A Shih Tzu Named Chucky

Keri's Deer Head Skull was completed this week and it really has a vibe to it, don't you think?  The antlers were just a little too top heavy even though they cut into the skull itself so we added bracing wires along the outside edges that added a huge amount of stability to this piece while remaining completely hidden.

 

 

Sheri's Scissor Tailed Flycatcher is now under her belt (figuratively) as she finished it off while attending two classes this week. Her attention to detail is impressive and she just gets better and better with each project she makes.

 

 

 

 

Nettie appears to get home from work only to sit herself down in her glass studio to knock out a new window each week! Her latest Flower Window uses iridised glass for everything but the clear background. Alas, getting that iridization to show up in photos is not easy unless the glass is either white (like her border) or clear.

 

 

 

Betty finished off another Mardi Gras Mask Window using a very heavily textured glass for the border. The problem with this glass was that it was too thick to fit into the brass channel that we normally use and she didn't want to weigh down the delicate design with a heavy black zinc channel. The solution was to make sure that her border pieces all aligned perfectly and then use the tap-tap method of soldering to finish off the edge. In the end it was perfection!

 

 

 

 

Let has completed two more of her Mini Beveled Crosses. I love this size but what I always worry about is pricing them because even though they are smaller than the normal size you still need to sell them for the same (or more) amount of money since the smaller bevels can cost more and the work is even more tedious! But Let isn't selling these so she's fine with the extra bit involved in making them.

 

 

 

After her Mardi Gras Mask was finished Betty completely cut out a Bee Lawn Ornament which she will assemble as a three dimensional piece rather than a flat piece of stained glass. As you can see she's all set to begin grinding it.

 

This should look familiar. It's the same Bee that Betty is making except it's being made in different colors.  Bee (of all people) is making this one with one other difference from Betty's-- she's going to assemble hers as a flat piece rather than in three dimensions.

 

Cindy's Rose Butterfly has been completely cut and ground and she's only got a handful of pieces left to foil before she can begin soldering it. Although the body looks sturdy enough to support the wings we are still going to add a bit of hidden wire to add extra support just as we did with Keri's Deer Head Skull.

  

Linda L's Mickey and Minnie Mouse Window is so very nearly finished! She only has to solder a few more lines on the back side, attach some zinc channel, add a piece or two of wire here and there and then finally do some minor touch up work. Once that's done she can wash and color this.

  

 

 

Paula got a beautiful Blue Rose Window started with the actual flower being completely cut, ground, and wrapped in copper foil. My advice is to finish the stems and the leaves, tack it all together and then cut the background out of one single piece of glass. It will be quicker and involve FAR less grinding that way.

 

 

 

Martha is well under way with her blue Butterfly (it's the color of the week) but she isn't happy with the color that she's picked for the body. It's only two or three pieces so I say re-cut them! Oh, and she's actually used two different blue glasses in this so when it lights up you will see far more detail than you see with it laying here on the table with no light behind it.

 

  

 

 

Julie finished foiling all of the glass that she's cut and ground and also has all of those pieces tacked together now. She wasn't sure if the color variations in her Irises were showing very well but I held it up to the light and boy do those flowers look incredible! I'd post a picture of them but I'd hate to ruin the big reveal when this gets completed.

 

 

 

 

Lorrie has begun work on a Sea Turtle Window and although the legs and head have some small pieces in them I have no doubt that Lorrie will plough through those pieces with ease. After that, the rest of this window will be a breeze for her.

 

  

 

Linda F's Transom Window is mostly ground at this point in time. It won't be long until this is ready for foiling. I'm always impressed in her ability to follow a pattern with absolute perfection. She asked me if one of her pieces was too small and if she should re-cut it but there was no need to. It was easily well within the tolerance for acceptability. That said, it's her attention to detail that is making this look so wonderful.

 

 

Tracey's got her Magnolia Window all cut and ground save for the few background pieces that will circle this off. Will this get a border? Only Tracey knows for sure but I'm thinking it will since all of her other Magnolias did.  The thing with Tracey is that she makes this all look easy.

 

 

Check out that beautiful blue sky that Mary has all cut out. What a difference it is from the drab gray that she initially had picked. Again, I must commend her for re-cutting all of that sky after she felt that the gray was too gloomy for her beautiful, colorful Sunflowers.

 

 

 

If you look closely you can see that MiMi is coming VERY close to the bottom edge of her lamp.   Once she has the front soldered the inside will be like walking through the park on a gorgeous sunny day!

 

 

Susan R's Four Birds on a Branch are ready to be tacked together. She has her branch pieces cut out already and she'll be using wires to separate the little feet into cute little toes (or claws). A little more wire work will finish off the red and the orange bird's eyes to give them more definition but all of that wire work won't be added until everything is completely soldered.

  

  

Lastly we see that Barbara is grinding away on her background pieces and there's actually not much more to go. Will this get a border? Perhaps this was the window I was thinking of when I recalled someone asking if they needed to put a glass border around their window. Barbara likes the thicker zinc channel so this could easily hang from that but I don't want to steer her in a direction that she doesn't want to go.

  

 

And yes, Paris was wonderful!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks