The
water you add to your grinder acts as a coolant and is picked up and
thrown in the direction that the head is spinning. This causes a river of water to form and run back into the grinder basically on one side of the wheel. Since water will wash off your marker line you should always place the line where the water won't wash over it until AFTER that section of the glass has been ground. In other words, pay attention to whether you should be sliding your glass across the grinding wheel from the left to the right or vice versa.
Sometimes the sponge will cause the water to pool on the opposite side so pay attention. Watch where the water is flowing and grind accordingly!
Up first in our completed section is Beth's Sand Dollar Window which really turned out to be spectacular. The minimal use of color really helped make this a stand out window and her work is top notch. With just a hint of color in the iridized inner border and the use of two different clear textures for the background, Beth couldn't lose with this!
Check out Jeannette's J Window. You might think that the J stands for Jeannette but you'd be wrong-- it actually stands for Jillian (who's just a baby) and who will surely be thrilled with this window years from now when she understands that it was made especially for her. Right now I know her mother is going to love having it hanging in Jillian's room.
Jeannette completed her 'J' window as soon as she came into class so she also had time to finish soldering her Cross Suncatcher as well. If that weren't enough she also managed to get get hooks on both her Dove and Minnie Mouse Suncatchers as well! Now THAT'S production!
Terry went above and beyond with her American Flag window. She used a Cricut Cutter to make a stencil for the stars and then stuck it onto a blue piece of glass. She then used white enamel glass paint to fill in each star and then removed the stencil around each individual star before the paint could set too fast and tear. It was difficult and tedious work but when she was finished she popped the glass into the kiln and then had permanent stars appear on her glass. She then positioned the blue glass, cut it to fit and this is the end result. Stunning, isn't it?
Angie put the finishing touches on her Unicorn Window and her subtle use of iridized glass for the mane of the unicorn was a perfect choice especially since the background glass is made up of the colors in the iridized mane. Subtle is what it's all about of you ask me, and this panel proves it.
Carol got another in her series of Inspirational Hearts Windows completed this week. I feel almost foolish telling you that it's a Hope Window when you can clearly see that for yourself. I'm trying to talk her into doing COMPASSION next but she's clearly got this thing about too many letters in one window...
Well we haven't seen one of these 3D Butterflies done in a while but Rowena fixed that by making a beautiful yellow and orange Butterfly this week. You know, I have an idea for the next time someone does one of these. I just don't know why I didn't think of it sooner!
Next up we have Betty who made a second Noel Window. Although it is extremely similar to the last one that she made they are not identical because this one has a much darker green border surrounding it. I'm pleased to pass along the fact that Betty is currently off overseas and we hope she has the time of her life!!!
Well now, that may be all that we have to look at in terms of finished projects this week but we are far from the end of this post. Now we look at what's under construction starting with Myrt's Address Window. Her entire address is basically spelled out in this short and simple design. She's going to make the three circled sections first and once they're tacked together she'll add the background and then her double border. I must say that I really like this design but I also must say that I came up with it for her after she gave me the ideas of a 2 with cherries on either side of it. I might be a bit biased.
Barbara H got her Mary and Child Panel all ground and even foiled. She was going to tack it together but didn't want to start adding lead until she was ready to really begin soldering the entire window so she'll do that when she returns next week. This is a very good habit to get into in general.
As you can see, Patrice is moving right along on her Humming Bird and Morning Glories Window. She's even utilized some of the lines in the purple glass to make the petals of her flowers look more realistic. Patrice has ordered a grinder so you know she's into it now. Look out!
Sheri is making quick work on her Coffee Window as she got the bottom cup and table almost completely ground before she left class. A few days after she'd left I got a phone call from her asking if she could drop by to pick up her window so she could work on it at home. I can't wait to see what she walks in the door with when she comes back to class.
Although you can't see it the background for Cindy's Rosie the Dog Window is all cut, ground, wrapped, and tacked together. That means that this window is ready for it's two borders. This is actually a very large window as you might assume by the amount of text in it. It's nearly impossible to do small letter in glass.
Eggplant. That's the secret word behind this stunning Industrial Fleur De Lis that MiMi is now making. All that you see below is the sum of just one nights work. Also, all of the color that this window will incorporate has all been cut out already as the remaining pieces will be cut from clear textures. O,h and there will be heavy lead lines as well. VERY heavy!
Susan R has changed up her Woman Emerging Window ever so slightly by adding a border to it. You can't see it yet but you will next week after she gets all of her background wrapped and tacked together. The background glass consists of 17 pieces but we cheated a bit and made cutting and grinding them very, very easy.
With only a few lines left to go on her Underwater Scene, Linda L will surely complete this upon her return. All it needs now are a few more straight lead lines and then a few baths to clean this up and hang it for its final photo shoot with us. Just for the record, this is another window that's far bigger than the picture implies.
Mary got her final border attached to her Dream Catcher Window and even has the front side of it soldered. She'll flip this over and get that back side upon her return to class and maybe, just maybe, get to take it home depending on how the soldering goes. But soldering isn't something that you rush because if you do you end up having to re-solder which takes even longer. Still, I never rule anything out.
Tracey began grinding her latest Cardinal Window and the left side of it is fitting together perfectly. She wasn't thrilled with the middle feather of the tail so Tracey is leaving that out and will re-cut the piece so it fits better. The second time is easily the charm for her as this window is flying together.
Susan D brought in an amber glass that perfectly matched some of the leaves in her Tree Of Life and once that was attached she got the final border cut. She's decided to use a very heavy mottled piece of glass that has ALL of the colors of her leaves in it. All she needs to do is skim the final border on the grinder, wrap the pieces, and then get ready to begin soldering.
What we have below is the same Duck with an entirely new look about it. Carol is doing this one and I've only just realized that I had no problem discerning who made which duck! I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll see both of these completed when we return next week.
Becky can now breath a sigh of relief as the third and final window in her Trio of Frank Lloyd Wright Windows is all ground and finished being cut. All she needs to do now is skim her border pieces and then attach them before she flips this over and starts soldering the back side of this window. The end is near.
Lastly we have Brenda's Aeroscope which only needs its two image wheels soldered together. You can easily see one of them in the picture below but the second one is harder to see since it's made up all nothing but clear textures. She's taken them home to wrap and when she comes back in this Airplane will certainly ready for take off.
That about wraps things up here. We certainly had a lot of completed projects this week and we also have a lot of new projects started as well. There's never a dull minute here in the Bayou when it comes to stained glass classes. Come back next week and I'll show you some more.
Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks
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