No More Wire Cutters (But More Cowbell)

Julie only has a few projects under her belt which made her Heron Window a bold choice of patterns to pick but now that it's finished I know that she feels she chose wisely.  She has learned so much while making this and she never shied away from the more tasking sections of the pattern.   She could have omitted all of the flowers that stretch across the top of the window but in the end she decided to keep them and it honestly balanced the window wonderfully.  Then she decided to make a double border as well which, yes, increased the time it took to finish the window but which also made it so much more aesthetically pleasing.  Julie did a marvelous job on this for sure! 

  

 

 

Lorrie's Address Window is stylish but all the extra's don't detract from the most important part of an Address Window--the numbers themselves. She was locked into a color scheme but she went to extremes with it to create a wonderful earth toned window that no one would ever call bland or boring!

 

 

Bee's Long Tall Iris looks stunning especially with the multicolored glass that she used as an inner border. Alas, I don't think you can go wrong with this pattern because as many times as I've seen this made I've never seen it done looking anything but striking. Bee's rendition is no exception.

  

 

 

 

Catherine's Spiderweb was made from a single sheet of an iridized clear texture which she accented with a Spider made of glass nuggets for the body and wire for the legs. The construction of the spider is certainly tricky but like everything else there's a trick to making it easier to assemble. A wonderful Halloween design for sure!

 

This is the first of Barbara's three beveled center Crosses.  The dark royal blue is right up my ally so of course I like it!  There's an art to putting the nine piece Crosses together and Barbara knows what it is now so I'm expecting more Crosses brilliantly made by her.  

 

 

MiMi is working on a Cross in the form of a Celtic Knot which is really looking spectacular already.   If memory serves me well (which it usually doesn't) this is the first of a pair of these fine pieces of art!

 

 

 

Elaine was back and in just one night she cut out a bumble bee and even managed to get it ground as well.  That's pretty darned amazing for someone who is essentially a new student! 

 

 

 

Cheryl is hard at work on her Mardi Gras Pelican Window and is currently working on grinding all of the pieces that she's got cut out.   We've decided that she'll cut the background after she tacks all of this together to help with squaring things out and aligning the top section around the crown which looks like it might be a little tricky for her.

 

 

 

Cindy is working away on a somewhat complex suncatcher of a Cobra.   The pattern itself just misses fitting on a piece of standard sized paper so it's fairly large for a suncatcher, but when you look at the number of pieces you realize that it entails a lot of small pieces regardless. 

 

 

Meanwhile Sheri is hard at work on her Rooster Head.  In this post you can really see how it's all coming together.  This is going to be vibrant in the sunlight for sure.

 

 

Kandise has all of her Dragonfly cut and ground. I'm still amazed at how easily she handled the most difficult part--the segmented body! Those tiny symmetrical pieces usually slow people down and elicit  some cuss words, but not Kandise!

 

 

 

 

Susan D is just about set to assemble her three dimensional Bird Bath. Since this will be holding some water (which is a lot of extra weight) we are going to have to give the roof some extra attention to make sure that it's secured as strong as possible. I suspect that we'll be using wires for some extra strength.

 

 

 

Jan is back and is working on her Three Dogs Window. We've had an issue or two involving missing pattern pieces so she's going ahead with foiling and tacking what she's completed before she cuts out and missing pieces.  This will prevent things from sliding around and allow her to cut new pieces by simply tracing out the holes that she has when it's tacked together.

 

 

 

Betty's Luna Moth has been assembled and is ready to be soldered. As you can see (if you look closely) she also has one of her Butterfly Silverware pieces just about finished. She's bent the wire for the antenna all by herself and it came out perfectly.  Betty is one of our premier wire benders and that's no lie!

  

 

Let has her Circular Flower Piece well under control now even if she believes it looks a bit of a mess sitting here in its unground state. The thing is that ALL stained glass windows look disheveled before the grinder touches all of the pieces. I think this is going to look lovely.

 

 

Here we see two more Crosses that Barbara has ground and ready to take home with her to be foiled. I've shown her how to ensure that the Crosses balance perfectly so that they don't hang crookedly so she'll be fixing the one on the right before she tacks it together.

 

  

 

 

I somehow didn't manage to get a picture of Susan R's Watering Can and Flowers project but it's all foiled now.  That means that Susan is about to cut out her 24 or so leaves which will be tacked on wire vines and then tacked all throughout the front of her Watering Can.  Here's a picture from last week to refresh your memory.

 

And that is what we call THAT!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks 

Let's See What We Have Here

MiMi's Lamp was competed this week and to say that it is simply spectacular would be an insult to it!   It's been 22 months of on and off work on 1200+ pieces without a single compromise.  The end result speaks for itself.   I  am most impressed with her ability to solder this hulking 3D behemoth.  In the end I think she had only four run-throughs which is actually EXTREMELY brag-worthy when dealing with the soldering of a lamp.   Here it is, revel in its beauty.

 

 

Tracey's Cross Window is beautiful as well as uplifting and as I've said before the addition of a second border really knocked it out of the ball park. By using the same glass that she used for the cross the last border pulls color from the center of the window and frames it out perfectly

 

Just for fun, Here's a look at what Tracey's window would have looked like without the second (final) border. As you can see it's still beautiful but it just sort of lacks something. This is why I always say that if you REALLY want your window to stand out, adding a second border can really do the trick easily.

 

Nettie drew up this stunning religious pattern all by herself and you can certainly call me impressed! I love this Cross and Bible design and I have a sneaking suspicion that our other students will as well. Also, her quick start-to-finish work on this is equally impressive!

 

 

 

Let's Coffee Cup was (as I semi-expected) completed while she was at home last week. She brought it in for me to look over and then washed it, colored it and hung it up for this closeup. It's good to the last drop!

 

Cindy's got another dozen Heart Crosses under her belt leaving her with about 24 more left to make. This may very well have just become the most mass produced stained glass project that we've ever had.  Oh and FYI, there are more on the way!

 

Let has also begun working on a geometric styled circular piece with a slight flower motif.  She got all of this cut in just one class which is no mean feat but let's face it, we've come to expect things like this from Let.   

 

 

Barbara is making more Crosses starting with this Blue single bevel cross. I've shown her the simplest way to make this which involves splitting each 'extremity' of the cross after it's been ground as a solid piece first. It sounds odd but when you see the process in action it all makes perfect sense and alleviates the workload by about half.

 

  

 

 

Sheri's begun a Rooster and she's started by grinding the eyes and some of the comb. She did this on her own and when I saw what she was doing I was impressed because I myself like to do the eye's of living things first so you can build the rest of the pieces around them and they don't end up twisted out of position. 

  

 

 

Lorrie, as you will see, has got two irons in the fire. Her Address Window needs to be foiled and tacked together before she can add the final border. She's much rather foil while at home since she hates to waste class time wrapping glass.

 

  

After taking her Address Window out to the car Lorrie brought in her Bee and Flowers Window and resumed cutting glass for it. She's noticed a slight issue with the glass for her background blending in too closely with the glass that she used for the Bee's wings. We discussed it and she's come up with a new (and better) glass for the bee's wings which she'll cut out when we see her next.

 

  

 

 

Betty has all of her Luna Moth cut and mostly ground as well.   She's put her two two silverware Butterflies on hold so she could get this finished.  I've got to say that she's muscled through the cutting and grinding wonderfully.   She'll be keeping this one for herself and by the looks of things it will surely be completed soon.

 

 

 

Mary has begun making her Address Window by working on the oval center with the numbers in it as it that were the entire window. Once that is tacked together she'll be able to work on each side separately which makes storing the window between work sessions much easier. I have to say that I love the deep blue numbers against the streaky wispy white background glass. Yes, there is a streaky white background cut for this but it's just hard to see against the white of the pattern.

 

  

 

 

Martha has got her Alligator and the leaves that it is 'hiding' behind ground and hopes to come back in with all of those pieces foiled so she can then cut out her background glass quickly and efficiently.  I have no doubt that will happen and if it all goes well (why wouldn't it?) she may even get a border cut for him/her! 

 

  

 

 

Paula is now at a standstill on her Foxglove Window only because the person she's making it for has yet to decide on a color for the stem. With only two pieces left to cut (plus the border) I'd say that this will be finished shortly after a decision has been made.

 

 

 

Susan R has all of her Watering Can with Flowers cut as well as ground so she'll be foiling this and soldering it before you know it. She's really moved quickly through this which isn't surprising so much as it is impressive because there's actually a lot to this piece. Susan simply set herself to work and wasted no time at all. Next up will be the 22 leaf pieces that she'll accent this water can with!

 

 

 

Julie is soldering the back side of her Heron Window and doing an amazing job on it.   Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to soldering but this window is quickly nearing its completion.   I'm expecting to see this hanging up with light behind it when Julie comes in again next week.  Be excited.  Be VERY excited! 

 

  

 

 

Lara's African Woman was back in class and now that she's been ground, foiled, and tacked together Lara was able to get the background glass cut out. It was a tight fit since we didn't have any more of this glass and it's no longer being made but where there's a will there's a way!

 

 

 

 

Bee's Long Tall Iris now has it's final  border attached as well as the brass channel that surrounds it. She's got most of the front side soldered which leads me to believe that this could possibly be completed as soon as next week.  I'm thinking that's HIGHLY likely!

 

  

And in the end here's my call out to Linda F. That's all I'm saying because I want it to be a surprise.


This is Paul saying, "Over and out."

Bayou Salé GlassWorks 

Paul 

Leave It To Me

Nettie's Christmas Nativity Scene is officially completed!   This three piece window has been joined together to form one large 55 inch long scene!  It's so long that it BARELY fit across the length of her car so she could get it to her Church where it will be displayed.  All of her hard work has paid off and I'm sure the congregation will be very happy when they see this.   Nettie is always her own worse critic only because she focuses on sections of her work that she thinks she could have done better on.   The fact of the matter is that she sees only the trees rather than the beautiful forest because there is nothing wrong with this at all. 

 

 

Mary's Fish Window is certainly a work of art. She's taken her time and has fretted that perhaps she had too many colors in it but once it was lit up she said that she was thrilled with how it looked. How could she not be? Her decision to put a double border on this was clearly a great choice and always is if you want a window to shine all the more.

 

  

 

  

Sheri has completed her Polygonal Window and added the letter D on top of it for a personal effect. The end result is striking and you'd never suspect that the D wasn't actually cut into the glass unless you've read this blog. One of the benefits to adding the letter this way is that you won't see the letter reversed on the back side of the window.  

 

 

 

 

Betty's Spiraling Ribbon is hanging pretty in a window as you read this. Her symmetry is perfect and because of that you can easily see how the ribbon twists and turns throughout its circular pattern.   As is always the case with Betty, another job well done.

 

 

 

Barbara's Christmas Alligator is complete and even has two small pieces of wire attached to it to give it a little bit of added depth. Her pattern came from a cookie jar that Barbara fell in love with and now she has a window that matches it perfectly.  They'll both look great in her kitchen come the holidays.

Cindy's dozen Heart Crosses were made in record time.   I will let you in on a little secret though.  She's changed the pattern by making the heart out of 4 pieces of glass rather than just two.  In the original design she would scoop out as much of the glass from the inside of the upper heart curve and still have to grind the rest out which took at lot of time and also worked the grinding wheel very hard.  By adding two small lead lines she's managed to literally cut hours off of the time that it used to take to make this fleet of Heart Crosses.  

 

 

 

 

Lorrie has a rush order to get out so she's had to put her Flowers and Bee Window aside while she works on this Address Window.  In just one night Lorrie has the flower cut and ground and the numbers cut and ready to be ground.  She's pretty sure that she's got the remainder of her colors selected so this will be coming together quicker than you might think.  Part of that has to do with the fact that Lorrie now has a wonderfully spacious and brand spanking new Stained Glass Workshop to work in.   She's invested in this hobby all the way!

Candice has begun cutting out a colorful Dragonfly that will be mounted within a hoop to make sure those intricate (and heavy) wings don't pull away from the body. The hoop will also provide strength to the segmented body. Rather than relying on a clear iridescent glass to provide color for the wings Candis has opted to use various colors of glass throughout them. It makes the construction process a bit harder but the end result will look so much better which is something that Kandice always stives for.  Way to go, Candice! 

  

  

Martha's making an Alligator and practically has the entire thing cut out already!  With just the background glass left to go she'll be grinding this in no time at all.  She's changed the eye a bit from the original pattern and I have to say that I like it better this way.

 

 

 

Catherine has begun a large Spiderweb suncatcher that will have a small stained glass and wire Spider hanging from it. Since she managed to get it cut and ground in just one class I think that it's fairly safe to assume that she'll complete this upon her return.

  

 

Paula's Foxglove Flower Window has pieces that fit together like a glove.  She's cutting the iridised background glass now and grinding each piece as she cuts them.  The difficult cuts were in the flowers themselves so the rest of this should move along much easier now.

  

 

 

Julie has all of her Heron Window tacked together and has officially begun soldering it. She may still be new at this but she's doing a great job especially when it comes to getting the right amount of lead on the window. Many students apply too much lead as well as move along with their iron too quickly but Julie has a the right amount of solder applied at a nice steady speed which is why her soldering already looks so good.

 

  

 

 

Tracey's got all of her Cross Window soldered save for the solder and will get a channel and hooks added to it when she comes back in. This is another prime example of just how much more attractive a double border can make a window. There's nothing wrong with a single border but if you have a window that you want to shine even more then consider two borders. 

 

  

 

MiMi has completed the soldering on her lamp! Next week she will color and wash this before we add the wiring so that we can light it up for its final picture. This is going to be momentous!

 

 

 

Susan D is now grinding the curves into her roof shingles for the second side of her slanted roof Bird Bath. Normally she would be making mirror images but since the roof is symmetrical she just needs to make two of the same roof sections. That's because flipping the roof around give you the exact same pattern!

 

 

 

Betty has another pair of her butterfly Silverware Ornaments under construction and I won't be surprised to see these completed when she comes back in. These are not only beautiful but they are quick and easy to make. I just don't know where she is finding all of the silverware!

 

  

 

 

Susan R's Watering Can with Flowers is moving right along. The can itself is not only cut but ground as well. Now she's working on the flowers that top this all off. She's moving quickly on this and it's already been asked about in other classes.  This is going to be stunning when it is hanging up.

 

  

 

 

So Let planned on working on her Teacup Panel but quickly realized that she left her pattern on her work table at home. She stayed in class for a bit and helped with  choosing colors for other students projects and then called it a day.

Then, lastly, we have Linda F who is making a Stained glass [redacted]. It flows and weaves just like a delicate [redacted]. I'd love to show you a picture but [redacted].

 

To infinity and beyond,

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks