Last week I showed how removing redundant lead lines and curving others could make your windows look better. If you missed that example here it is again. The pattern on the left came from the internet. The problem I see with this design first and foremost is that there are too many lead lines running from the flower to the outside edge of the glass. Secondly, they are almost entirely straight which makes them look as though the glass was broken accidentally. The pattern on the right reduces the number of lead lines but keeps the flower intact as it was in the original pattern. Already, the pattern on the right looks better (although in all honesty I'd remove or shorten even more of those lines) but we can make it look even better by altering the flower itself.
Embrace curves. Glass breaks in more or less a straight line so curving your cuts prevents your window from looking clunky and fractured. Once again the pattern on the left is the original whereas the pattern on the right has been completely redrawn by exaggerating every curve in the original design. There's a very old style charm about the original pattern but any experienced stained glass artist will tell you that it appears to have been made by a novice. All I'm saying is that you need to overdraw your curves for a more realistic and eye-pleasing look. Also, all curves will straighten out a bit after they are leaded so don't be afraid to overcompensate to achieve a more delicate, flowing design. Zoftig flowers are beautiful!
First up we have Cheryl who completed her Lighthouse Window with time to spare. Her border choices are perfection as they add to the window without drawing attention away from the main focus of the design. While making this Cheryl recognized some problem areas and then fixed them rather than turning a blind eye to them and that's exactly how I like to see my students handle a problem!
Sheri's Peeking Cat Hanging will most surely find a home resting against the side of a window somewhere. This is so adorable! I have to say that Sheri's cutting and grinding is spot on here in this festive cat. I also love the abstract color placement which gives this so much style.
Bee finished her Flower Window and does it ever sparkle! She made this window 100% completely on her own not wanting help with any part of the creation of this beauty. This window is only 12 inches tall and wide so you know that these pieces were tough to work with yet Bee pulled it all off flawlessly.
Barbara's Tulip Panel is another small project measuring only 7 inches wide. As I said before, this is part of a series of flower panels that Barbara is making. Next week she'll begin work on a small Tulip panel made in various shades of purple.
Cindy finished her Septet of Multi Colored Feathers (a good vocabulary is a good thing) and do they ever look lovely indeed. And they're made out of scrap glass so how could she lose with these?
Helen put the finishing touches on her latest LSU Window. She worked hard on getting her outside edges perfectly straight which allowed her border to go on flawlessly as you can see for yourself.
Next up we have two more of Susan D's Spiraling Christmas Trees complete with decorative wire, a star tree topper, and a single hanging ball on the bottom right. She's used iridized glass in both of these and I have to say that she's got these down to a science now.
Linda L made three more Framed Bevel Suncatchers (although I only have one pictured below) and she is ready to move along to something else. That something else will be seen a little later on in this post.
Meanwhile, Cindy is making a gradual move from Bird Feathers to Butterfly Wings. These wings have a lot of detail but that's the way that Cindy loves to work. Small pieces put a big smile on her face so this Butterfly pattern should have Cindy absolutely beaming!
Linda L is back to working on widows and this American Flag and Cross Window is more than well under way. It looks like Linda only has to cut out the red stripes of the flag and then she'll be ready to begin grinding.
Well, I'll be. First my Aunt sent me a picture of a Cat on a Moon suncatcher and then Shelley walked in the door with the pattern in her hand and her glass all picked out. Not only that but a second student also showed me the picture saying that she wanted to do one as well. When it rains it pours. That said, this is ready to be wrapped and soldered and should be finished upon Shelley's return.
Betty's Transom Window went together quickly and efficiently as she left with her entire background cut and ground! This window won't get a border so all Betty needs to do now is wrap this, tack it, and then solder it together. Part of the design isn't showing at this point because it will only become visible when the window has been soldered. In other words, there's more to this than currently meets the eye.
Susan R's Flower Teapot Panel is also tacked together and ready for solder. She's another student who is making numerous decorative panels for a wrought iron frame that can be found in her yard. Changing out the panels is a great way for her to change things up each season or for whenever she wants to look at something different.
When Judy M left last week she had cut out all of the glass for her first window. This week she spent her time at a grinder and ended her class with a completely and perfectly ground Cardinal! I have got to say that I'm very impressed with how quickly Judy has caught on and can't wait to see this hanging up.
Speaking of cardinals, Tracey finished all of the grinding on her Cardinal Window and then set upon wrapping each of those pieces. We discovered one piece of leaf that was mis-cut as background glass but Tracey will bring in some more of her green glass next week and then we will fill in that missing hole this complete this bird.
Ann got her Cross Window all tacked together and only needs to work on her borders now. She's decided to go all out on this one and go with a triple border. A triple border with wrap around corners! What's that you ask? I doubt we'll be able to fully show you what wrap around corners are next week because they can be somewhat time consuming and tricky but I'm going to say that you'll be able to see then two weeks from now when each layer is assembled.
Melissa's Calico Wine Cats got both of it's borders this week starting with a thin white border to finish off the illusion of the window frame within a window. To be honest, I wasn't sure how this would look with a second border but I must say that I like it VERY much! Just wait until you see this lit up.
As for MiMi, well, what can I say. She's still as busy as a bee with her honeycomb windows and will be for quite some time. That said, the precision on these is certainly impressive, is it not?
Mary has begun soldering her Dove and Cross Window this week saw her get every piece of glass cut, ground, foiled, and tacked. Once that was done she began soldering the front side of this stunning window. Once she has this soldered we'll add a circular Zinc channel to it and then it will be out the door for its final trip home with her!
These are Susan D's remaining Christmas Trees. Actually she has the two completed tree's that we saw earlier in this post on the board as well). I suspect she'll have more of these finished when she comes back in.
And this is the part where I regret to say that Rowena escaped without my getting a picture of her LOVE window. I'm thinking it could very well be completed when she returns since it was all wrapped and ready to go when she walked out the door. Look for LOVE next week!
Paul
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