Turning Bottles Into "Stained Glass"

Outside, a gray winter day showed bare branches in my yard. Wanting to add some color to my surroundings, I started gathering all kinds of bottles from my kitchen, including ones holding juices, sodas, sports drinks, and wine. After removing most of the labels, I arranged them into a still life on an antique wooden table in a sunny window. The ordinary bottles were transformed into my own “stained glass” through the effects of transparency, translucency, luminosity, and reflection. Now I had a lovely scene to cheer up this chilly day. By combining colored glass and liquids with natural light, I lifted my spirits and was reminded to seek beauty in the everyday things around me.