All Hexagoned Out

This is a special edition to highlight the sheer determination of MiMi's hard work that all of our students have been following for months on end now.  Way back in October of 2020 MiMi began the biggest endeavor that I've ever seen a student tackle:  Fourteen windows build entirely of perfectly cut and aligned Hexagons (or Hexalongs if you would have it). These hexagons were cut out of 18  different clear textures. 

 

 

How many hexagons did she cut out?  Try 4000!  MiMi guestimated that number and amazingly enough only had 40 extra when she finished the last window.  Here's a look at just a few of those hexagons all cut out and waiting to be ground.  Yes, not only did MiMi have to worry about cutting perfectly straight lines, she also had to grind those lines uniformly as well!

 

 

Here's a closeup of one of her first completed windows.   Look as hard as you like, there's not one imperfection to be found.  Part of the challenge was soldering these assorted textures because some of the glass was thinner than average and some of it was thicker resulting in an uneven solder line.   But once you get the hang of soldering those different heights the solder hides the fact that the glass isn't all on the level.

 

 

MiMi used a technique known as 'uniform randomness' when assembling her windows.   For the most part the different textures were placed randomly but before anything was tacked together she replaced any pieces that matched and butted up against one another.  Here are two windows mounted into their respective doors.

 

 

Here are her first ten inserts finishing off the look she wanted for her bar.  Yes, it's right outside her bedroom.  How convenient!

 

 

And here's her 'Entertainment Center' with matching glass doors on either side of the fireplace.  Sadly I have to say that what you are looking at is a TV and not an actual Van Gogh.

How long did this all take?  Well, as I stated earlier she started this massive undertaking in October of 2020 and she completed the final insert just last week.  That's a 21 month labor of love!!!!  During that time she never wavered even when I suggested that she take a break and work on something different for a week or two.  And that's exactly why MiMi deserves this special post.  She's proven that if you just keep working at a seemingly impossible task it WILL get done!  Bravo!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Introducing MasterMetal Pre-Patinaed Solder

        

 

        MasterMetal

        Pre-Patinaed Solder 

           60/40 and 50/50 

 

 

 

Product Features

• MasterMetal Solder maintains a liquid state longer allowing you to create smoother solder lines
• Low melting point temperature
• Convenient 1 lb spool
• Pre-Patinaed lead means that you no longer need work with messy patina
  
• Special waxed core allows you to simply wash and hang - no waxing required!
  

 

Product Description

Glass artists need a very specific mix of chemicals to be applied to their solder to get a smooth and clean finish on their work.  Our pre-patinaed leads save you both time and money.  Our patented wax core means that you never have to wax your windows again.  An excellent choice for beginners as well as experienced glass crafters. 

For use on copper foiled seams and lead came seams only.  Melting temperature: 361° - 376°F.

COMING SOON: Pre-Patinaed Black Lead!

Introducing EBCO Pre-Fluxed Foil

New for 2020, EBCO introduces pre-fluxed foils!  Eliminate the messy and time consuming need to flux your windows by using any of three popular sizes: 3/16", 7/32", & 1/4" widths.  Each roll is infused with Novacam Water Soluble Flux which is guaranteed to make your lead flow smoothly.  Currently this specialty foil comes only on copper back foil but look for black and silver backed pre-fluxed foils to appear soon. 

As always, EBCO foils are made from dead soft copper which conforms easily to the shape of your stained glass pieces. Our foil is renown for its great adhesion while offering resistance to all chemicals used in stained glass.  Each foil is 1.25 mil thickness and is available in assorted widths on 36 yard rolls.

CAUTION: Keep out of reach of children.  May be fatal if swallowed.  May cause severe burns.  Avoid eye contact.  If ingested call your physician immediately.  Using pre-fluxed foil may cause dizziness, drowsiness, tiredness, headaches,  or itching.

Do not use Pre-fluxed foil if you have a heart condition, are epileptic, or are experiencing constipation.   Do not drink alcohol while using pre-fluxed foil.  Limit your time under florescent lights while using pre-fluxed foils.   Do not drive while using pre-fluxed foils.  Do not chew or swallow pre-fluxed foil.  Consult your physician if you experience an erection lasting longer than 5 hours while using pre-fluxed foil.

Doomsday Prepping

For those who missed class this week, you missed a very important newsflash that sent shock waves through the entire art glass industry. Last week Spectrum Glass announced that they will be permanently closing. They will continue to manufacture glass for about 60 days, sell off their remaining stock and close the door. This means that many of your favorite colors and textures of glass will be disappearing forever. Some of the popular favorites that will be going away are, sunflower yellow, root beer textures, LSU colors, black & clear wispy, wispy colors, krinkle, rainwater & most of the other clear textures that we normally carry. This has created a nationwide frenzy to stock up on favorites before they are gone. Our sales people at Delphi have dubbed this frenzy 'Doomsday Prepping'. This frenzy has reached even to our remote area of the bayou as we have sold an unprecedented quantity of glass this week. After receiving the news I placed our largest ever glass order to build up our stock. In addition, I have also been taking special orders from our students who want to stock up on their favorites. At the moment, prices from our supplier are stable, this will probably change as supplies dwindle. We are offering to special order glass for our customers in half sheet quantities. Half sheets measure 24"x 24" and the order must be paid for when it is placed. If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity, contact us as soon as possible. I am currently compiling yet another crate order and it may be the last one for some time.

 

While this change may be a bumpy road for a while, it is just a transition and the industry will survive. This isn't the end of art glass, it is just a change. Hopefully when the road smooths out again it will be traveling through an even more beautiful area. The other glass manufacturers have a wide open door to expand their lines and a huge void to fill.  Spectrum's demise will be their competitors salvation. While I will deeply miss Spectrum's glass, I can't wait to see the beauty that blossoms in their ashes.  Farewell Spectrum, we will miss you.
 
Russ
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

A Fourth Option

 
Options, options.  When making a stained glass window one must consider what color the lead will be once the project is completed.  In the past we've had basically three options to 'finish' our stained glass windows.  We could leave the lead silver, you could color it copper, or you could turn it black.  Now, thanks to Novacam, we have a fourth choice: Neon Green.  Superglo comes in a handy spray container and is applied the same way that any other patina is applied.  There's no wait after the application, just wash it off, wax it, and enjoy the rich semi-florescent green hue that your lead takes on. Superglo Neon Green won't wash off and is great for outdoor projects that face the harsh elements.



In the daylight Superglo's green is clearly visible yet it's far from overpowering.  Many users say that the lead takes on a well-weathered  copper look.  Here's a look at a beveled window that's been colored with Superglow Neon Green Patina.

But where most windows disappear at night, Superglo shows it's true color in the dark of night when your lead actually glows in the dark allowing you to enjoy your window in the middle of the afternoon or the middle of the night.  Just look at this night shot of the same window.

 

Novacam Superglow Green is easy to use, safe, reasonably priced, and available at most Stained Glass Suppliers.  Get your bottle today.  And be sure to look for Superglo Nuclear Blue, coming soon!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Career Day at Glencoe Charter

November 9th was Career Day at Glencoe Charter and Bayou Salé Glassworks was invited to speak before 2 classes of third grade students about making stained glass windows. Our experience was so wonderful that we'd like to share a bit of our day with all our readers.

We gave 2 presentations and started off the day with an excellent breakfast buffet provided by the wonderful staff at Glencoe Charter. Obviously there's no better way to start the day. While we were there in the cafeteria we got to see Anita, Bonnie, Ceil, and Myrt (who all happen to be students of ours) among many other people that we didn't know.

Although we weren't able to actually demonstrate the construction of a stained glass window we were able to handle it in a TV-like fashion where we would explain the next step in the process and then suddenly we'd have that step completed by showing a piece we'd worked on the night before.

One thing we were able to do was to score a piece of glass and then break it into 2 pieces. It was a simple straight cut that couldn't possibly go wrong but both times the room filled with Ooooohhhhhhh's and Ahhhhhhhhhh's. Cutting glass is pretty amazing stuff!

We passed around pieces of glass, some that were just ground and others that were both ground and wrapped. We demonstrated how a piece of glass is wrapped and then explained how it is then soldered together with a soldering iron that melts the lead onto the window.

When we were finished we answered questions from the kids who were not shy at all about satisfying their curiosities. The questions came fast and furious ranging from "How long does it take to make a window?" to "What's the biggest window you've ever made?" When we answered the question about the biggest window we'd ever made we opened the pattern for a Vineyard Scene that was 6 feet wide by 5 feet tall. When we had the pattern opened just half way the room filled the sound of amazement and when it was completely opened I almost had to laugh at how impressed the kids were.


Words can't describe how wonderful the children at Glencoe Charter were throughout the 45 minute presentations. And the older children that helped us set up for our presentations can't be ignored either because without their help we wouldn't have been able to manage.

Thank you to everyone at Glencoe Charter.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Unfortunate News

It is with great regret that I pass along this information. Although many of our students have not met Monique they are familiar with the window she had been making last month. No project makes it out the door without the other students watching and marking its progress on a week by week basis. This is the way most of our students came to know Monique.

Sadly, Monique's husband has passed away after only 46 years of being with us. Though his time was brief he leaves in his place a wonderful, loving family who will never forget all that Glenn brought into their lives. Of this, his family, he can be quite proud.

Monique, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your children.

Paul and Russ

Mission Accomplished

Back in May we met with Ken Dugas and his daughter, Mary Lee who were looking to donate 2 windows to St. Jules Catholic Church in Franklin, LA. It had been about 5 years since they began looking for someone to help realize this labor of love for their God and their parents without finding anyone they felt comfortable with in handling this task. Shortly after our meeting we were honored with the request to help them fulfill their dream. We drew up the patterns and at the end of June they came back to approve the full sized drawings and to pick out the glass we would use to make their windows.

The idea of having a window made came from Ken's Wife, Doris. Before she had passed away she requested that a window be constructed in memory of her parents and Ken's parents. The inscription on this one would be easy:

In Memory Of
Tanos & Adele Joseph
Rebert & Adele Dugas

Ken had decided that he wanted a second window in recognition of his wife (Mary's mother). The original inscription was going to read,

In Memory Of
Ken and Doris Dugas

But after some thought Ken decided that it should be changed since the text could be interpreted that Doris and Ken had both passed on. After some deliberation the text was changed to,

'Jesus I Trust in You'
Ken & Doris Dugas

Work began on the windows shortly after the 4th of July and Mary and Ken were updated with photos of the progress. We were hoping to install the windows between the 20th and the 24th of September which afforded us little time. We hit a few snags along the way and during the last week we had issues with the flashed glass we had originally chose to inscribe the text into but on the night of the 23rd of September the windows were complete.

The next day we arrived at St. Jules and spent approximately 4 hours installing them. When we stepped back and saw them in place we were able to really see the windows as a finished piece rather than hundreds of pieces of glass assembled and laid out on a table. To say that we were pleased with the outcome is an understatement.

The next day Mary picked up her father and took him to the church so they could look at the windows together. Mary told us that they loved them and that they spend equal amounts of time laughing and crying at what they had managed to accomplish for the church. Ken made the comment that his work here was complete now that his wife's request had been fulfilled.

On Sunday Ken went to church with his grand daughter so she could see the windows with him for the first time during Mass. At the time no one knew that it would be the only Mass that Ken would attend where he could look upward and see the windows that he had helped create.

Sadly, during the following week, Ken passed away. Knowing that he was able to see a dream of his accomplished puts a smile on our faces here but the smile does nothing to cover the tears in our eyes. Ken Dugas left a mark in the world and in the church he loved so much.

Thank you Ken and Mary for the pleasure of knowing the two of you.

Paul and Russ
Bayou Sale GlassWorks

In further fulfillment of Doris Dugas' wish to have stained glass in her church, we have been informed that all of the remaining windows in her church have been commissioned to be filled with stained glass.

Kennedy J. Dugas, Sr.

Welcome to our Special Edition: Happy Birthday, Suzie!

OMG, I've done it again--I think my brain is fried. Even though I included Suzie's completed window in the email I sent out to tell that the Blog was updated I managed to forget to include her in the actual Blog post.

So, this Special Edition Blog Post has been created to do 2 things:

1) Give a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish to Suzie. (Even if it IS late)
and

2) Let everyone see the WONDERFUL job that Suzie did making one of the most stunning, inspirational, amazing, mind-blowingly, beautiful windows that we've ever seen.

Actually I think it's worked out best that this window was skipped in the last post because this way no one can possibly overlook the terrific work that Suzie is capable of doing. Also I wouldn't want this window to overshadow any of the other work being done and that's why you can see it here, today in its own private Blog post. It's a Special Edition!



I sincerely hope I can keep count of how many student we have in class next week...

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks