She Doesn't Like Accolades

Our students certainly are productive.  Each week we have more and more to see, and more and more to write about!  A lot of the students enjoy the other student creations so much that they want to make the same window (with perhaps different colors) for themselves, but lately we've been having a hard time tracking down patterns.  I'd like to remind everyone that if we draw a pattern for you the pattern becomes the property of the shop so others can also benefit from it.  If you want to copy a pattern you can certainly trace it out any time you'd like and then keep that copy for yourself.  Drawing a pattern is a very time consuming deed so please remember to put patterns that we draw for you into one of the pattern containers when you've finished your window.  And do remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!  (Or so says Charles Caleb Colton.)

Let's start this off with two windows that have drawn a lot of attention.  Cindy's Bentley and Beau Dog Windows have officially been completed.  Everyone loves them and thinks that Cindy really captured something in their eyes (which are always difficult to do).  She simply took her time, didn't rush them, and replaced anything that looked wrong whether or not it fit.  As I always say, your pieces may fit together but that doesn't necessarily mean that they line up correctly.  And having pieces line up is the most important thing of all when it comes to making stained glass.  Just ask Bentley or Beau!  Another job well done, Cindy. 

Terry's Pelican Window is 100% Complete and looks 100% perfect.  What a great job she did on this window and although you can't see it in the picture, it's really a perfect perfect size that we don't see very often.  It's smaller than our standard 16 x 20 window size but not small enough to be called a suncatcher.   I love it!

 

Becky B completed her Fleur De Lillie this week but to manage that feat she needed to come in on Wednesday AND Thursday!  As luck would have it we had an opening on Wednesday morning that allowed Becky to come in and get her border wrapped and then tacked onto her window.  She also got the front side soldered as well and then called it quits for the first day of the week with us.  The next morning she returned, finished soldering the back side, washed it, colored it, washed it again, and waxed it.  And the results of these efforts are what you see before.  Wow, what a great job.  This window really shows how changing colors can really effect the overall feel of a window.  It's one way of making sure that the window you made is YOURS!

 

Brenda's newest Beveled Cross Design was a bit easier to make than her last one but that doesn't make it any less attractive.  Once again the overall  design was drawn by Brenda and both the design and craftsmanship is wonderful.  You'll see ANOTHER variation of this further along in the Blog.

 

It's a bird... it's a plane... it's a Candle Holder!   Bonnie wrapped this one up while she was at home and it required not one single touch-up from me at all.  Bonnie's 3D Soldering is perfection and whether she wants to hear it or not I'm giving her one of the two best soldering jobs of the week awards.  Both she and her husband get a free trip to wonderful Yugoslavia! Great job, Bonnie!

  

Ann's Latest Letter Window is complete and she gets an honorable mention for her soldering which has really improved.  Soldering is the worst part when it comes to making stained glass.  If you cut badly you can fix it with the grinder, but there's no covering a bad solder job.  And as you can see this is a GREAT solder job so Ann should be proud of this window.  She must really love those little FDL's in the corners though because her next window is going to have them as well!

Janet came in hoping to get her Rosebud Window completed in time for Easter.  She anxiously (and nervously) began soldering and managed to overcome her worst fear because her soldering gets her the second best soldering job of the week award!  What did I have to touch up?  Nothing!  Janet has really hit a turning point with her stained glass abilities because her soldering is no longer anything that she needs to worry about. There's nothing to complain about with this gorgeous window. And I'm sure she's going to be more relaxed in class now that she knows she's conquered her biggest fear.

 

Check out Winnie The Pooh!  Now that he's all wrapped with foil you can easily see where the lead lines are going to be.  The face paint has been applied so what you're looking at below has not been applied with a marker that will wash off the moment water hits it-- this face is ON THERE!  When Carol comes back in she'll tack this all together and then cut her final piece of sky.  In other words, this window is just about finished!  Carol has really done some great work on this especially when you consider that this is only her second window.  I'm already seeing great things in her future with us.

 

Becky S has made a lot of headway on her Boot Window.  In fact, she has it completely cut out and ground at this point in time.  She's replaced a piece of glass for aesthetic reasons and I agree with her choice 100%. She's going to begin wrapping this while she's at home so it will certainly be finished quickly now.

 

This is a preview of the latest window that Cindy is beginning to work on.  She only got the pattern traced and the paper pattern cut out but she'll start cutting on actual glass for this Magnolia Window before she comes back in.  It's a nice flowing design (The artist is nothing short of amazing) and I have no doubt that Cindy will more than do it justice.

 

And Mary Grace's Large Fleur De Lis Window is moving along wonderfully.  She has the front side almost completely soldered and although she's pointing out flaws to me they are minor flaws that only she would notice.  She'll be working on the back side of this when she returns after Easter so I think she'll be starting another project shortly.

 

Abita, meet lead.  Yep, it's official-- Susan has started tacking her window together which has become so very important at this stage in the game for her.  Especially when I saw the board she had this on bowing as she carried it into the shop this week.  Now her pieces have no chance of getting tossed around and mixed up, and better yet, the window is now solid enough to continue along without having pins in the way.

 

Now meet Scar from The Lion King.  Terry's making this from a drawing that her grandson, Caleb, drew and hoped could be done in stained glass.  Well, I'd be hard pressed to see something that Terry couldn't do and this is turning out beautifully.  Of course, she started off with such a wonderful drawing that it couldn't help but turn out any other way.  I love this window already and it isn't even wrapped yet!

 

This is the latest Beveled Cross Oval that Brenda is making.  It's a tad more fancy than the one she finished up above only because the oval now has flourishes on the top and bottom but other than that it will be very similar.  Nonetheless, when this is completed you will see what a difference six little pieces of glass can make to a window.   There will also be a few pattern adjustments along the way that are common to a second version of a window because, no matter how perfect that first one is, there's always something that the artist sees that will be fixed if it's ever made again.

 

Betty now has all but 2 pieces of glass cut for her Iris Dragonfly Window.   She cut a rectangle of her background glass, placed her flowers on top and then traced around everything.   The background is clear and hard to see in the picture but it's essentially all cut out now.  And the best part of using this method of cutting backgrounds is that she only needs to skim the pieces to make everything fit.  I really like this window and Betty's pretty sure that she's got the border picked out already (and I like the idea she has for it).

 

Linda F got home last week and planed to do some soldering on her window before she brought it back in but then she discovered that she had left her soldering iron here in the shop.  So she took the week off and began soldering this as soon as she got back in class.  She's moving along nicely, too because she already has most of the front side done.   I know her soldering iron went home with her this week so there's a good chance that this will be completed when she comes back in.   I can't wait to see it lit up!

 

Jeanne has her Horse Silhouette all tacked together and has her channel attached.  All that's left to do is solder it and she plans on doing that while she's at home this week.  And rather than waste any time she's taken along a Fleur De Lis Bevel and some glass to use for a background.  It sounds to me like Jeanne is enjoying this!  Me, I'm dying to see her horse completed which could easily be in two more posts.

 

Paul's Iris looks wonderful.  Yes, it's missing a flower petal but that's going to be fixed when she comes back in.  She got everything tacked together and even got the first of her two borders cut and ground.  She's taken this home and will be ready for theat flower petal and final border when she comes back in.  Then it will just need some some solder!

 

Rowena certainly accomplished a lot this week.  She has her Beveled Cross window all cut out and ready for solder!  This is a variation on the smaller windows that Martha made just before Christmas and is the same design that Jeannette is making right now as well.  And we haven't forgotten Jeannette-- more about her at the end of this post.

 

This is Myrt's Square/Rounded Cross window and she's got it all cut and mostly ground.  She's taken it on home with her so she can work on it throughout the week so I would expect some major progress on this when this comes back in.  

 

Bonnie is also in the process of making one of the Square/Rounded Cross windows and this is the cross that will sit in the center of it.  The cross itself is a little different from the one that Myrt is making but the idea is essentially the same.  This week she learned the joys of cutting angled pieces from one another to form borders.  You just have to cut one piece at a time while you grind along the way to ensure perfect fits.

And just look at how cute Linda L's Poodle Window looks.  There's just the neck and seven pieces of background glass left to cut before she surrounds this with bevels and then perhaps a final border.  Linda is already talking about tackling a Mickey Mouse Window next, something that she was afraid of trying earlier but is now certainly ready to accomplish (with ease I might add).

 

And Martha is moving quickly and succinctly through her two Stylized Fleur De Lis.  She even went so far as to place some of her pieces on the glass in ways that would have had me scratching my head on how to  cut them out without breaking anything.  And then she cut them out effortlessly!  Yep, Martha's time has come!

 

So, you might be wondering, "So, where is Jeanette's Cross Window.  I thought you said it would most likely be finished this week?" Well, her window HAS been completed but I'm saving it for the next update which will happen on Wednesday morning (in just 2 short days) since it will be just a small post with only one class being covered due to Easter occuring this coming weekend.  I just want to be sure that I have a completed project to highlight in the Blog and since this post is already filled with windows it will give Jeannette's first window a chance to shine in the spotlight  So look for another update in just 2 short days!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks