Our tip this week is quick and simple. Have you ever had trouble removing pieces from a project after they've been ground and put into place? Of course you have. If your project involves a lot of small pieces (like the one I'm working on) then removing one single piece can lead to a multitude of pieces popping up all around the one you're after. Well there's an easy way to get around this problem and all it requires is a straight pin and your pair of breaker/grozier pliers. Just grab the extreme point of the pin (just a sixteenth of an inch works well) and twist the pin so that the point is at a right angle as in the picture below.
Now get ready for this because Melissa's Sacred Hearts Window is truly a work of art. It's hard to believe that Melissa is one of our newest students because she turns out work that looks as though she's been doing stained glass for years. It's her attention to detail that makes this window special-- that and the excellent choice of colors. The thorns around the entwined stems of roses were made by flattening out some brass channel and them cutting them into triangular shapes which were then soldered into the lead line. It sounds easy enough but as Melissa was putting a bead on them they wanted to flat out of the lead line so they had to be held down by the tip of each point with a sharp wooden dowel. It was a lot of work but the end result is just astounding. She also changed her mind about using green for the border and I must say that the orange/red glass that she used was clearly the correct choice. Beautiful.
Roy finished his Family Crest Window while he was home and brought it in this week so we could see just how wonderfully it turned out. He drew up the pattern for this on his own and did most of the work for it while at home and I have to say that this is a job well done. VERY well done in fact! Anyone would be proud to hang this in their window.
Mary Grace finished working on this delightful Frog Lawn Ornament that she had begun just last week. She's really getting the art of grinding down as her pieces are fitting together wonderfully-- even the deep inside sections that normally give other students so much trouble. This is a cute one for sure!
Jeannette is back! Not only is she back, she also completed her second Beveled Window that has been in the works for a while. Hospital stays have a way of slowing things down but Jeannette has bounced back by completing this window on her first visit back to class. It's elegant and the workmanship is exquisite which is always two tell-tale signs of Jeannette's work.
Betty's newest Madonna and Child Suncatcher is, as always, beautiful. This was made with just five subdued colors of glass giving it a soft look to match it's subject matter.
Barbara H has begun work on a Humming Bird and Fuchsia Window which she's already making great strides with in just one class. She has only 20 pieces left to cut before she starts grinding this and I think those 20 pieces will be cut out before she leaves next week.
Roxane is also back! She's on a roll now so hopefully we'll see her on a regular basis again. This week she completed the foiling of her Compass Rose Window and it's now ready to be tacked together. Although this started off as a round window, Roxane is thinking about squaring it off so it will fit into a door that she has. We'll see what she decides to do with this when she returns next week.
Betty is really in the Christmas Spirit because not only did she completed her Madonna and Child Suncatcher, she also began work on this Noel Window as well. With the striking red background all cut out this will be nearing completion when we see hit again in three weeks. Yep, Betty is on the road yet again!
Linda L got the turtle that she was working on last week all ground and tacked together. The glass she used for this turtle is some of the toughest glass I've ever tried to cut so you know that Linda spend a lot of time at the grinder to get it fitting together as perfectly as it does. This week she started grinding a pair of Dolphins and things will surely come together in a big way once those are tacked together.
Terry's been working on a Spiderman Window at home and this week she brought it in to continue grinding and wrapping. There's no doubt that this is Spiderman and that's a good thing because I've been online and have seen some Spiderman windows that were almost completely unrecognizable save for the colors! Needless to say, Terry is doing fantastic work here.
Tracey started work on a new window this week and since she took the pattern home with her last week she was able to come back to class completely prepared. When she walked in the door she headed over to a sheet of red glass that she purchased last week and started tracing and cutting out her new Cardinal Window. Once she finished with the red glass she moved along to the magnolia petals which she completed before class ended. It certainly looks as though this project will be another quick window for Tracey!
This week we also got to see the humble beginnings of Lara's newest African themed window. Based on a mosaic piece of art, Lara is turning it into stained glass. Of course, we'll be showing you how it evolves into a completed window in the weeks to come.
Susan D is grinding and assembling all of the pieces to her Tree Of Life Window and it's already looking to be a show stopper. Her use of color here is impeccable and the pattern (that she redesigned herself) is right on target to be a beautiful window regardless of the colors used. Alas, her choice of colors is the icing on this Tree Of Life's cake.
After completing her Beveled Window Jeannette moved on to this next similar project-- a beveled Cross Window. This week she wrapped all of the bevels and next week she'll cut the inner blue pieces and a border to finish it all off.
Susan R got her Circular Beach Sandals Panel all cut out the last time we saw her and this week it only took her 40 minutes to grind everything because she used the pieces next to the piece she was working on as a template to grind from. This small and simple trick saves so much time and fixes so many cutting issues-- I just can't stress it enough. Before the class ended Susan had everything wrapped and it looks as though this will be completed upon her return.
Beth got the center section of her Bird Of Paradise Window all tacked together and then proceeded to cut, skim, wrap, and attach a border. Now that all of that is done she's taken her window home with her to begin soldering it. She doesn't have a channel on the outside edge yet but all of the glass that makes up this window has been attached so she's free to solder the front side and then flip it over to solder the back.
Patrice is just three weeks into her Stylized Sunflower Window and she's ready to start soldering it! Patrice has some mad cutting and grinding skills because she just flies through that kind of work. And did I mention her foiling abilities? They're as impressive as her window is!
Brenda's Freedom Prosthetics Window is nearing completion as she really only has the blue part of the flag left to add to it. The blue glass has been picked and she's painted white stars on it as well for that extra 'umph' factor! The glass is in the Kiln now so the paint will be fired onto the glass and ready to be cut into shape when Brenda returns.
Becky S has all of the glass cut for her 3 Geometric Windows and here you can see how they will be installed. The two designs compliment each other perfectly and Becky has made sure that the colors help tie this trio of windows together as well. Hopefully these pieces will only need to be skimmed before she can start wrapping her glass. She's used a straight edge and a pistol grip cutter while cutting her pieces so (as you can see) everything lines up beautifully already even though they haven't been ground.
Mary Grace also got far enough along on this Tulip Suncatcher that she can already begin soldering it. That means that we'll see this delicate flower design completed upon her return.
Now this is something that you don't see every day (just once a week if you're a regular reader of this Blog). The Grateful Dead's Logo has never looked better if I do say so myself! And it's all because of the wonderful work that Carol has put into it. All of her lines match perfectly and the use of pure black for the border that she cut and added this week was perfect. I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be completed when we next see it.
Cindy has moved along to the letters on her Rosie The Dog Window. This week she cut out the letters that spell out ROSIE, ground them, wrapped them and even tacked them together. Next week we'll see those letters get their background glass attached and then Cindy will move to the name on the top of the window.
Mary came into class, assumed a position at a grinder and spent the night grinding her Dreamcatcher Window that she's moved back to. She's ground upward along the right hand side and wow is she ever making great progress. With almost half of this ground I believe that she'll be completing this window MUCH faster than I previously thought she would!
Angie is making her own version of the Stylized Sunflower design and she's going with an inner beveled border. Her colors are vibrant and her background really SPARKLES!
Shelley has all of the grinding done on her Buxom Wine Ladies Window and you can now clearly see just what this window looks like. I've got to say that it's every bit as cute as the Chef Window that she made just a few weeks ago. With most of this wrapped I'll wager a bet that this gets its borders attached when Shelley returns to class next week.
And that about wraps things up this week!
Paul
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