Get On Tinder, Girl!

Lorrie's Sunburst Window measures 34 inches across by 16 inches high and it's certainly impressive.  Lorrie's daughter picked out the glass colors and even traced the pattern pieces onto  that glass  while Lorrie would actually cut out the pieces.  It was a quick way to get a lot accomplished and the end result is, as you can easily see, amazing.  It's also one of an unplanned series of windows that were completed this week.

 

 

 

Next we have Lara's Sunburst but she's used a wide assortment of colors in hers.  She didn't use anything too dark or vibrant because she was looking for a window with a softer look about it and in the end I think that she succeeded wonderfully.  Had she gone with the bright aqua/blue border she was considering a few weeks ago it would have changed the entire feel of this window.

 

 

Our third 'sunburst' window was made by Martha and it's actually a Sunset Window.   She made this inside of just three weeks and I must say that she's done an exquisite job on it.  Those long straight lines worried her while both cutting AND the soldering this but she came through with flying colors and not a single broken piece of glass.

 

 

 

Melissa's Tulip Window features rich and vibrant tulips  offset by a beautiful pale yellow border.  The sky is barely-there-blue but it proves that lighter colors can be mixed with darker contrasting colors and still achieve an impressively pleasant balance of color and depth

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Let's Beveled Heart Suncatcher  came together perfectly and proves that stained glass doesn't necessarily have to incorporate color.  To make this even more striking she's used black patina on the lead.to give it some strong contrast against the clear glass.

 

 

Susan D finished her two latest Geometric Suncatchers and both are perfectly aligned to form beautifully symmetrical designs. It's small items like these that are among the toughest suncatchers to create because one hard press against the grinder wheel can easily throw off the entire suncatcher.   Repeating patterns make ill-formed line stand out like a red thumb but as you can see there's none of that here.

Steve made a quick Tipped Wine Glass which began with  a simple blank piece of paper.  By the time class ended even I was ready for a glass of wine.  This suncatcher was a quick build but it's also a very  tasteful piece of window ornament (pun intended).

Linda's LSU Plaque was completed after she soldered the piece expertly.  Now that she's completed her large Carousel Horse Window Linda is enjoying the relaxing pace of smaller, less mentally taxing projects. 

Lorrie also worked on a Wedding Invitation box that she began while at home during the week.  Unfortunately she broke a large piece of the background glass and we had no more in stock so she had to change out all of the background glass which was done effortlessly.  She'll finish soldering this box top when she returns and then get to work on creating the glass sides for the actual box section of this project.

 

  

 

 

Cindy began work on her Holiday Heart Suncatcher and has started by cutting and grinding the tiny, intricate holly leaves and berries.  There are still a lot of leaves to be done and they're certainly a handful to cut and grind  which only goes to show that the devil is indeed in the details!  

 

  

 

 

Zoe doesn't waste time when she comes to class and managed to cut and grind all of the pieces for her Longhorn Skull save for the horns.   She was a bit undecided on the color for those horns but I believe that she made a decision before her class was finished.   Without a doubt this will be foiled next week.

 

 

 

Angie has begun work on a Pelican and decided to use medium gray feathers with light gray accents.   We've seen this made both as a large suncatcher and as a lawn ornament but Angie is going to frame hers out in glass and make this a full fledged window.  

 

  

 

 

MiMi has started a large Mallard Suncatcher and got the pattern traced as well as all of the glass being cut in just one class.  The colors are superb and it already fits together nicely even in its un-ground state.  This will undoubtedly see some grinder action when MiMi comes back in.

 

  

 

 

Lisa's Sugar Skull is coming together quickly now as all of the bones (save for the teeth) have been cut and ground. She's going to tack this all together next and then fill in the teeth by cutting them out as one long piece which she'll then grind to fit into the mouth opening.  Once it fits it's a simple task to slice and dice the big piece of glass into smaller teeth pieces which will fit into place perfectly (unless they get jumbled up).  Maintaining the order of the teeth as they are cut will be of the utmost importance.

 

  

 

 

Susan R's Peacock Hoop is coming together in a big way as she's cut out the remaining pieces that make the body of this beautiful bird.  She's grinding it all together and will soon begin working on the inside decorative details of the larger feathers.   The pattern is still somewhat up in the air but she had an actual peacock feather with her this week and she now knows exactly what the look of her accents will be.

 

  

 

 

Bee's Cantina Window is coming together one tiny piece at a time.  She's diligent and unswerving in her pursuit for perfection and she also moves at a nice brisk pace as you can tell from what she has accomplished in the picture below.

 

 

 

Mary Grace began working on a Mardi Gras Mask Panel and even though it's a panel (which means that it's smaller than a window but larger than a suncatcher) it is chock-full of pieces.   And she even shrunk it down smaller than the original design making all those pieces even tinier.   You can never say that Mary Grace backs away from a challenge.

 

 

  

 

Kerry got the background cut, ground, wrapped and tacked together for one section of his Vert Der Ferk lettering for his Swedish Chef Window.   As you can see there's no background cut for either the left or right sides because he will cut those two pieces once he's tacked what he has onto the bottom of his window.  This allows for perfect centering as well as a perfect fit.

 

 

 

 

With her border now attached to her Christmas Bells Window, Let is ready to solder.  Her pink/green border matches perfectly with the only two colors that she used in the window-- pink and green!  It's a stunning fit for a lively window.  Add to it the completely leaded pieces that she's applying decorative solder to and you have a window that will turn heads for sure.

 

 

 

Lastly, Annette worked on her Sacred Heart Window and has the small flower section of one of the hearts all cut, ground, wrapped and tacked together.  This is the toughest part of her large window so she wanted to get it out of the way.   I'd love to show you the rest of the window but once again Annette managed to get it out the door before I got a picture of it.   She's a tricky one!

 

 

So we're going to call this a wrap and we will look for you to return again next week!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

You Know My Swag, Not My Story

Annette's New Orleans Scene may have taken some time to complete but look at the end result!  It was truly a labor of love but Annette says that she loves having it finished.  This is a tedious window to make but it always looks great and really gives you a sense of accomplishment when it's completed.  Can you spot the wire work that Has added to this scene?   It's hard to spot but it adds so much to the overall design.  I'll give you a hint: It's a railing.

 

 

Zoe's Bee Panel is stunning.   Everyone who looked at it said the same thing:  "I wouldn't have picked red for the border but after seeing it completed I have to say that it is absolutely perfect."  And they're correct!  Zoe's work is amazing and her attention to detail is what really makes this window look so great.

  

 

Betty finished her Nautical Themed Teardrop Suncatcher and her work on this is some of the best work she's ever done.   Everything fit together with incredible precision and let me state for the record that her soldering on this has hit new highs.   It may not be a New Orleans Window but this large suncatcher sure packs a punch, especially when you look at the level of craftsmanship in it.

 

 

 

 

Last week Let had forgotten to bring the background glass that she had planned to use for her Pink Christmas Ornament Panel.  This week she brought it in and it had already been cut and ground.   She attached a beautiful pink/green border and soldered it all to completion before calling it a day.   She's also decided that she may make just the ornament itself as a suncatcher.

 

 

 

Angie is back and on her first day back she's managed to finished a Heart/Rose Panel!   Apparently the time away from glass work hasn't hampered her in any way because this is beautiful. Once again we have a red border that lights the entire window up.

 

 

 

 

Annette also  cut out this beautiful Flower Suncatcher and then finished it up before calling it a night.   She's also working on a Sacred Heart Window at home and we may see that next week.  Meanwhile, enjoy her colorful Flower the she's decided not to patina.  The silver lead looks absolutely fine if you ask me-- besides it's only just a matter of preference. 

 

 

 

Mary Grace completed her 3D Sunflower but it's so very hard to take a picture of it that shows the 3D nature of this piece.   I've included a side view also so you can see that this sunflower has a bowl shape to it rather than being flat. 

 

 

 Her's the Sunflower laying 'flat' on the table, You can easily see here how it curves.

 

Barbara's come up with a unique idea that she did six times over!  She wanted to make small rectangular shapes that she could attach to a small rod to that she could place in flower pots to identify what was in each pot.   After much deliberation we both decided that the best thing to do was to cut the rectangle and the stake as one piece of glass.   She didn't even have to foil or solder these and still they're as precious as can be!  She made 6 of these for her daughter and will be making more in the weeks to come.

 

 

 

Ann put the finishing touches on her second large Geometric Torus Suncatcher and even had a HMS pendant to hang from this one.  She actually wrapped all of these pieces and then soldered this project in less than 2 hours which proves that Ann is a seasoned pro at stained glass.

Roxane is also back with us and she says that she stopped coming way back in October of last year.   But she's back now and already well under way on a stained glass Address Window.  She's currently using iridised black glass for the numbers and I think that they are going to look great but Roxane is unsure.  If she doesn't like it after it's been ground we will replace them with flat black.

  

Let has everything cut for her Christmas Bells Window and got the pieces that will be completely leaded covered in foil as well (I've pointed them out with arrows in the picture).  She was shocked to discover that you can purchase foil as 12 x 12 sheets which makes covering entire pieces of glass MUCH easier.  She's still a little anxious about how those pieces of glass will be covered in lead but next week she'll see just how easy that step is.

  

Sadly, the lead came that Melissa needed to finish off her curved Tulip Window didn't arrive in time so she couldn't complete that project this week and has moved on over to this red and green Geometric Cross.  After she cut out all of the glass she began grinding everything and the more she looked at the cross the more she thought that the center radiating pieces should be a different color.  Look for that change to happen next week (as well as seeing her Tulip Window completed as well).

 

  

 

 

Cindy has more suncatchers in the making and they both involve Birds.   They're all cut and ground so foiling will be next on her list of things to do.  After that I believe it's even more suncatchers for Cindy.

 

  

 

 

Betty's Teardrops feature all kinds of goodies and this week she's working on a Daisy inspired design.   She's already wrapping these piece in foil so I think there's a good chance that this will be completed when she returns in two weeks. 

 

  

 

Bee is hard at work on her Cantina Window and spend the night grinding out the checker board table top upon which everything sits.   Check out that avocado- the pit placement is astounding because there are NO lines cutting into the avocado to the pit.  She actually ground a hole in the center of a piece of glass to make the pit look as realistic as possible.

  

 

 

Susan R got a good majority of her Peacock cut out and has moved on to grinding the pieces that she's cut.  She's decided that she wants more detail in the tail feathers so she's left them filled in and after everything has been ground she will cut two other pieces of glass to go in the centers of her blue/green feathers.

 

 

 

 

Susan D's pair of swirling Geometric designs have been completely ground and she's even begun to foil one of them already.  The soldering will go quickly on these but the foiling could still take a bit of time considering the minuscule size of some of the pieces of glass.  

 

  

 

 

Judy resumed cutting her Deer Window and then selected a nice woodsy green for the background.   
We usually run background grain from left to right but in the case we're trying to mimic a forest so Russ suggested that the grain run up and down the way that trees would.   We also learned the importance of putting grain lines on our pattern pieces.   It really does save time (and glass).

 

  

 

 

Martha replaced two of the white pieces of glass that she had cut for her sunset window and is much more happy with the dark amber glass that she's replaced it with.  She's even got all but one piece foiled and since she doesn't plan on adding a border to this she could very possibly finish it upon her return. 

 

 

Lastly, Lorrie  has started a Wedding Box and to make that she has to make the top lid so we know the exact size that the bottom box sides must be.   She's gone with a double heart design and is ready to begin grinding but I didn't get a picture of it!   You'll see that NEXT week.

 

And there is that!

 

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

I Took A Boot For You

Wonderful things take time and Linda F's impressive Carousel Horse shows off her stained glass abilities wonderfully.   She always took her time while working on this and never allowed herself to get overwhelmed or discouraged.  The end result is the largest window that Linda has ever worked on with probably the highest amount of pieces as well.  Stunning through and through, this window shines.

  

 

June's Darth Vader got washed, colored and waxed after which he was ready for his closeup.  It was hard to get a good picture of him because this is a window that needs a fair amount of light in front of it as well as behind it. My first few pictures just looked like black blobs because none of the detail was showing up in the camera but that changed when I turned on the flash and put a light in front of 'Darthy' as well as behind him.

 

 

Steve came in to class having to wrap and solder his Mary and Child Panel and he muscled through all of that work and walked out the door with this completed piece just three hours later.  It's certainly beautiful and the best part is that it's his own design!   Steve is becoming famous throughout our classes for coming up with his own designs.  It's one thing to be able to make a window but designing one is so much more harder (as well as more rewarding).

 

 

Annette needed a Wedding Gift and want to personalize it somehow with the names of the Bride and Groom.   We settled on a Heart Within a Heart Design and then fired the names James and Tara onto the white heart earlier in the week.  By the time class was over Nettie walked out the door with the perfect gift!

 

 

 

Betty made this cute Penguin Suncatcher in no time at all.  Her aim is get as many smaller items completed as she can since her spot in The Market is starting to look a little sparse.  As for the penguin, I'm assuming it's Betty dreaming of cooler weather.

  

 

 

Barbara put the finishing touches on her Owl Table Decoration but still needs to get the wooden holder for it.  Those things are getting harder and harder to find but Barbara believes she knows someone who can make one for her.  Even though her Owl isn't in its stand yet it still looks wonderfully festive with all of it's colors and is a great pattern to make so you can thin out all of those small scraps you've been saving!

 

  

 

 

Cindy was busy finishing up her Pink Pig suncatcher, her Rabbit Suncatcher and another 3D Crystal Holder.  3D projects can be tough to assemble and let me tell you that for whatever reason, this one didn't go together quite as easily as the first one did.   However, after we fidgeted with the connecting points of the squares here and there everything eventually lined up and ended up looking equally  as good as her first Crystal Hanger did.

 

 

Let is starting Christmas early this year and began this Christmas Bell Window while at home.   It's all cut and ground save for the background glass and she's going to foil the pieces that can be foiled and bring it back in next week  to learn how to cover certain pieces completely in lead for an added effect.

 

  

 

 

Lisa has begun work on her Sugar Skull and she's gotten the lion's share of it cut out already.   The trick to something this complex is to work a little at a time and then tack it in sections so that things don't shift out of position.  Lisa designed this herself which makes this even more special.  This is clearly taking shape and you can easily understand how wonderful this is going to look once it's finished. 

  

 

 

Susan R has been eyeing up the idea of a Peacock for quite a while now.   She found one that she liked online and we've altered the design a bit to fit inside a hoop and to omit unnecessary wire work.  The hoop allows her to make a larger more elaborate suncatcher without having to worry about how to hang it securely.   Susan has already begun cutting glass and is well underway on this.  

 

  

 

 

After completing Darth Vader June turned her attention to this wonderfully cute Goat Window.  She has numerous actual goats at home and thought that a window would help show her love for these cute animals.

  

 

 

Judy doesn't have any pet Deer at home but she will have a Deer Window soon.  In just one class she's managed to get the bulk of this window cut out proving that Judy wastes no time.

 

 

 

Susan D has a pattern book which features geometric snowflake-like designs and she's slowly but surely working her way through the book cover to cover.  These two pieces already show off her cutting skills because these haven't even been ground yet.  When dealing with repeating pieces exactness is of the utmost importance and Susan has already achieved greatness here..

 

  

 

 

Betty  loves her Teardrop designs and was also able to work on a beach themed teardrop this week.

 

  

 

Martha has begun a Sunset Window and in just one class managed to get it all cut out.  She's not entirely happy with one of the colors that form the rays of the sun and rather than finishing it as is and ending up being unhappy with it she's going to replace at least one piece before moving on.

 

  

 

 

Kerry was back with us and he spent his time grinding the letters for his Swedish Chef Window.  Now that his letters have both been ground and wrapped he will space them out of a sheet of glass cut to the width of his window so he can figure out what the ideal spacing will be for them.

 

 

 

Lara's colorful Sunburst Window got tacked together and then she cut, ground, wrapped and tacked together a wonderful light pink border for it.  She was hard pressed between a blue border and this pink one but we all agreed that the pink glass matched best with all of the colors that she used in the sunburst. 

 

 

 

Lorrie worked on her own Sunburst Window while she was at home last week and did she ever get far along on it.  By the time class ended she had the front side of this soldered and most of the back as well.  This window IS large enough to curve some zinc channel for and that will be curved and ready to be attached when Lorrie come back in which means that his will be a done deal.

 

  

 

 

Zoe came in and got to work by by resuming the foiling on her remaining Hexagon pieces.   Once that was completed she tacked everything together and then got the final red border cut, ground and foiled as well.  Zoe will surely be soldering this when she comes back in and perhaps she'll even get it completed!

 

 

After Linda F got her Carousel Horse washed and waxed she turned her talents over to this popular LSU pattern.  She's already begun grinding it so this will be finished before you know it.

 

 

 

Cheryl is grinding all of the center letter section of her Harley-Davidson Window and is working slowly but steadily through it.   You don't want to rush through stained glass letters and risk having them looking like sloppy handwriting.  Each letter must be carefully formed or ll you will have is mess. 

  

 

 

The curved top on Melissa's Tulips Window is lovely and somewhat unusual in a window but it creates a slight problem.  We can't bend a brass channel because it will kink rather than curve and we can't use a zinc channel on this because the came bender can't make a curve this small.   Melissa could just tap-tap around the entire window but that doesn't offer much edge protection for a piece this large.   So surrounding it in lead came will be the answer.  Hopefully we will have some U channel by the time Melissa returns so she can finish this off because it's already been completely soldered!   

  

 

 

Ann is hard at work on her second Geometric Torus Panel and got it cut and ground!  This (once again) proves that when you make something a second time it moves along at a much fast rate than the first one did. 

  

 

Mary Grace started cutting out another Teardrop Sunflower but after she got the flower petals cut out she wondered if she could alter the pattern and add more petals and some leaves to it.   When I'm asked if a pattern can be altered the answer is always a YES.   This won't be a Teardrop when it's completed but it will certainly be more elaborate and impressive in its new form.

 

 

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.  See you next week!

 

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks