a small, intimate panel, this abstract work was a gift from one partner to another. The title of the piece is the text engraved into one of the glass panels; a private joke, I have no idea what it actually refers to.

"Honkyoku"

2021
250cm x 90cm
stained glass partition, Beecroft

This is the reverse side of the internal glass screen shown in the adjacent image. Formerly a doorway, during renovations the clients decided to make this a opening feature artwork in the house. This side is the parents' domain.

The title refers to meditational solos for Japanese flute, the shakuhachi

"Honkyoku"

2021
250cm x 90cm
stained glass partition, Beecroft

From time to time I will receive an open brief where a client is familiar with my ouevre, loves my work and offers me a free hand in the design of the window. Within certain parameters, this was such a commission. The work had to speak of the wind in the trees, bird song, walking through the bush. I turned to the music of contemporary Australian composer Ross Edwards for direct inspiration, and spent hours walking Sydney's bushland.

The title refers to meditational solos for Japanese flute, the shakuhachi

Native Flowers (detail)

• 2021
• fanlight over front entry

This is the middle section of n interesting commission for a couple of guys in Balmain. The specific request was to celebrate their beloved Labrador and include Australian native flowers

Kangaroo paw, thorny mountain devil, banksia and hibiscus.

"dreamscape"

2002
85cm dia.
porthole or 'oriole' to living room, Beecroft

From time to time I will receive an open brief where a client is familiar with my ouevre, loves my work and offers me a free hand in the design of the window. In such cases, more often than not, the result is an aesthetically significant work which comes from the heart and which usually (though not always) receives a title.

"Dreamscape" conveys the sense of flying over the Australian landscape as if in a dream.

"Chinoiserie: detail"

2019
2.8m x 2.8m o'all
sidelights to front entry, Seaforth

This detail is from the left hand sidelight, featuring the main peony flower in the set. This bloom is adapted from a Chinese watercolour belonging to the client and hanging in their Hong Kong apartment.

"Chinoiserie"

2019
2.8m x 2.8m o'all
sidelights to front entry, Seaforth

"Chinoiserie" was created as a response to a commission from a Chinese Australian woman and her mother for a stained glass window to the entryway of their new house. It features all their favourite flowers and fruits: peonies, lilies, guava and grapes and includes elements adapted from exquisite Chinese fabrics.

"Chinoiserie: detail"

2019
2.8m x 2.8m o'all
sidelights to front entry, Seaforth

A detail from the right hand sidelight, showing the uppermost peony blossom with two buds. I've used opalescent glasses in these flowers, enhanced with glass paint and pink enamel to provide depth of tone. The veins on th eleaves are also painted in and fired, along with the little bee at the bottom.

Nautilus

2007
interior panel 100cm x 82cm

My response to a very specific brief, one where the client was extremely particular about the colours to be used (or avoided). A fascinating process exploring freedom within strict parameters.

The client was a delight to work for. She has an abiding love of glass, with a significant collection of Australian Studio Glass, including Peter Crisp, Brian Hirst, Colin Heaney and Tina Cooper among others.

Looking closely you wil see that this panel is an internal screen, located between the hallway and living room. The stained glass receives good light from the external windows which overlook the City of Sydney.

"Lyrebird"

2018
38cm x 82cm
Fanlight over front entry, Newtown

This panel was a response to a specific request: the Newtown couple are lucky enough to own a country property where lyrebirds are plentiful. Without being overly complex, the work still needed to reflect the vintage of the terrface house into which it is installed.

About the Beach

2005
front door entryway 193cm x 135cm overall

Just off Dolphin Street in Coogee, a contemporary work installed into a renovated 1930's home.The entryway comprises a full-light door panel, a highlight (or fanlight), corner light and full-height sidelight

Obscuring the View

2002
double-hung window to study 114cm x 104cm

The brief for this window was to obscure the view of the neighbouring roof, (while allowing in lots of light) with a highly textured but colour-restricted palette. I also had a steel security grille to deal with.

Once again a significant challenge working within strict parameters. Texture became paramount, providing the opportunity of interrupting the strident vertical grid and animate the work.

Abstract Landscape, Punchbowl

1999
oriole to front of house, 86cm dia.

This window looks out over the suburban landscape of Bankstown and so an abstract landscape became the subject of the stained glass.

Ever playful, the view is inverted in an actual lense incorporated into the window below the 'horizon'. It was commissioned by a couple I've known all through my school years: always a great delight being commissioned by a friend, and allowed an open brief.

Composite Landscape

2007
entryway to study, North Parramatta

Visitors to my previous website would be familiar with the Four Seasons, installed into a house in North Parramatta. A few years back those clients called me with a wonderful compliment, saying that "living with your stained glass windows has enriched our lives... and we want some more!"

This landscape was the result: an amalgam of the special places I've visited throughout NSW and Victoria. The kangaroo (its more of a wallaby really) was a special request. The work is deliberately dense, unlike the Four Seasons on the other side of the house. The outklook here was a white masonry fence and a busy road, all of which has been obscured.

Magnolias

1988
left hand sidelight to entryway, Pymble

While I did use magnolias in the Malouf House at Parramatta to symbolise Spring, this rendering of the beautiful magnolia blossom graces the front of a house in Pymble.

This image here is the left hand sidelight of an entryway.

Pair of Cabinet Doors

1998
Panels to an illuminated cabinet, Kirribilli

This client is an accomplished artist herself and consequently had a clear idea of what she was looking for yet had the confidence to allow me a free hand within those parameters.

The most appealing and wondrous aspect of Art Nouveau is its sinuous, rhythmic and organic line. And in these situations one gets to play with all the beautiful opalescent glasses of Kokomo, Yougahini and Bullseye.

Proscenium Arch

1998
Highlight to living room, Kirribilli

Created for the same client as the Cabinet Doors this proscenium arch lends a theatrical air to the interior. The builder handling the renovation did a beautiful job with the timber joinery, giving the whole apartment an understated elegance, authentic to the period of the building.

Pair of Cabinet Doors

1998
Panels to an illuminated cabinet, Kirribilli

These cabinet doors, the proscenium arch and a number of other stained glass pieces are all installed in an apartment in The Rock Fort at Kirribilli.

Magnolias

1988
right hand sidelight to entryway, Pymble

Such an elegant flower; I love the way the blossoms appear on almost leafless branches. As with all my naturalistic windows I spent quite some time getting to know the subject by drawing from life, gathering sufficient material to compose the cartoon for the window.

This is the right hand sidelight of the Pymble entryway.

Entryway, Willoughby

2007
6x light entryway 139cm x 205cm overall

A restrained treatment using elements of the existing leadlights, playing with the design but keeping to the period. There's a lovely detail in the door panel: a monogram of the owners' initials and date of installation, painted and fired into the glass.

Grant Family Coat of Arms

1995
double hung window to study 116cm x 75cm

One method of conveying a tartan in glass is to use fired enamels: a time-consuming and therefore costly procedure. Together with my leading hand, Ben Jenkins, we came up with a novel solution here: using the actual tartan fabric saturated in PVA and adhered directly onto the glass. The window is quite brightly lit so a really interesting effect has been created.

Federation Window, Roseville

2007
double hung window to bathroom 97cm x 47cm

When its appropriate to the commission, I go to some length to achieve an impression that the new stained glass fits in so well with the existing architecture that it would seem to have always been there. I draw on elements from within the building -other leadlights if there are any, timber fretwork, decorative plaster ceilings and tiling.

"Federation" is a broad and often incorrectly used term that describes the style of decoration in vogue at the time the Australian States federated: 1901. Art Nouveau had swept Europe and arrived in the colonies. But in Australia there arose a particular blend of Edwardian and Victorian elements mixed in with the "Arts and Crafts" movement.

Art Deco Stairwell Window

circa 1990
double casement window and fixed highlights to stairwell

This large window graces the interior of a grand Mosman mansion. Many of the houses built in the early 1900's fall into that broad style termed Federation (the Australian States Federated in 1901) but that period also coincides with the rise of Art Nouveau and, some 15 years later, Art Deco: one sees elements of both these styles in Australian houses of the period.

When making period pieces, I take my cues for a design theme either from existing stained glass in the house or other architectural features such as timber mouldings and decorative plaster work.

Lyre BirdWindow

circa 1990
single casement window to bathroom

This charming window is installed in the same house as the preceeding stairwell window. The client had a special request: to recreate an early Australian design as faithfully as I could. The image appeared in the book "The Federation House" and is a fine example of what is generally termed the "Arts and Crafts Movement", a precursor to full-blown Art Nouveau.

Art Nouveau Oriole

2004
one of two orioles 74cm dia., Rose Bay

Another statement in the Art Nouveau idiom. In a circular canvas however one is provided with an opportunity to design something particularly elegant.

Music Room Window

2004
Semi-circular window to music room 72cm x 133cm

In the same house at Rose Bay as the preceeding image: wonderful clients to work for. They knew broadly what they wanted but gave me a free hand with colours and design.

There are endless possibilities with Art Nouveau and after working in the genre for some time one builds up a repertoire of elements to play with. I was totally in love with this style in my 20's.

Corner Triptych (detail)

• Semi-circular window to music room

Sadly both deceased now, Dick and Joan Crebbin had a wonderful collection of contemporary Australian art scattered throughout their house in Mosman.

As well as this three panelled highlight to the dining area I installed two triangular dormer windows to the front of their house which could be seen from the street. The Crebbins also purchased one of my full length stained glass mirrors to hang in their hallway.

I am indebted to the Australian jeweller Meridee Cram for her high recommendation.

Tree Dahlia

• 1993
• fixed window to stairwell 188cm x 62cm

The client was very proud of having grown a tree dahlia, a plant not commonly found in Sydney. she was very keen to see the plant imortalised in a stained glass window to her staiwell in this Seaforth residence.

Sliding Double Doors

• 2000
• Interior View, Bellevue Hill

This set of double doors and the triple door panels shown further on slide into a wall cavity to open up the interior spaces. The house is beautifully appointed with a glass installation by Warren Langley at the entrance and even a glass bridge so that the visitor must walk across flowing water to enter the house.

Sidelight to Entryway

• 1991
• Full-light sidelights ea. 199cm x 114cm

This is the left hand side panel. The brief was basically to convey a sense of opulence. To this end I have employed quite a bit of iridised glass in the work and commissioned Sallie Portnoy to fire me some glass with gold lustres.

Magnificent Entry

• 1991
• highlight 297cm x 385cm

Certainly my largest residential commission in terms of overall scale, this set of sidelights and highlight were commissioned through the designer Susan Cadby.

Sidelight to Entryway

• 1991
• Full-light sidelights ea. 199cm x 114cm

And this is the right hand side panel. In this photo you can see the reflection of the stained glass in the marble floor tiles. Some of the details in the design took their cue from architectural details in the building.

I also commissioned a bespoke rondel by Robert Wynne of Denizen Glass, featuring his signature pink and mauve cane work, to be included in this stained glass panel.

Triple Sliding Doors

• 2000
• Interior View, Bellevue Hill

This is the set of three door panels in the Bellevue Hill House. The design concept was by Bernard Young Interiors, formerly of Surry Hills.

Blue Faced Honey-eater

• 1991

One of a set of double doors and highlights to a house in Cooma, featuring birds native to the area.