The Mother of Invention

We have eighteen projects this week!  And in those 18 we have seven completed projects which actually total 19 finished works if you count all of Roxie's Hummingbirds and all of Bonnie's Desk Accessories individually.  Okay, there's a lot here to write about so let's see if I can get this post out before Christmas rolls around.

Ann has the first of her two small Cabinet Inserts finished-- The second one just needs soldering so we'll certainly see it in the next post.  Alas, since it matches this one perfectly you'll be hard pressed to see a difference between the 2 projects (save for possibly the wood frames). Doesn't this look great though?

Bonnie came and conquered.  Inside of two weeks she managed to complete her seven Multi-Purpose-Desk-Accessories.  If that doesn't flow off of the tongue easily we can call them MPDA's or iPhone Holders.  Whatever you call them they make wonderful gifts for anyone with a desk (or a smartphone).

Susan finished another Mardi Gras Mask Lawn Ornament and it is also a gift.  In fact, I think all of our completed projects this week are gifts which means that they will be wrapped up before they get to see any sunlight.  The camera really lucked out by catching the texture of the glass that Susan decided to use.  Susan is now our resident Lawn Ornament Expert.

Myrt's Tiger Eyes Window lights up beautifully.  Now that she has this under her belt she's going back to work on her Hot Air Balloons Window when she comes back in to class.  Terry liked this design so much she's decided to make one as well.  Just keep scrolling down and you'll see it.

 

Roxie never makes just one of anything which explains why we're looking at seven Hummingbird Suncatchers.  We have a new way to attach eyes to small birds like these and it's far better than the way we have done it in the past.  Necessity is certainly the Mother of Invention and these beautiful hummingbirds prove it!

 

 Terry's latest Rooster may not have as many pieces as her first one, but it's still a nice piece of work.  As a final finishing touch Terry used diamond earrings to form the eye on both sides of this window.  I'm having a hard time keeping up with Terry so I'm not sure what we'll see her working on next but I can guarantee that it will will be well under way when we see it for the first time.

 

Cindy made this Christmas Ornaments and Ribbons Suncatcher while she was at home last week.  She brought it in to have me look at the soldering that she did around the edges but all in all I'd say that Cindy did an incredible job with this.  It's so bright and colorful that Brenda ended up with a copy of the pattern as well.  This was a big hit during class and I'm sure we'll see more of them next year.

And speaking of Brenda, here's a look at her Football window.  I like how she made the grain of the glass in her background radiate outwards like sun bursts rather than running it left to right.  It makes the football really stand out and not look as though it's in the middle of a pass framed by the sky.  The grain of the glass really makes or breaks a project and this proves how a fresh new look can make a window really stand out.  the only left for Brenda to do on this is cut the glass behind the letters and then solder it.

Lynn has one of her two cabinet door inserts completely cut and tacked together (the top window) and her second one only needs a border before she can complete it.  I'm looking forward to seeing one of these finished when she comes in next week.  The second one will take a bit longer because  the door she's putting it in isn't square and each border piece has to be cut according to the opening in the frame.  (BTW- the 2 panels match but the top one is on our gray table top while the bottom one is still on the white pattern paper.)

Martha now has it all together!  Well, she still needs to solder her State Police Window but 75% of the front side is already finished so I'd say she'll have this one under her arm as she walks out the door next week.  And just in time for Christmas!  Her choice of blue for the border was perfect, wouldn't you agree?

Jane came in with her Heron Window all wrapped.  She then made the final cuts that span between the cat-tails and the bottom of the window so that the lead lines fit together perfectly creating the illusion of a stem.  The only glass left to cut now is the blue sky which Jane has all picked out.  She's going to place the sheet of blue under her window and trace her pieces from the actual openings which will make a perfect flowing (and fitting) sky.

This week saw Cindy begin work on her Cat Tray.  (I don't know what else to call it!)  The front, which you see below, is patterned after her friends cat and when this front section is complete she'll add two shallow sides and a shallow back making a tray of sorts, perfect for tossing keys into.

Donna began working on her second project and it's a Multi-Purpose-Desk-Accessory variation.  Only this has not one but two compartments.  It's hard to tell what it's going to look like from the picture but she has it completely cut out and ground.  She's going to wrap it at home and have it ready to be tacked when she returns.  I won't be surprised if other students want to make this once they see this one completed.

Patty has decided to bite the bullet and make a lamp.  We haven't seen a lamp made in a while now but I know Patty has the skills to make one so I pushed her (just a little bit) and now she's cutting out a Magnolia Lamp.  It's the best lamp to start with and as you can see she's made incredible progress on just her first night of cutting.  All of her background glass has been cut leaving only flowers and leaves left to go.

Shelley finished cutting all of her glass for her Flower and BlueBird Window and began grinding all of her pieces this week.  There's really only the flower left to go and then she'll be able to wrap this, tack it and then add the final border. It's already looking great!

Now, I promised that if you scrolled down a little further you'd see Terry's rendition of Myrt's Tiger Eye Window and now that time has come.  Terry went with a single border and used a glass that's more orange than yellow for her version and it's all ready to be soldered.

Susan not only finished a project this week-- she also started working on this LSU Pencil Holder as well.  This is a Christmas gift so I know we'll see it completed next week when she returns for class. Susan is going with gold letters set in this translucent lavender background that she'll also use for the other three sides.

Lastly we take a look at Tim's second project-- a picture frame.  He went with a clear crackle glass for the four borders and wrapped everything with silver back foil so he can leave the finished project silver when it's completed next week.  It's almost done now save for some soldering on the left and right side.  This was Tim's first frame and I'm sure that others will move faster now that he knows just how this is put together.

So that about wraps things up for our week of classes which ended on December 13th.  I have one more round of pictures to publish but that won't happen until a little after the New Year since I'll be out of state until then.  Meanwhile, Russ will still be here minding the shop so if any of our students need anything don't be afraid to call.

Until then, Happy Holidays to everyone out there!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks