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Dalle de Verre – Kitengela Glass Studios

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Dalle de Verre in a bank in Nairobi by Kitengela
Dalle de Verre in a bank in Nairobi by Kitengela

My good friend and glass goddess Leigh Adams just returned from Kitengela Glass Studios in Kenya. What an adventure. The day before yesterday I was fortunate enough to get a look at half of the pictures she took while there. This coming week I’ll see the rest. I’ll also get some copies form her to share with you. One of the glass techniques that was all over Kitengela is dalle de verre which is a cross between mosaic and stained glass. It’s really beautiful. It’s used for windows quite a bit. Leigh said it was all over her house she stayed in while at Kitengela. She has the pictures to prove it.

Dalle de Verre at Kitengela
Dalle de Verre at Kitengela

Dalle de verre is created with cast glass…blocks of glass…sometimes almost like billets. The various pieces are connected together with cement or epoxy depending on the creator of the piece. This is a technique I’m very curious to learn about. In my search around the internets I even found that Blenko Glass sells dalle de verre glass.

Dalle de Verre glass from Blenko Glass
Dalle de Verre glass from Blenko Glass

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Book Review: The Secret Life of the Forest

Trees are an essential part of nature, both for the oxygen they produce and the habitats they provide to animals. But if you don’t live near a forest you might not think about all that happens within them very much. 

The Secret Life of the Forest: Trees, Animals and Fungi, by Klára Holik, Ivi Niesner and Jana Sedlácková explores the inner workings of the forest, from the biggest trees to the smallest parasites, answering questions about the forest and sharing basic information about different kinds of forests, the water cycle, how to visit the forest and more. It’s aimed at kids ages 6 to 9. 

It starts at the beginning with information on where seeds come from, how pollination happens and different creatures (and mechanisms like wind) that help move tree seeds and other seeds around in different forests. It talks about photosynthesis, how trees communicate with each other, tree rings, layers of the forest, how tree seeds move and how fungi and trees help each other. 

Readers will learn about the oldest known fungus in the world, how ants help other animals to reproduce and what plant and animal parasites make trouble in the forest. 

The book also covers decomposition, an overview of forest types from around the world (including the heaviest living organism), how fire affects forests, animals of the rainforest and swamp and ways people use wood. 

Information is presented in bite-sized segments, with cartoony illustrations that are somewhat accurate to nature. You can check out some of the pages and watch a flip through on the publisher’s website.

It also includes forest experiments kids can try, such as building bird houses, looking for springs and checking ingredients on snack foods for palm oil, which comes from the rainforest. There’s also information on the best way to visit the forest to be respectful of the organisms that live there. 

In the back you’ll find a glossary of some of the important words included in the book, and there’s a QR code teachers or parents can scan to get more information or learning resources. 

This book provides a nice overview of life in the forest and how the plants and animals work together to keep it growing the way it needs to. It also covers a little bit of what humans can do to protect the forests we have left. 

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2024 by Albatross Books. Suggested retail price $18.95