Bayou Salé GlassWorks: I Bleed For My Art

Our tip of the week involves grinder maintenance. People clean their grinders all the time and they make sure that their water level is just right but something that almost always gets neglected is the sponge that rest behind the grinding wheel. This should be removed and thoroughly washed out every time that you clean out the grinder bed (if not more often). Glass particles get trapped in the sponge which can prevent water from reaching the grinding head which leads to chipped glass and dull wheels. Remember to clean that sponge out! Just hold it under running water and keep squeezing it and releasing it until it's soft again.

So Jeannette has completed her Dive Shark Window and it certainly gets the point across that those beatific waters aren't safe. Not being a diver I had no clue what this stood for but numerous students have asked about this window by name which shows me just how little I know abut things!

Tasha finished her Poppies Window and the Red on White color scheme certainly makes this stand out in a very vibrant way. Next week she'll likely finish her Umbrella Lady Window.

Rowena finished two multicolored suncatchers this week, a rainbow Heart and a rainbow Spiral design. Drawing up the spiral design taught me a lot about circular patterns and how to get them even all around so this project was a learning experience for both Rowena and myself.

Betty finished two Bevel/Heart Suncatchers which I've always loved but that no one has ever made before. Technically it's only made with one piece of glass that has to be cut (the heart) but the hard part is getting the solder to look good along all of those edges-- especially where the circular globs join the bevels.

Angie finished three suncatchers herself. Her pair of Toucans turned out exceptionally well-- bright and colorful. And, of course, her Dragonfly turned out great as well.

The last of our completed projects this week is Betty's latest Sunflower Window. What more can I say about this that hasn't been said already. When it comes to Betty's Sunflowers, they're GREAT!

Annette's Fido The Poodle is almost all cut out now. She's balancing her color scheme nicely and this is already turning heads throughout our classes before it's even been ground and fitted together!

Becky B's worked some more on her Springfield Fish Window. It's very close to being completely ground now and once that's done we'll make new background pattern pieces and then cut them out.

Once Jeannette waxed her Dive Shark Window she started working on a Guitar Window with Musical Notes. She's cut the neck of the guitar out of one piece of glass and once that's been ground and fitted into place she'll cut it into multiple sections to make the frets.

Belinda is already halfway through grinding her Humming Bird window because she's been very busy grinding away while at home between classes. This is going to be one colorful yet elegant window.

Melissa started her own version of the Birds On A Wire Panel which, for her, consists of five birds. The best thing about this window is the complete freedom you have with colors. Anything goes!

Cindy's Mermaid is just about ready for soldering but before she does that she'll have to wrap a few more of her border pieces. Her glass choices make this a special window as you can easily spot art glass from far away or close up. It makes a world of difference when it lights up and I can't wait to see this with some light behind it.

Jeff is making steady progress on the second section of his 3 section Window featuring birds and flowers. Now that the humming bird is complete Jeff has this center section pretty much in the bag.

Linda L started a cute Flower Panel and got it all cut and ground in one class. She only needs to wrap it, tack it and then add a border with bevels in the corners. Looking at this I think I have it pictured sideways but I'll know for sure when she gets hooks on it.

Shawn's Autumn Leaves Window is already reminding me of a fall day in Pennsylvania. With just a few leaves cut out you already get a thorough feel for what this window will look like when it's completed. And Shawn's glass cutting abilities have really improved as you can tell by how well things already fit together.

Sheri started working on an Autism Suncatcher which consists of four interlocking puzzle pieces. Anything that interlocks is especially difficult when done in glass and this is no exception. Sheri has three of her pieces fitting together beautifully with just one inside curve and three outside curves left to grind out.

Susan R's Swan has been re-designed and tacked together which means that all she has to do is add her two colored border to this and then solder it.

Mary Grace is just about ready to add a beveled border to her Air Force Window once she wraps that last right bottom corner piece and tacks her background to the logo. It won't be long until we see the red, white and blue color scheme come together.

Susan D has her sailboat ground and has begun wrapping it now. The glass she used for her boat is perfect as it is reeded and looks just like wood when it's lit up. I'm a sucker for blue so this is really appealing to me.

MiMi is wrapping her Seafood Window and her lemon looks delicious! Of course the crabs look great as well as everything else as well. I won't even mention the rose gold trim...

Martha came in and went right to work getting her borders tacked in place and then adding the brass channel around the edges of all her Cross Panels. By the time the night was over she had the front of her four crosses soldered as well.