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 

Sounds Like Post Dramatic Stress To Me

Linda F made this Vegetable Window in no time at all. She would have had it completed sooner but she had headed out on a vacation for a while which didn't quite slow down progress on this so much as halt progress on it. Take out those vacation days and you see before you a window that Linda made quickly and efficiently as well as beautifully.

 

This is the first of three windows that Lara is making for a friend and this will most likely occupy the rightmost position of the three openings in the wall that she's aiming to fill.   She's about to begin cutting out a similar window whose Lily will face the opposite direction.  It won't be an exact match to this one but the theme will be similar enough to have the two windows bookend the center flower design which will come after this one.

 

Catherine completed her Traditional Stained Glass Window and it certainly is lovely.  Let's also pay attention to her amazing soldering skills also.  This came together almost effortlessly for Catherine and it surely proves that she has the right stuff!

 

 

I fell in love with this design when Kandise walked into the shop with it and now that I see the wonderful job that she did on making it I love it even more. It is THE perfect gift for a musically inclined individual!

 

 

 

 

Cindy put the finishing touches on the two 'Suncatchers' that she had begun previously. The Frog has been ready for a while but the Louisiana Collage took a little more time especially when dealing with all she's had going on around home. They both look wonderful to me.

 

 

 

Let finish off her latest clear textured Modern Art design and even surrounded it with an inside border of bevels.  It's light, it's airy and it's a great way to use up some of those scrap pieces that keep building up. 

 

 

 

  

Betty's been on a constant roll with her Silverware Dragonflies but this week she came in with a new pattern that she's drawn up all on her own. Her first Silverware Butterfly was made of iridised glass and features metal accents. Expect to see more of these because this is the bomb!

 

 

 

Here's Cheryl's Fleur De Lis Window that she will be donating so that it can be auctioned off. I don't have the exact size of this but let me say that at approximately 21 x 21inches this is far bigger than you might initially assume. Let's hope that it brings in the big bucks for a good cause!

 

Nettie's Nativity Scene is just about completed save for the channel that will attach them all together.   I don't have a picture of that but we will see it completed next week.  Below I have a picture of the Dove/Cross that she made before calling it a night.   Very nice indeed!

Susan R is hard at work on her Watering Can with Flowers.  This will be a hanging piece rather than a window which makes it somewhat hard to define.  It's too large to be a suncatcher but it isn't squared off to be a considered a window.   No matter what it technically 'is', I do believe that it's well on its way to looking great!

  

 

 

Paula's Window looks amazing and I'm embarrassed to admit that I completely forget what the flowers are called! I'd know the name to hear it but off the top of my head I'm drawing a blank. Nonetheless, the pattern is beautiful and I know that her precision work (as already shown below) will make this shine!

 

  

 

 

Cindy has also started a dozen Heart/Cross Suncatcher which should keep her busy for at least a little while.  Then again she IS proficient at making these because she's made at least two dozen of them in the past!

  

 

And with her Fleur De Lis Window completed Cheryl is back to work on her Mardi Gras Pelican.  I love her use of iridised glasses. I would never say that it makes the whole project 'pop' but it does make it stand out beautifully

 

  

 

 

I'm thrilled to announce that there's only the smallest bit of soldering left to go on the inside of Mimi's Lamp which means that within the next two weeks we will get to see the end result of her months of hard work. I have no doubt that it will all have been worth it!

 

 

 

Bee's Long Tall Iris has all of its glass cut out and it's almost completely foiled save for six pieces.  She'll be soldering this little gem when she comes back in and that's a certainty!  (I am going make a suggestion though...)

 

 

 

 

Barbara's got the front side of her Christmas Alligator soldered and then flipped it over to do the back side just before calling it a day.  That means that this will most likely be completed when she comes back in since the first side soldered so quickly. 

 

  

 

Mary Grace has moved on over to a series of five more Picture Frames. She's made them before and she's determined to do it all again.  In fact, she's already got one of them well under way this week. There's even a chance that this first one will be completed when she comes back.

 

  

 

 

With her pieces all foiled Julie is ready to begin soldering her Heron Window!  Her final border is the perfect color and gives the window a nice bright feel.  This window was NOT an easy pattern to tackle but Julie has, without a doubt, shown it who the boss is!

 

 

 

 

Betty's Ribbon Swirl has been cut and ground so she's now ready to begin foiling. The symmetry is strong in this and the fact that Betty has followed the pattern perfectly is what makes this design look so good. Just wait until you see some light behind this.

 

  

 

 

That said, I'm anxiously waiting for this window to be backlit because Keri has already made her Peony Window look amazing even though there's no light behind them yet. With her border all cut she's going to be ready to begin soldering this before you know it

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Susan D has discovered that sometimes looks can be deceiving. You would likely assume that these 24 pieces would be easy to cut as grind but the fact of the matter is that the inside curves on the top of each piece that form the bottom and middle rows have points that break off VERY easily. Most of that curve has to be formed by grinding it out (unless you don't like beautifully connecting pieces the way that Susan D does!)

  

 

 

Lorrie has been making a lot of progress while she's been home working on her Bee and Flowers Window. She's now at the point where she's filling in the background with a clear textured art glass. The green she's used for her leaves is perfection and I believe this window is going to be even nicer than I ever thought it would.

 

 

 

Tracey decided to add another border to her Cross Window and boy did it ever change the look of the window! It looked good before but now it just looks flat out GREAT!  Using the same color that she used for the Cross itself was a stroke of genius and there's just something about it now that suggests an antique stained glass window that you'd find in an ancient Church.

 

 

 

Mary has both sides of her Fish Window soldered which means that all this needs now is to be washed, colored and waxed. There will also be a tad bit of wire work involved to make the hook that this Fish is going after but that will take only a minute or two to add at most. Look to see this as a completed window when we next return.

 

  

 

And lastly, with her border attached and the front side of her Polygonal Window all soldered Sheri has flipped her window over so she can solder the back side while she's at home throughout the week. This is nearly completed and only needs an initial tacked to it once the soldering has been completed. I think Sheri is just about ready to call this one 'finished'.

 

 

 

As I always respond to our students when they ask if they can do something, "Let’s make it happen!"

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

I'm An Atari Girl

Martha's newest Beveled Cross features a Cardinal in the center unlike her last one which had a rose.  Careful planning and grinding allows this bird to perch steadily within the confines of this graceful cross.

 

 

 

Susan R put the finishing touches on her latest 'Rain Gauge' which I was informed is NOT a rain gauge but a plant holder!  So that means that I mislabeled her last two pieces as well.   This doesn't measure the amount of rain but rather holds a small plant in the glass tube that you can barely see in the center of the piece! 

 

 

Nettie completed the soldering on her third and final Nativity Scene.  Next comes the part where we connect all three together.  We had an idea but I may have to re-think it...  Meanwhile, Nettie is just about finished with a small Cross and Dove Suncatcher as well.

 

 

 

Susan D is making a bird feeder that she will repurpose for use as a bird bath of sorts. She'll simply place a small container in the bottom of this filled with water and then the birds will have their own spa!

 

  

 

 

Tracey is back at work on her Cross Window and is very close to finishing it off.   She already has the center soldered and is now foiling a few remaining border pieces.  This is the part we call the 'home stretch'!

 

 

 

Lorrie's newest window is of a Bee buzzing around four white Daisies. She's grinding as she's cutting and the Bee itself already looks amazing. She also has a flower cut out over on the bottom right but the white glass isn't showing up very well against the white paper that the pattern was drawn on.

 

  

 

 

Barbara is early for Christmas with her Alligator Santa Panel. The pattern itself came from a cookie jar proving that ideas can come from anywhere!

 

 

 

 

Mary Grace has begun a new project and it's a large suncatcher in the shape of a Heart with a Cross in the center of it. As you can see, she's moving right along with it. 

 

 

 

Cindy is back in action and she has her Frog Suncatcher all cut and ground. Rather than wasting time foiling those pieces while in class she opted to work on her Louisiana Suncatcher by cutting out glass for that. She'll foil her Frog at home and then come back in with it ready to be displayed in a window.

 

  

 

 

Betty is working on a pinwheel design or possibly a geometric design.  Or is it a Flowing Ribbon?  Who knows, but it sure is pretty and colorful.  It's an old Spectrum Glass Pattern but I can't find any text on it that explicitly reveals what it is.  Nonetheless, it's gonna be a looker.

 

 

 

Kandise has her Treble Clef and Heart Suncatcher  ground and foiled which means that she'll be soldering this (as well as completing it) when she returns.  There's something about this that I really like.

 

  

 

 

Catherine foiled and tacked together the background glass for her Traditional Stained Glass Window and then picked out and strip cut the remaining 16 pieces of her border. After she skimmed them on the grinder she bagged them in four separate zip lock bags (left, top, right, and bottom) and took them along home with her so she can come in next week ready to tack and solder! 

 

 

 

Cheryl soldered the back side of her Fleur De Lis Window which means that we will, without a doubt, see this hanging up with some light behind it when we see her again next week. All it needs now are some hooks and then she'll be ready to wash and color this.

 

 

 

Bee has the first of her borders cut and ground for her Long Tall Iris Window and her color choice is spectacular! She's going to follow this up with a slightly wider clear textured border and then she'll be able begin soldering. This has always been a favorite window of mine and when I get some free time I think I'll make one again.

 

 

Kerry has all of the grinding done on her stunning Flower Window and her use of and iridized clear background blends perfectly with the colors she has used in all of her flowers. Composition is just one part of a window. Color choices, no matter how nice the pattern, will either make or break a window. In this case it definitely makes it!

 

 

 

Lara's first Flower Panel is all set to get its stamen attached when she comes back in since she got all of her soldering completed this week. The stamen won't take long at all which means that next week we are going to be over run with beautiful completed windows!

 

 

 

As I was saying, here's another window that only needs some solder added to it which in turn means that Let's Clear Abstract Window will also be featured as a finished window next week. I know that because Let would never allow a window that's this close to completion just sit around all week. This will be soldered by her while she's at home for sure!

 

 

 

Then Linda F got all of the soldering for her Vegetable Window completed while in class but we still need to get some hooks on it. Once that's done she'll wash it, color it and then hang it up as a completed project.

 

 

 

With the front of her Fish Window soldered Mary has flipped it over and begun working on the putting lead onto the back side. Since she got the front soldered in just one class I have no doubt that she'll get this finished during her next class which amounts to another completed window!

 

 

 

Sheri has her project all tacked together save for the border. She would have had that completed this week but we didn't have the frame that this will fit into and we therefore didn't want to cut any border glass without being able to double check the measurements. Measure twice, cut once! 

 

 

 

And here at the end of this weeks post we look at the fancy Flower Pot that Susan R is about to make. She got her pattern traced out onto card stock this week which means that she'll begin cutting glass when she returns!

 

 

 

 

And with that all said, thank you for your time!

  

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks