The Drunk Of Cocodrie

I promised a tip this week and I actually have two of them which may seem simple, but numerous students over the past 2 or 3 weeks have said that I never specifically stated these important issues:

1)  If a piece is hanging over the line on the pattern you MUST grind it so that it stays within its lines.  Once one piece is off it can cause other pieces to stray over the lines which in turn causes others to do the same.   The lines on the pattern are there for a reason.  Follow them.

2)  When you are at the grinder you get to control how much glass comes off of the piece you are grinding by adjusting the amount of pressure you apply to it.  The harder you press, the more you grind off.  Learning how to utilize pressure is the key to grinding quickly and efficiently.

Ok, with that out of the way let's look at the biggest window we've seen completed since we re-started  classes.  Yes, it's finished!  Susan R's Seafood Window has seen the light of day and it looks stunning.  This is the largest Window that Susan has ever made but she never gave up and rushed through it.   She wanted this to be a showcase piece and it surely is.

 

Susan D put together this 3D Fairy and figured out how to tack the wings on all on her own.  The hardest part in making these is that if the wings are off it will hang crooked.  This one, as you can see, hangs perfectly.

 

Angie finished up the work on her first Dragonfly Lawn Ornament and it's a fine piece indeed.  She used a lot of clear glass in this but kept the body solid which helps hide the stake that supports this in a flower pot.

 

Also, Linda L finished 4 more Bird Lawn Ornaments, two of which are pictured here.   The lead beaks these birds sport may be hard to see but when you see these in person they really add an extra bit of charm.

 

And Betty wrapped up another Mary and Child Suncatcher.  These go very quickly for Betty which is a good thing because she can't seem to make them fast enough.

 

Melissa is back and she cut out the arms of her cross which had inspirational phrases fired onto them, and then ground the entire cross before calling it a night.  Who wastes time?  Not Melissa!

 

Mary's back and her round Magnolia Window made huge incredible strides towards completion this week as she was able to cut out all of the leaves and the petals as well!  All that's left to cut out are about 11 pieces of clear background glass after which Mary can begin grinding.    

 

 

MiMi has begun working on a Combat Vet Paratrooper Window and in just one class she managed to first trace and cut out her pattern pieces.  Once that was done she cut the background and the parachute cords out of actual glass.  I have a sneaking suspicion that this will go pretty quickly for her.

 

Jeannette began work on this Cross Suncatcher and she already has it ready for solder.  This is probably the most popular Cross pattern that we have and Jeannette can knock it out as if it were just four pieces of glass rather than 15.

 

Roxane is also moving briskly through the creation of her Angel Window.   With just a few pieces left to cut out in her robes, this will undoubtedly be ready to be grind when she comes back in.

 

 

With all of her glass now ground and fitting together Linda F is ready to begin wrapping each of the pieces that make up her latest Butterfly Window.  Look at all of those pins.  It's a glorious sight!

 

Lisa's Butterfly Emergence Window has all of its glass cut, ground, wrapped and tacked together.  She's all set now to solder this piece and then hang it up!  You've got to love how perfect that circle and the border is.

 

Belinda is almost finished with her Oval Iris Window and as you can see it's fitting together wonderfully.   She doesn't have the actual Iris petals cut yet so she's begun grinding from the bottom up.   I think we'll see those pretty Irises get cut out when she comes back in.

 

Susan D got four of the Fish for her Pelican piece just about finished while she was here this week.  I may be wrong but I think she only has to wash and color these now.  Next week I'll show you the Pelican itself and get ready to be impressed-- it's a biggie!

 

Kerry's LSU/Tiger Eyes Window is another project that only needs to be soldered now.  You can't see the pupils in the eyes right now but when they have light behind them they really come to life.  I'll explain how we do that when you see the finished piece.

 

Shelley's Titus Window is sooooo very close to being completely ground.  I love the red sunglasses.  They bring Sally Jesse Raphael to my mind when I see them!  She may very well get this tacked together when she comes back in.

 

That's not one but two(!) Franklin Street Lights that you see here.   Martha needs another pair and she's making them the smart way-- by cutting the two out at the same time.  She may be cutting down the overall size of the window as well, but we'll see what she decides in our next post.

Tracey  began work on a completely new Cardinal design and she's decided to leave off the branch in the upper left corner.  With her colors all picked out and some of her pattern pieces traced out Tracey will begin cutting glass when she comes back in.  And just in case you missed it, she already cut out the brown branch pieces that the cardinal is sitting on.

 

Lastly, we look at the bevel layout for a Bevel Cluster Window that Barbara H will be start when she comes back next week.   She's taken these home with her to wrap and next week I think she'll manage to get the center all cut out.  These beveled windows get made quickly!

 

And that wraps things up this week!

Paul
Bayou Salé  GlassWorks