In June of 2019 I received an inquiry about a custom window using designs from local minimal realist artist Charley Harper.  His work is very recognizable and appears in various forms throughout the city and tri-state area as artwork, murals, and merchandise.  Although he lived and spread his work over 50 years ago, his legacy still reigns as one of the most important parts of Cincinnati's art culture today.​

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I was granted permission by the studio to freely choose and integrate the designs of my choice into a window and built "Harper's Forest", a collection of some of the more well known images from his large body of serigraphs and lithographs.  I chose the cardinal from "Cardinal on Corn (Red & Fed)", the blackburnian warbler and brown creeper from Ford Times, the tree branch from "A Good World", the chipmunk from "The Golden Book of Biology", and the blue jay that appears in multiple artworks and forms of merchandise.

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The studio was so pleased with "Harper's Forest" that they asked me to be their exclusively licensed stained glass artist.  Since then, many of these windows have been featured in galleries, shops, art shows, and events throughout the country.  This partnership has been an incredible opportunity to promote Charley's work through a different medium and increase our involvement in the art community.​

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The predominant style I use is highlighting the Harper element centrally, with geometrically arranged "fracture streamer" glass for the different backgrounds.  I find this type of glass very appropriate for themes present in his work because it looks like leaves and sticks are free-floating in the background.

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Having such a selection of background glass allows me to experiment with many different patterns.  I shifted my focus towards using it in designing my own backgrounds to complement the Charley Harper element by playing off of its angles, lines, curves, and geometric principles.