The Statute of Limitations

Lately we've been seeing the same problem arise whenever someone uses iridized glass.   For some reason they put the iridized side to the back and even go so far as to cut on the non iridized side as well.   I mean, if you don't want the iridized side to show, fine, but you can always purchase the same glass without the iridized coating at a much cheaper price.  Just remember that the iridized side is ALWAYS the front of the glass and most importantly, it's the side you should be cutting on as well.   Iridized glass is one of the easiest glasses to cut but ONLY if you cut on the iridized side.  So there you have it-- the Iridized side is always the top, especially when cutting it.

Mary's Santa Claus Window was completed this week and all I can say is, 'Wow, job well Done!"   Mary too her time, never rushed and never moved along until the piece of glass that she was grinding completely fit the pattern.  The end result is spectacular!

Betty finished her Angel Window which features a small amount of wire filigree to give the wings an air of delicacy.  All she did was bend wire into the elongated loop and then tack the ends into the solder that surrounds the piece that it's resting on.   Why not just cut it?   Because it wouldn't be near as elegant as it looks when doing it with wire since the wire can twist in a more natural fashion than glass can be cut in such a small area.  Can you spot the wire work?

 

 

Cindy Completed this delightful Fairy Suncatcher which is larger than you might initially think.   It stands12" tall by 8" wide which explains how she was able to get so much detail into it.  Lovely.

 

Carol's pair of Easter Bunny Lawn Ornaments will surely be a wonderful touch to her yard.  She's first out the gate with completed Easter projects (only by a day though) and I hope that other students are paying attention because Easter will surely be here before you know it.

 

Jeff is our newest student and as long time reader know, a new student means we get to see a Butterfly.  Let me tell you that Jeff completed his with total ease.  From cutting to grinding to even the soldering, Jeff made it all look easy.   He'll start his first 'real' window when he comes back next week and I can't wait to see what it is.

 

Jeanne M is the second of our three new students this week and his is her Butterfly.   She did a great job and I think she has a great eye for color so I can't wait to see what she decides to make as her first project.

 

Kerry is Jeanne M's husband and since this was also his first class with us we're showing off a third Butterfly.  He had no problems at all making this and like I always say, 'A family that does glass together stays together!'  

 

Rowena  finished an Easter Lawn Ornament of her own but this one is different from the ones that Carol made.   It's nice to see that we have Easter projects completed by two different people so early.   That's what I call good planning.

Rowena put the finishing touches on her Stylized Fleur De Lis Window and the black glass that she used is striking indeed.   I may be mistaken but when she first took a weekend workshop with us I believe that this was the window that she made.  Now she makes them all on her own flawlessly in just scant hours! 

Here's Tracey's second Mary and Child Panel.   There are subtle differences between this window and her first version of this pattern but the work remains the same-- beautiful!

 

Roy sent me this picture during the week of two colorful window that he made to hang on his porch.   They certainly add  a lot to the area and from the looks of things he's doing absolutely fine on his own!  I also love the Wine and Grapes window hanging up in between his two new windows as well!

And when he's not making colorful windows for his house Roy is busy working on a Cane Window.  Although it might be considered intimidating it's already coming together in a beautiful way.  It will take a little more time than other projects he's made but i the end it will be completely worth it.  Just wait until this all fills in!

  

Susan R has the beads that will form the pearl necklace that this beautiful 1920's woman all picked out, skimmed, ground and wrapped.   Right now they are just resting on on the glass but next week they will be cut into place meaning that this window is almost together already.

 

Lara has starting a Wedding Box and got the invitation sealed in glass as well as getting the flowers cut out for the side panel.  It's been a while since we've seen a wedding box made and in the past one usually begets a second (and even possibly a third) so we'll see what happens when this is completed and new students see what a great wedding gift these can be.

 

Mary Grace is about to embark on a new creation.   Her Flowing Flower Window looks wonderful and she's already cutting glass for it.  She's working one color at a time and I don't think this will be a problem for her at all.   She's considering adding a single border for some added style-- we'll see what happens as she progresses throughput the weeks.

 

 

Terry  is working on her Spiraling Flower Window again now that she has a definite size to fit it in.   With almost all of the second panel of this ground, Terry hopes to come back in with it tacked together and ready to get a border attached.

 

 

Shelley is making excellent progress on her Dragonfly and Flower Window.  She most everything but the background glass cut out for this already and I doubt if it will be long before we find her at the grinder working on getting everything to fit together.

 

Jeannette had already finished cutting out her Compass Rose Window but she had a lot of grinding to do.   Three hours later she had the entire window ground!  The reason she was able to grind all of this so quickly was because she took her time while cutting out her glass.   By spending and extra half hour cutting she managed to shave off hours of time grinding.   Accurate cutting is the first step to becoming more than just a beginner when it comes to making stained glass. 

  

 

Linda L is grinding all of the letters in the final outer circular section of her Houston Astros Window.   She's also learned that letters are not as easy as you might believe.   You surely don't want sloppy handwriting and if you aren't careful when grinding, well, that's what you can easily end up. 

 

 

Sheri got the beads assembled and wrapped for her Poppy Window this week.   Next week she'll get the final cuts made which form all of the stems that run through the design.  Looking at the picture below you can't even tell that they aren't cut yet but perhaps we'll get a better look at them next week.

  

 

Brenda left her Hair Salon Window at home so she could work on this clear Cross Suncatcher.   Let me just say that she didn't waste any time at all on this! She finished her grinding and then even got all of her pieces wrapped.   This cross is ready to be soldered!  

  

MiMi has all of the bevels cut for her Industrial Fleur De Lis and she's leaned how to double wrap the wider sections of the bevel where it's been cut so that both sides have copper foil on them.  With just a few random pieces of borders left to cut out I have a sneaking suspicion that all of the glass cutting will be completed on this by the time MiMi finishes class next week.

 

  

Linda F is just about ready to wrap her Flower Basket but as she wraps each piece she'll remove the pins from in between all of her pieces.  They are there to provide room for the foil so once the foil is applied the pins must go!   She'll be turning this detailed suncatcher into a panel by adding a background to it but that won't happen until after this is all wrapped and tacked together.

 

 

Becky S resumed work on her Egret Window by working on the bottom section which shows the Irises and leaves. She could have easily gone with brown along the bottom edge to form some ground but Becky went with an all water look instead.  With a good deal of this wrapped already, Becky will be at the finish line before you know it.

 

Barbara H is working on her version of the Traditional Santa Claus Window and will most likely be happy to see Mary's completed so she has something to inspire her as she works her way to the end of this festive window.  Also, she can now see what the eye's will look like painted onto the glass.

 

 As I suspected she would, Martha was able to tack together her pair of cardinals and then get the background cut as well.   After she cut all the pieces out she ground them, wrapped them, and even tacked everything together.   That means that she's all ready to get some border glass cut when she comes back in.  Although it's hard to see the color of the glass that she picked it's running along the top edge of her window.

  

Jan is about to work on a window that should keep her busy for a while.  Although it consists of a lot of pieces, they are easy enough to cut so this will surely be a fulfilling project all around (but especially when it's completed!)

 

And lastly, Jeanne L is beginning a Humming Bird and Flowers Panel that she adjusted by adding a second flower to in the lower left.  With the pattern now completed and her glass all picked out, Jeanne is about to begin cutting when she comes back in. 

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Falling By The Waste Side

Since this is so very late (this post covers what happened during our last set of classes in 2018) I'm going to just jump right into things here.

Rowena's completed LSU/Tiger Face is nothing short of amazing!   After it was all washed, colored and waxed Rowena cut some thin copper wire into 10 inch lengths and tinned them with lead to make whiskers for her cat.  She then colored the wires with patina, waxed them, and attached them to the window by melting them into solder lines that they touched.   The end result is a window that is something I would be proud to have made.    

 

Jan completed her Outdoors Christmas Trees Window and as I said it would,  it turned out to be a stunning piece.  I personally think that the minimalist design has a lot to do with how attractive it is.  Her color choices compliment the pattern perfectly and I'll be keeping  this pattern on hand for students who want to make it next year.

 

Roy completed his Texas AM Window and his work is spot on.   When you have this many straight lines making up the design perfection isn't something that you strive for-- it something you MUST accomplish.   The reason this looks so great is because Roy made sure that his lines are perfectly straight.  Close is never an option in stained glass and this window proves that if you follow the lines on the pattern you'll end up with a stunning piece of art.

Lara's first of two Cabinet Door Inserts looks great in her kitchen.   You can see how the center of the design matches her backsplash perfectly!    Her work is exquisite and it makes her kitchen look like a million dollars!

 

Carol got three Christmas Ornament Suncatchers completed which she only had cut out  when she came in with them.   That's a considerable amount of work accomplished in a very short time with results that look like they say, "Merry Christmas!"

  

Cindy  made this beautiful Snowflake Suncatcher and did an incredible job on it even though she's recovering from a hip replacement that occurred just one week ago!   I've always loved this pattern but I really dislike soldering all of the small edges (which could explain why I have had 5 of them ready to be soldered for close to a year now!)   However, Cindy had no problem at all with all of those outside edges.

 

Angie put the finishing touches on her Stylized Fleur De Lis Window and walked out the door with yet another Christmas Gift.  The double borders that she put on this are something new and they really put a new spin on an old window pattern.

 

Jeannette left class with a smile on her face as she was able to finish two Dove Suncatchers in time for Christmas.   When she walked into class she had them  both cut out by they still needed to be ground.   Well, she not only got them ground but she got them wrapped, tacked, soldered, eyeballed, and hooked as well.   Even though she was in a hurry to get these done she never sacrificed the quality of her work because as you can clearly see these are perfect.

Linda F got so very far along on her Flower Basket and Flowers Suncatcher.   As you may recall, this is the project with all of those micro-pieces.   Looking at the picture of what she accomplished this week reveals that she's used what many people would say are an extreme amount of pins.  Me, I say that's perfect because once her pieces are wrapped and the pins are removed  nothing will have grown and twisted out of position.

 

Betty almost completed her latest Angel Window while in class.   All the glass has been cut, the channel has been added and a small amount of wire work has been attached to the wings.  People always ask me what size wire I use for hooks or for decorative use and I always answer the same way-- any size that I have on hand with the exception being that you don't want the wire to be too malleable.  The size of the wire isn't what supports a windows weight- it's the how sturdy the wire is attached to the window.  That means that the size wire you use is based purely on the aesthetics of what looks good to you.

  

Patrice didn't like the look of the letters that spelled out 'Ragin' Cajuns' so she found another logo with a font that she liked better and then we simply squared them out and printed them to the size she needed for her window.   She's got the letters all cut out and they only need to be ground now.  She's sent me various pictures of this projects progress throughout the holidays and I have to say that it's very near completion already!

  

Terry was hoping to get her Christmas Lamp together before she left class but it just didn't happen.   It was certainly a valiant effort though as she got all six panels soldered and then tacked together to form the lamp.   Truth be told, the only thing left to do is to solder the six seams that hold the panels together and then attach a crown to hide the hanging assembly.   Her design is flawless and yes, it IS her own design so you won't find this lamp anywhere else.

 

Sheri has all of her pieces ground for her poppy Window but everything isn't completely cut yet.  To get a perfect fit with her flowing cuts that span across numerous pieces she will tack together everything that IS completely cut first.  Once that's done she can make the final cuts knowing that nothing will shift and cause her lines to not match up.  I'm fairy sure that she'll get those long, sweeping cuts made when she comes back in.

  

Brenda  has most of her Salon Window cut out and has moved on over to the grinder.   When doing a face you finish grinding the face before grinding the background.   Once the face looks natural to grind the background to fit the face without ever grinding on the pieces that make up the face because if you do you'll change the look and most likely end up with unnatural, distorted look.

 

Susan R got so much done this week on her 1920's Woman's Face Window and she's just about ready to add the hardest part of this project-- the pearl necklace.    We haven't talked about it yet but she'll be adding glass globs which will form a necklace.  Getting each piece to fit correctly will certainly take some time but the end result will be wonderful indeed.

 

MiMi is back and she was so ready to begin tacking her Industrial Fleur De Lis together.   Since she wanted to work on this while at home over the holidays we covered the art of 'distress soldering'.   As I've said before, this window is about breaking all of the rules and because of that we don't want a nice smooth bead along the thick lead lines.    Using a somewhat cool soldering iron Mimi began adding texture to the wide soldered sections giving it the unique look that makes this window 'work'.  I've seen what she's accomplished over the holidays and she'll learn how to cut bevels for this when she returns.

 

Becky S has a window that already looks like it could be framed and finished.   However, Becky is still going to add a bottom section that includes Irises, Cat Tails and leaves.   It already looks spectacular so just imagine what this will look like in  just a few more weeks with all of that extra detail on the bottom.

 

And here we see that Lara got her 2nd and last Cabinet Door insert all cut out, ground, and tacked together before she left class.  She'll finish soldering this while at home and have it installed into the cabinet just in time for Christmas company!

  

 

Linda L has the center section of her Houston Astros Window tacked together and all of the letters that border it cut out!   She's already grinding and things are looking very good indeed!  She's really making quick work of this intense pattern and I can't wait to see it completed with some light behind it.

 

Barbara H has finished cutting her glass and has begun grinding her Santa Claus Window.  I have to say that she's moving along quicker than ever on this one--alas, just not quick enough to have it finished in time for Christmas of 2018.   But there's no doubt that she'll be using this window as a decoration next year and every year after!

Martha is all wrapped and ready to tack together her Pair Of Cardinals Window.   When all of these pieces are secured by lead she'll lay it on top of a piece of background glass that has been cut to the size of the window which will enable her to cut the background pieces quickly and efficiently.

And there you have it, a brief rundown on what happened during our last week of classes for 2018!   I'm sorry this is so late but I was lazy and enjoyed my time in front of my computer during the past 2 weeks.  Starting this week however, we'll be back to our weekly updates.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Fishing For The Blues

Our tip this week is very easy indeed but something that many students never think about.   When cutting out your glass pieces remember to use the ILS method of cutting. 

Inside curves get cut first,

Long cuts come second,
Short cuts are last.

Cutting in this order provides strength for both your curves and the longer cuts.  Cutting in any other order usually results in broken pieces.

Well then, Patrice certainly followed those rules when cutting her glass because you can see she has a few inside curves in this window that are certainly intact.   Her Houston Texans Window is certainly unmistakable.   She did wonderful work on this Logo and is fast becoming a student whose projects are discussed throughout other class.

 

I have some good news and bad news here:  The good news is that Carol fixed the tree that she was working on last week.   The bad news is that we don't have a picture for it but I have no doubt that it turned out spectacular just as her two guitars suncatchers!  As you can see she has both a right and a left handed guitar. 

 

Mary Grace finished up work on a large Cardinal Lawn Ornament as well as an Ocean Sunset Scene.   She gets extra points for starting and finishing the Ocean suncatcher in just one class!

  

Here's a window that I made this week as an order for a customer out in Baton Rouge.  She wanted Daffodils and and a deep purple Iris and that's what we have here.  I must say that I really do like the design and it's actually smaller than you might think it is when looking at the picture.  It's only a tad bit bigger than a piece of paper.

  

Here's a look at two more beautiful Mary and Child Suncatchers that Betty made this week.   We also see that she's made a Mary, Joseph, and Jesus Suncatcher that we've never seen before as well.   I think this one will be very popular around Christmas next year.

 

Here we see that Jeannette has completed two more pairs of Mickey/Minnie Mice Suncatchers.  They're the perfect gift for any Mousketeer!  

 

Cindy finished two more of her Clear Textured Cross Suncatchers, one in all clear glass and the second using iridescent glass.

  

 Linda F finished her Modern Cross Suncatcher which has become a very popular piece here in our classes.   As always with Linda, this is a job well done.

Susan D finished working on her newest 3D Humming Bird and another Dragonfly Suncatcher as well.  I think she has the process for making these down for sure!

Angie's newest Stylized Fleur De Lis is all tacked together and ready for solder.   I'm sure it will be ready for its final picture when Angie brings it back in next week.

 

Betty also worked on this festive Holiday Angel Window which is just about ready for its border(s).   She was originally talking about doing a triple border but I think that's a bit of overkill on a window this small.   Triple borders are very nice but you never want the border to overpower the subject of the window.  In other words, it takes a large window to be able to handle a triple border.

 

Brenda added more pieces of hair to her Salon Window and even has all of the woman's face cut out so she's making some really good progress on this.   You can tell that there's some Stylist's Blood in Brenda's veins because she's changed some of the coloring in the hair for a more aesthetically pleasing look.

 

Terry almost has three of the six panels in her Christmas Panel Lamp ground.   I was sure she'd fly through this project and it looks as though I'll be correct on that.  There are 39 pieces in each panel which means that the entire lamp contains 240 pieces!  If you're doing the math at home you're probably coming up with six pieces less than I did but I'm including the crown that will top this off. 

  

Lara got the first of her pair of cabinet doors all tacked together and ready for solder.   She plans on soldering this one at home because she really wants to see the pair finished and installed in time for Christmas.   She's got the center of her second panel all cut and ground which tells me that she'll surely get them done in time.  Ho Ho Ho!   We'll see one of them installed when we return next week.

 

Sheri  started  a new project by  tracing out the pattern for a peony window, drawing grain lines, and assigning colors to the pattern.  Then she got all of the glass cut out as well.  Nice job!  She'll be adding additional cuts to her glass once everything fits together after she grinds what you see here.  This is will ensure perfectly joined lead lines where things criss cross.

 

Patrice also worked on her Ragin' Cajuns Window and has a great deal of it completed just one week into it.   Her attention to detail is what makes her work really stand out in the crowd.

  

Linda F also worked on this Flowerpot Suncatcher which has a HUGE PSI value (Pieces per Square Inch).   What really makes this so difficult isn't the number of pieces in it so much as the size of all of those pieces!   This is only 7 inches wide so take anther look at it and marvel at Linda's patience.

  

Susan R got a lot more cut out for her 1920's Woman and what we're going to do is completely skip the lips in this, grind everything until it fits together, and then cut out two lips.  When the lips have been cut out she can grind them until they look just right and then Susan will  trace around them and cut them into place.

 

Shelley began work on a Dragonfly Window and she spent her class time prepping the pattern with color and grain lines.   People don't realize how much work has to be done before you even cut one piece of glass.  After she finished that she cut up her paper pattern pieces and began cutting her actual glass as well.

 

Carol also worked on a few of these Christmas Santa Hat Suncatchers as well.   She's a regular Christmas ornament machine!

 

Barbara got all of the glass cut out for her Santa Claus Window and will begin grinding it next.  She's taken it home to possibly get some work done on it between classes but with Christmas being just around the corner it's hard to say if that will happen or not.  We'll see when she returns next week.  Either way, grinding WILL be started on this when you see it again.

 

Roy made major progress on his Texas A&M Window and has a unique and effective way of transporting it without having the pieces slide all around.  When Roy packs up he uses painter's tape to secure his pieces to his work board.   The tape  is sticky enough to hold things down but it's easily removed when he wants to work on his project again.

Becky B's Magnolia is coming together.  She wanted to begin grinding what she has cut out but as I always tell people, that leaves no margin for error on any pieces that you haven't cut yet.   If your cutting is 100% spot on or you don't mind gaps in your windows, then don't grind until everything has been cut.

Rowena has the front side of her Tiger Window all soldered which means that she got both of her borders attached as well as the zinc channel.   She accomplishes a lot while she's at home so I think we will see this among our completed pieces next week!   When she comes back in we'll add a few wire whiskers to really set this piece off.

 

Becky S is rocking and a rolling on her Egret Window.   This week she began work on the upper tree section and now that it's all cut out she'll begin grinding it.   She's making excellent time on this large window and I know that it's going to be spectacular when it's finished.   I believe that the companion piece is even more impressive (if that's possible) so I can't wait until you see the pattern for that one.

 

Tracey finished her first Mother Mary Panel  and then got the center of the second one tacked together.  She didn't have enough time to get the first one colored and she disliked the color of the hair on the second one so she's going to finish both of these when she returns next week. 

Martha has officially ground all of her Cardinal's feathers (and flowers) and has begun wrapping all of those pieces now.   Once they are tacked together she will use the glass itself as a pattern and get a perfectly fitted background cut out.

 

Jeannette also worked on this Dove suncatcher which is very nearly completed.   With just a little more wrapping and the soldering left to go I'm sure she'll have this dove completed upon her return.

Becky S also worked on a second Butterfly Lawn Ornament which is now ready to be soldered together.  This will be finished before you know it.

 

There's only one more set of classes to go before we hit the end of 2018.  It's been a quick year and 2019 should even go faster because after the first we are adding another class into the mix here.   I just hope I can keep up with who's doing what!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks