If You Have An Outy You Can't Have Wooly Buggers

Linda F's Birds on a Branch Window is a stunning piece of art which fits perfectly into the stained glass medium due to its tremendous use of color.  Linda agrees with me about this pattern though--the eyes are the problematic part of this window.  Well, maybe not so much problematic as time consuming.  Still this is a piece that speaks for itself and says it in a rainbow of color.

 

 

 

Annette's Santa Face Window was completed right on time.  She did an excellent job with this and to be honest I'm thoroughly impressed because with all the other Christmas gifts she was making feared that she might be cutting it a little close considering the amount of time she had left to go before the big day.  But she did it!  And very well I might add.

 

 

 

 

Cheryl's first Cardinal Window has been completed and the fancy border  system that she used works better on this window than it normally would.  Multiple borders tend to engulf the subject of small windows by making them appear to be 'confining'.  By utilizing a lot of clear textured glass Cheryl opened her borders right up and created a nice airy Cardinal Window!

 

 

 

Linda L started this 3D Penguin last week as a normal flat suncatcher and this week she soldered it and then attached it to a white glass 'base' which allows this cute little guy to stand upright on a table.  Linda has completely disguised the necessity of glass under the penguin by making it resemble either snow or a patch of ice.   It's incredibly adorable and a perfect decoration for the Holidays. Oh, and the reflection in the base is just perfect!!!

 

  

 

 

Let fell in love with this stained glass kit for making a Wine Bottle Scene inside of a metal hoop.   All the glass was pre-cut and everything was included but Let discovered that these pre-cut projects require far more patience than materials to create.   But Let persevered and the end result is worth toasting to. 

  

 

 

Martha's Deer has other people in the same class looking at the pattern because this is the perfect gift for a man.  Martha used muted colors in this which gives it a nice naturesque kind of vibe.  Her quick and accurate work are to be commended!

 

 

 

 

Lisa's newest Plate Window may not have bevels in the borders but look how perfectly her border glass matches the plate itself.  These are stunning due to their simplicity and Lisa may even paint the leaves and the grapes with glass paint to put a small splash of color dead center. 

 

 

 

 

Judy's LSU Window may have been delayed while she waited for the gold/yellow glass to come in but she still walked out the door with her window under her arm just in time to be gifted on December 25th.  Slow but steady ALWAYS wins the race. 

 

 

 

 

Susan R's Reindeer has been soldered and staked!  That sounds much worse than it actually is-- the stake is simply mounted on the back of the reindeer so it can be displayed either in a flower pot, or placed inside a small 1/2" pipe mounted in her yard as a nice Christmas decoration.  Hmmmmm, a few of these in a row with chains joining them with  a red sled behind the pack might look wonderful!

 

  

 

 

Mary made her final pair of Angel Wing Hearts and they look stunning.  I have to say that it's a pattern that I love and one that I'll be making throughout the years to come.  Mary says she's finished with them but I know that she likes the end result so much that I won't be surprised if she comes in with another one cut out sometime down the line.

 

  

 

 

Sheri made a radiance of Cardinals (yeah, that's a new one on me also), seven of them to be precise, complete with some fancy wire work to set them all off in a nice Christmassy feel.   Working with wire is no fun but Sheri is sticking to it and getting better with each successive Cardinal that she makes.

 

  

 

  

Susan D made three Flower Pot Decorations in assorted colors which will spruce up any flower pot.  Of course, as always, she's got many other irons in the fire as well.  Some of which we'll see a little further on down in this very post.

 

 

 

 

Linda F also hammered out this Modern Cross quickly and efficiently.   After dealing with the tiny pieces of her Birds on a Branch Window this cross came together VERY easily for her.

 

 

 

 

Kerry is in a holding pattern on his Poinsettia Window because he really wanted to use Hollyberry glass for the background.  It's a seasonal glass and this year it wasn't delivered to glass distributors until the week before Christmas.  That's kinda late, don't you think? Well, on the bright side of things, it IS on its way to us now.    Meanwhile, Kerry is working on a Mickey Mouse Lamp which will keep him busy while his background glass is in transit.   Is it just me or does the picture below looks like Mickey is dressed in a black suit with a red tie?!

 

Susan D has yet another Silverware Dragonfly in the works along with a handful of glow in the dark Starry Bobbles which will be strung together across wires when we next see them. 

 

 

 

With just 12 sliver pieces of glass left to cut (running along the top and bottom) MiMi is well on her way to finishing the first of her pair of Traditional Windows.  This went together in a flawless manor for MiMi even though it was cut from multiple sheets of glass.  True there was one large section, but sometimes merging a large section to a smaller section and keeping everything in line can be a problem.  That was NOT the case here though as you can easily see for yourself.

 

Mary Grace has her HEALTH ground and ready to be wrapped.  She's not happy with a few of the pieces and will re-cut some of them after she wraps and tacks the letters that she is happy with.  With the first word essentially cut out she will be moving along to WELLNESS shortly after the new year begins.

 

 

I know Cindy and Steve were hard at work this week also but I didn't get a picture of either of their work.   But that's okay because we'll be in a new year when our blog is next updated and we'll get to ring it in with a look at what those two are making as well as what everyone else will be starting. Honestly though, it's nice to see (again) that everyone's goals were achieved in time for Christmas.

 

Happy New Year everyone!

Paul

 

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

We're All On Crack

With three of these Oval Hummingbird Windows being made, Betty was the first to complete hers (not that it's a race!)  Her colors are stunning and her curves are all graceful and flow effortlessly.  Quality craftsmanship always elicits a quality product.

  

 

And speaking of quality craftsmanship, Susan D's Sunflower Window will surely make its owner proud.  Susan went above and beyond while making this because she wanted to make sure that this commissioned piece left her customer satisfied.  It would be hard, if not impossible, to find a better made window.  This clearly shows you just what Susan is capable of.   

  

 

 

Let's not stop there though, this entire post is filled with wonderful windows and here's a look at Cindy's latest commissioned piece.   Her Cajun Bowl Window was based on a logo used by a local bowling/eating establishment. Even though she was limited to a black and white color scheme Cindy was able to match the logo perfectly and use a background glass that although monochromatic is anything but plain or boring!

 

  

 

 

Kerry's Fleur De Vee Window is also a beautiful piece of art.  As I understand it, this will be a wedding present and I think the newlyweds are going to fall head over heels for it!  Kerry has done excellent work on this and he moves along quickly without sacrificing quality.

 

 

 

As I said, we are inundated with gorgeous windows this week and Jan's Louisiana Iris fits right in.  When you get right down to it this is mostly purple with a splash of green and yellow thrown in almost as accent colors. Two different textures of clear round this out to be a window that I believe other students will most likely put on their list of windows to make.

 

 

 

June's Sewing Machine Window has been threaded up and is ready for action.  With each project that June makes she becomes more and more sure of herself and understands that although it may take time, she can do whatever needs to be done to finish the window.  The proof is in the pudding so they say, but in this case it's in this gorgeous Sewing Machine.

 

 

 

Annette's Santa Face Moon was something that she really wanted to make.  While going through the pattern drawers she stumbled across two different versions of this Santa, a simplified one and this more elaborate rendition.  I'm always thrilled when someone chooses to walk the hard road because as always, the extra effort makes the end much more memorable.  Annette's Santa proves my point.

 

  

 

 

Steve completed his Circular Fleur De Lis Window and I feel the need to state again that this is smaller than you might believe.  It's only 8 inches wide which ups the difficulty factor of making it.  Smaller pieces are always harder to work with.  Steve free handed this pattern himself which alone is quite impressive but when you throw in his caliber of work, well that just makes it a winner all around.

 

  

 

 

On the other end of the spectrum we have Let's Geometric Window which has been constructed of nothing but straight lines.  There's not a curve in sight here and her straight lines are indeed straight (which is generally a problem I see when people make these).  It's perfect.

 

  

 

 

Ann has yet another cross under her belt.  This one was truly completed in just one class as she began cutting it at 10am and finished it in its entirety by 1pm.  Yep, that's a three hour cross you're looking at.  Another job well done indeed.

 

 

 

 

Let's quickly jump outside the shop for a minute and look at Cindy's 'at home' project.  She's made two very different, very large mosaic pieces.  Both measure close to 6 feet individually at their longest points and have been set into a LARGE concrete slab behind the house.  They really make a statement and Cindy worked out how to create such a large scale mosaic all on her own.

 

 

 

Susan D finished these up at home and made short work of them.   It's the time of the year for Angels and Susan has plenty more of them on her work table even as I type this.

 

  

 

 

Linda L didn't want to start work on her large Nativity Window until after the new year so she spent her short time in class with us working on this precious Penguin in a Santa Cap Suncatcher.  Why did Linda have a short time in class?  Well, the weather cut things short on Wednesday afternoon and judging by the damage that occurred in nearby towns everyone made a good call by leaving early.

 

  

 

Here's a look at Let's Oval Hummingbird Window.  Hers shares a slightly similar look to Betty's but that has a lot to do with her border glass.  I like that she used two colors for the Iris rather than one.  Most people are afraid of making changes to the color schemes of windows that they've already seen but then again, most people aren't Let!

 

 

 

Lisa is working on another Plate Window but this time around she's nixing the bevels in the border.  It was just too much work flipping back and forth from the front to back and balancing glass over the edge of the table.  Why was that an issue?  Well, the plate pushed out to the back while the bevels were taller in the front.  That meant that no matter which side she was working on the window was never flush against the table.  In the end I know that this will look equally as good as her last Plate Window.   

 

  

 

 

Roxane's Nativity Scene is really coming together now that the three sections have been joined together.  There are only a few fill in sky pieces left to cut and then Roxane will be well on her way to finishing this beast of a project!

 

  

 

Judy has her final border attached to her LSU Window and will begin soldering this upon her return.  Luckily this is an easy window to solder so hopefully it will be completed before the new year begins!

  

 

 

Angie is still cutting and grinding away and her Seafood Window is looking better and better every week.   We're getting ready to make the newspaper glass and I'll show you a picture of that before it gets cut up once the sheet of glass comes out of the kiln.

 

  

 

Next up we look at Susan R's Christmas Reindeer which is just about ready to fly out of the door.  I highly suspect that this will be done in time for Christmas. Ho Ho Ho!

 

 

 

Cheryl's Cardinal Window has its second side just about soldered.   There's still a ways to go but this will nearly be completed when we see her again.  After that she'll move on to a different Cardinal Window.

  

 

 

Susan D never rests and is working on more Stars, Flower Angels and Dragonflies.  What I didn't see on the table (until I looked at the picture just now) is that she also has a scarecrow, a bird, and a snowman finished as well.  Sadly they are upside down in the lower right of the picture.  I just never saw them there as we were rushing getting everyone  out of the shop before the bad weather hit.

  

 

 

Martha's got the second side of her Deer Head soldered and will touch up any runs throughs and/or rough spots when she comes back into class.  In other words, this will be completed when you next see it.

 

 

 

Now that her letters and background glass have all been cut for the word HEALTH Mary Grace has moved on over to the grinder to get everything fitting together nicely.  She's unhappy with a few pieces so she'll do some re-cutting AFTER the rest of this has been ground.    At this point it's best to tack things together and then use the empty spaces as a pattern to ensure a nice, snug fit.

 

 

 

 

Mary has another Heart in the works and hopes to have two of these completed when she returns.  If she has this one wrapped and the second one cut out by next Thursday I can see that happening.  It will be close, but we always manage!

  

 

 

Lastly we look at Linda F's Modern Cross.  She has it all cut out perhaps, who knows, she may complete it upon her return.  I'd say it's most certainly within the scope of reality!

 

  

 

And there you have it.  Our second to last post for 2022.  Where, oh where, does the time go??

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

A Little Like Onions

Martha's Ruby Slippers Window is a work of art.  She did an exceptional job making this and it surely shows in the completed project.   I guess we all have to agree that it's a testament to the fact that there's no place like home.

  

 

 Shawn's Hera Flag Window came out looking every bit as wonderful and I expected.  Shawn did some impressive work on this and only the tiniest of the pieces (exactly one of them) gave her any problem at all.  How fitting is it that the feather in this window makes a perfect addition to Shawn's stained glass cap.

  

 

 Lisa's Plate Window is certainly eye catching.  It lights up and sparkles like a flawless diamond.  And look out because she has another of these in the works already.  I can't believe just how well this photographed-- it must be because Lisa picked all of her glass perfectly!

  

 

 Sheri finished her Grinch Looking in a Window 'suncatcher' as well as a pair of Grinch hands.   Roxane thought that all three would form one bigger scene and that is what she walked out the door with after striking a deal with Sheri..   I've also pictured just the face in a window so you can see just what Mr. Grinch looks like while he's peeking into a house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melissa's Butterfly Lawn Ornament was completed in just two short weeks and everything about it will bring smiles to the faces of all who see it.  Melissa's attention to detail is astounding and although the angle of the butterfly may make it hard to see, these two wings are perfectly symmetrical.

 

 

 

Mary's first Heart Angel Wings suncatcher may have come to an untimely end but the replacement that she made this week was finished in far less time than her first one and it even looks better to Mary since she prefers the white glass that she used this time when compared to the glass she used in her first Heart.  I guess what they say is true-- There's a reason for everything.

 

 

 

 

Martha began this Modern Cross Suncatcher while she was in class last week and when she walked back in the door on Tuesday night it was finished.  She not only did a great job making it, she did a great job using up scrap glass as well!

 

 

 

 

Speaking of Modern Crosses, Ann also completed hers as well.   She went with a two tone color green scheme using a deep, rich green along side a mint green.  Also, Ann's Cross is slightly bigger than Martha's because we have this pattern in two different sizes which Ann flips back and forth between when she makes these. 

 

 

 

Betty was a busy woman (as always) this week as she completed work on a Silverware Dragonfly as well as three Hummingbird suncatchers.   With Christmas just around the corner Betty is making these 'best selling' suncatchers as if they're going out of style!  Best of all, Betty now knows exactly how to  grind the hole for a small round eye that's only 1/8th of an inch in diameter.

 

 

 

MiMi's begun work on a Teardrop Moon Scene that features  a unique series of curves that give the overall look that added wow factor.  Just look how perfectly those deep curves fit within their neighboring background pieces.  Amazing.

 

  

 

 

Roxane has begun cutting out the sky for the three sections of her Nativity Scene Window and will join all the sections together with the upright beams shortly.  When these are joined you'll truly see just how big this beautiful window really is.

 

  

 

Martha also worked on this Deer Head Window which needs to be finished in time for Christmas.   Normally I'd say that there isn't enough time but I know that Martha will get the job done with the greatest of ease.

 

  

 

 

Sheri not only completed her Grinch 'body parts' but also worked on her Oval Humming Bird window as well.  She's cut out the few remaining background pieces that weren't cut due to her running out of  sandblasted glass.  Luckily it's back in our glass rack and Sheri was able to resume work on this stunning window.

 

 

Cindy's Cajun Bowl Window has its borders cut and her choice of glass for the final border really elevates this piece to the next level.   She's only allowed to use black and white glass with some gray thrown in here and there but that final border (which looks like black ink spilled across clear glass) really pulls everything together.  You can mark my words that you'll see this completed when we return for our next update.

 

  

 

Angie is very hard at work with her Seafood Window.   We're fast approaching the time to make her 'newspaper glass' which will be done with a laser printer that uses a special toner that can be printed onto a decal and then applied to white glass.  Once that's done the glass is kiln fired so that the print is permanently affixed to the glass.  After that it's all about keeping everything aligned to complete the illusion of seafood on newspaper.

    

 

 

 

Cheryl is soldering her Cardinal Window and when this one is completed she will move onto a different Cardinal window in the same size as this one and with the same border. In the end she'll have a 'matching' pair that are different but belong together

 

  

 

 

Annette has two Santa Faces in the works and both of them are nearing completion.  I know we'll see one of these finished next week (the smaller of the two) and then she'll wrap up work of the Large Santa the week after.

 

 

 

Mary Grace was hard at work on the background pieces for her Health and Wellness Window.   Now that the background is cut out MG will slide on over to the grinder and get everything fitting together so she can then tack this and then move along to the next set of letters that spell out Wellness. 

  

 

 

Susan R's Reindeer is all cut out and now she's working on grinding her pieces.   She's gone with a black nose so that makes this reindeer either Dasher , Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (Donder, Dunder) or Blitzen (Blixem).   I had never realized the confusion of the names of the last two reindeer until just recently.  I've always called them Donner and Blitzen but those names have been distorted over time from the original names of Dunder and Blixem which are Thunder and Lightning respectively.  And now you know the rest of the story.

 

  

 

 

Shelley has replaced the pieces that were cut from the wrong color in her large Mermaid Suncatcher and now she's begun soldering it.   This will surely be completed upon her return because she's right at the end of this project.

  

 

 

MiMi's first of two Traditional Windows is so very close to getting its borders attached.  She only has a few more pieces left to foil and then the hardest part of making this window will be well behind her.   

 

  

Linda F's Birds on a Branch Window gained a border this week and now Linda is ready to begin soldering.   For the border she chose a color that was already used within the window, but only sparingly.   That small yet noticeable tie in makes her border work wonderfully and brightens the entire piece. 

 

 

Jan's Iris Window came in the door borderless and left with two borders being cut out.  In fact, she only has a few pieces of the final border to wrap in foil before she can tack this all together and then begin soldering it.  

 

 

 

Judy's LSU window was able to be  ground this week because June's yellow glass arrived just in time for her to cut it into its respective pieces.   Once that was done Judy moved on over to the grinder.  Now all we need to do is decide what color border she wants to go with.  I wasn't sure at first what students in the past have normally used but I do recall now-- more purple!

 

  

 

Let's newest Geometric Window got both of its borders cut out which means that this window will be finished before you know it.  And it should be because Let is now an expert at making these.

 

  

 

Betty also has her Oval Hummingbird window all ground but she's didn't start wrapping it because she was worried that the glass pieces were too close together.  She showed me her concerns and I concurred.   She's taken it back home with her so she can lightly re-grind each piece thus making room for the two pieces of foil that have to reside in between each and every piece of glass.  Alas, I did NOT get a picture of her work because of a bad memory card.  :-( 

Susan D's Sunflower window will definitely be finished in time for Christmas just as the person who ordered it had wanted.  Not only will Susan have it completed, she's also added MORE pieces to the pattern by adding lead line in the bottom green background pieces for added detail.  You can't see that extra work because, like Betty's picture, Susan's Sunflowers just showed up on my memory card as a bunch of strange letters and symbols.   I've formatted the memory card so hopefully this problem will NOT return. 

And there you have it.  Only two more weeks of class until the year 2023!!!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks