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

Foiled Again

Martha's Peacock came alive this week due to her excellent color choice for the final border.   Her blue and green Peacock is pulled together perfectly with a thin border of elegant bevels followed by a thicker border of a blue/green glass that matches the Peacock perfectly.   Stunning!

 

 

 

Let's second (but different) Heron Window was completed this week and it matches the first one through its subject matter.   Mirror image windows are nice but I like the diversity that a common theme brings into a room.  And, as always, Let's work is top notch.

 

  

 

 

Ann's first Geometrical Torus Suncatcher was completed in a speedy manor although it certainly looks as though she took her time making this considering how wonderfully everything fits together.  She's added a center hanging piece as an accent and it all comes together as mathematically perfect as can be.   

 

 

 

 

Lisa finished wrapping her Seagulls and then soldered them, added the wire work to both of them (although the closer bird's wire work is hidden) and then drilled holes into 2 wood logs where the 'legs' mount into.   The end result is a 3D table decoration of two Seagulls on Pilings.  She also plans on adding some old rope to the logs to really drive the image home!

 

 

 

 

Susan R put the finishing touches on her BBQ Gnome Lawn Ornament and finished it off with a bit of wire work also.  The grill now has some wire on it to form the rack that her BBQ Gnome will be cooking on-- but that's not all.  He also has a wire formed fork in his right hand to flip his meat!

 

  

 

 

Betty had three humming birds all cut and ground last week today we see that she has finished all of the work on them.   She's added beads for the eyes because grinding them into the glass would make the eyes too big for hummingbirds this small.  In the end, using beads is far more  easier than grinding and foiling small rounded cuts (once you get the hang of attaching those beads with some thin wire).

 

 

 

Betty also has three more of her wire work Cardinal Suncatchers completed as well as four more Daisy Suncatchers with wire stems all ready for the selling!

 

  

 

Lara finished grinding her Sunburst of Color and rather than re-cutting two pieces which had small breaks in them she added two more 'bursts' that covered the problem areas.  The trick is to not just fill in breaks but to carefully cut more away so that the two 'fill ins' look like they belong in the pattern.  I defy anyone to tell me where the two added pieces are.

  

 

Cindy is working on assorted suncatchers and this week we get to see that her Bunny and her Pig suncatchers have each been cut and ground. Solder will come soon though perhaps she'll continue to cut out the other three or four suncatchers first.

  

 

Let also worked on a pink Christmas Ornament Panel that is all ground now save for the seven pieces  of textured clear glass that she picked for her background.  This is both small enough and has enough lead lines radiating to the perimeter of the piece to be able to forgo a border so we'll see if Let decides to add one or not  when we see her again.

 

  

 

 

Steve has finished cutting all of his glass and even changed out two of the pieces for a better color of glass.   He's now grinding his Mary and Child Window and it's coming together quickly now.

 

 

 

Melissa got the top curved pieces for the border of her Tulip Window attached and then set upon soldering her window.   The end is most certainly near! 

 

 

 

Zoe had picked three different colors for the hexagon background for her Bee Window and this week she got them cut, ground with half of them (the top half) being wrapped in foil already.  A final red border will come next and then Zoe will be able to start soldering this.

 

  

 

 

Linda F has her Carousel Horse all soldered and ready to be colored.  This window really shows off Linda's stained glass talents and will be staying in her home rather than residing in someone else's house because Linda made it as a gift.  This one has truly been a labor or love.

  

 

 

Barbara is back and managed to get her Owl all ground and wrapped.  Once that was done she tacked it together and then set upon getting the eyes complexly cut out.   By the time class was finished she was ready to wrap all of those small intense eye pieces that fit together perfectly because of the way she cut them out.

 

 

 And there you have it.  Rest assured that more will come next week!

 

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

What's In Your Wallet?

Susan D's Tree Of Life Glob Window was completed this week and let me tell you that this is one heavy window!  The globs themselves are heavy enough but then she's also got over a pound of lead in this 10 inch round colorful project.  The end result is so very alive with rich colors that light up gorgeously when it's hanging up, don't you think?

 

 

 

MiMi's Birds on a Branch were completed and they turned out to be absolutely stunning.   You see plenty of Birds On a Wire but you NEVER get to see this curved take on an old familiar theme.   MiMi did this one proud for sure.

 

 

 

Let finished the first of the two bird windows that she's been working on.  Her Heron looks great, alas we had to replace two pieces that had cracked due to heat.  Luckily they were both small and fortunately they touched each other making the repair process go even faster (about 15 minutes in total). 

 

 

 

Judy completed the soldering on her Scottish Thistle and then cut add added the thin wires that bring this window to life.   I love the diagonal weaving pattern that the wire makes in the center of the flower. Pay attention because this is another example of how a circular windows perimeter should look- perfect smooth and connecting without any sharp points or flat ends.

 

 

 

Cindy made her first 3D Crystal Hanging consisting of a round Glass Crystal that she surrounded with six 2" squares of baroque glass.   The crystal isn't entirely surrounded by glass however-- there's as many openings as there are square pieces of glass which give this its complex yet beautiful look.

 

 

Mary Grace completed her large Sunflower Teardrop and the finished piece is a winner. Teardrops are the rage and Mary Grace is helping to push their popularity by showing off this new beautiful pattern.

 

Lorrie began this large Sunburst Window for her daughter Megan who came along with her this week to pick out the glass that would be used.   Lorrie then put Megan to work and had her trace the pattern pieces onto glass while Lorrie cut them all out.  And that's how this window got so far along in just one three hour class!

   

Lara is working on a Sunburst Window as well but hers is multi colored.   She's also managed to make great inroads to her project.  In just one night she got the entire sunburst cut out and has balanced the colors beautifully.  As you know though, colors are one of Lara's 'things' so I doubt that anyone is surprised! 

 

 

 Steve made incredible progress on his Madonna and Child Panel.   Last week it was just a pattern waiting to be traced onto glass.  This week he got it completely cut out.  I guess next week will be the grinder for him.

  

Lisa is working on a pair of Seagulls which will reside on a piece of wood as her Duck did last week.  The birds may be the same (well, mirror images of each other) but the legs will also help to give each of them their own 'personality'.   Lisa managed to cut everything and even get a large portion of the grinding done as well.

  

Zoe got her Bee tacked together and then learned how to get a circular border to fit together in the best and easiest way possible.  After getting that cathedral red border attached she then selected 4 different shades of amber glass which she will cut the honeycomb background out of.

 

 

 

Mary Grace also found the time to began Breast Cancer Ribbon which she cut and ground before her class was over.   Wrapping these pieces and then soldering this ribbon shouldn't take long at all.

 

  

 

 

Susan R foiled all of the pieces that make up her BBQ Gnome and decided not to tack it together until next week so that it wouldn't sit for seven days with flux on it.   There's little doubt that this will be completed next week and waiting until then to tack this together will make the soldering process go easier.

 

  

 

 

Melissa finished wrapping the top section of her Curved Tulip Window and then got the straight parts of the border cut, ground and attached.   She's drawn pattern pieces for the top curved border and will surely get the border attached as well as the missing leaf cut when we see this again.

 

  

 

Cheryl got most of the glass cut out for the background of the word HARLEY-DAVIDSON and then called it a night.  There were a few pieces that broke as she was cutting but that's par for the course when dealing with this many thin pieces.   She'll begin to grind this next and once it's tacked together she'll fill in those pesky missing pieces.

 

 

 

Bee began cutting glass for her Cantina window and has more cut than you see here.  The glass for the checkerboard table has been cut and placed into a container so that they wouldn't slide off of her work board while she transports it back and forth between home and our classroom.

  

 

Ann spent the morning grinding away at the pieces of her Geometric Torus Suncatcher.   She's beyond the halfway point so she'll most likely be wrapping this the next time we see her. 

 

  

Betty has her flock of Humming Birds all ground and has begun foiling all of her pieces.  As each bird was completely foiled she would tack it together and then wash the flux off of it.  She's aiming to get all of them tacked after which she'll solder them one at a time and then wash and color them in groups of two.   This will ensure that the copper patina goes on evenly and shines up perfectly.   The longer you wait to patina a soldered piece the harder it is to get the patina to take hold and shine up

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And them's the breaks!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks