Complicated, Yet Easy to Make

Let made a Tulip  Window that's visually striking even though it uses only three small 1"x1" pieces of color.   Her use of clear textures is what really makes this stand out as she worked with the levels of contrast between each clear texture to give her window both depth and definition.  Excellent!   

 

With her Logo Window officially completed Mary Grace can now breath a sigh of relief.  Text is a difficult thing to do (in stained glass) and MG will certainly attest to that fact  now that she's completed 3 lines of text that each stand only three inches tall.   I worried about her mental wellness as she was doing that last character filled line but she came through with flying colors.  That said, I'll bet she's thrilled that her daughter-in-law's business isn't located in Ponchatoula!

 

 

 

Let also graced us with this beautiful flowing Ladyslipper Window this week.  The pink flower and green leaves are perfectly framed by a pastel green border with hints of pink running throughout it.   With Let it's all about matching colors and contrasting textures.

  

 

 

This Squirrel is not only a lawn ornament but a functional lawn ornament as well since it doubles as a rain gauge!  Looking at the gauge near the tail you can tell that Susan R made this to stand about 14 inches tall so it won't easily be tripped on in the yard (although I'm sure she'll place it some place where that couldn't possibly happen no matter what the size).   This is as cute as it can possibly be and Susan is contemplating making another of these using gray glass to change up the color a bit.

  

 

 

And here we see another outdoor hanging that is functional as well.  Roxane's Street Address Window came out looking so good that she's already working on a second one (only with different numbers.)  And no, it won't hang in front of the same house-- that would be confusing!

 

  

 

 

These Snowman faces are fast becoming the rage in our Tuesday morning class with this being the second one we've seen done in as many weeks.  Betty used a vibrant Christmas Green glass for the scarf and the hat band rather than red and it works wonderfully.

 

 

 

Kerry got a lot of work done on his Large Butterfly this week by completing all of the grinding on it which in turn means that this is ready to be foiled.   Kerry won't be making this into a window so we had to make sure that the weren't any hinge points between the body and the wings.   Not only is the body an irregular shape (which helps reduce the chances of folding or hinging) but it's also segmented which means that we can run two or more pieces of rebar through it from the left to the right which will ensure that this remains solid.

 

  

 

MiMi's not only completed the grinding on her Unicorn Crown-- she's also begun foiling it as well.   She's moving quickly on this and when it's completed (which won't be long now) she'll get back to working on a new, bigger, better Hexagon (hexa-long) Window!

 

 

 

Cindy's newest Cross Suncatcher is made with one of my favorite color combinations-- a clear texture and royal blue.  She got it all cut out this week and once this is ground you'll more easily see just why I love this color combination so much. Actually, I think you can see why already!

  

 

 

After getting all of her Cardinal cut, ground, and wrapped, Judy tacked it all together and then worked on cutting up the assorted strips that will make up the intricate border of this window.  That border consists of three different colors which form unique patterns as it winds around the window.  There are only seven pieces of red left to cut so she's making great time on getting this all together.

 

  

 

 

Martha couldn't get the beach out of her head when she saw Melissa's beach themed suncatchers so now she's making the same set for herself.  And like Melissa, Martha's are shaping up to be one spectacular collection of suncatchers! 

  

 

 

Bee's Deer Head Window is fast approaching the point where it will need a border around it.   She drew up the background forest scene behind the head this week and even managed to get it all cut out as well.  She's layering colors throughout her background which adds more complexity, but more importantly adds more style to the overall design.

  

 

 

Steve spent the day drawing up his next window which will reside in an antique window frame consisting of six panes.  Careful placement of the female subject matter was called for since he certainly didn't want the woman to be split through her face.  I think his end result in her placement is perfection! The pencil drawing is hard to see but if you click on it you'll be able to see a larger, clearer rendition of his pattern.

 

  

 

 

Melissa has her Kingdom Hearts Window all ground and wrapped which means that she'll be adding a border to this when she comes back in.   After that the soldering will go quickly and she'll move on to possibly making a kaleidoscope.

 

 

 

Here we see that Let is busy making a Frosty The Snowman of her own, this one in pink.   These cool guys are sprouting up all over class!

 

  

 

 

Shelley's Cat Window is nearing completion and its eyes will be dropped into place upon her return.   First she will cut, grind, wrap, and tack the three pieces that make each eye and then we'll trace around the eyeballs on the glass of the cats face so that they are positioned exactly as she wants them.  This is an easy way to handle the tricky positioning of facial elements.

 

  

 

 

Barbara  has five Christmas Ornaments and a Cardinal under way with two of them being ground this week.   Gearing up for a show is never easy and Barbara is certainly putting in a lot of overtime making all of these suncatchers.

 

  

 

 

With all of the black trim cut for her Razorback, June is not only ready to get to work grinding all of her pieces, she's ALREADY grinding her pieces!  Look closely and you can easily see that she's working from the bottom up as the mouth of this hog is already fitting together beautifully.

 

  

 

 

Cheryl's  LSU Tower has all of its glass cut out and she's now ready to wrap that last purple border with copper foil.  She won't be here next week but this will most likely get some actual soldering done on it when Cheryl does return.

 

  

 

 

Susan D is so very close to having all of her Peacock wrapped in foil.  I heard her talking about how it had slid a bit on her pattern so that it's no longer centered with what will be the background glass but that's not a problem at all.  A simple adjustment will handle that quicker than you can find a piece of glass that has fallen onto the shop floor.

 

  

 

 

Betty G is still working on her Mardi Gras Jester Window and just needs to decide what color the face should be.  Myself, I believe that white is the more traditional color but we'll se what Betty decides when we return in our next post.

 

  

 

And here's Angie's rendition of Frosty the Snowman.   She's going with a traditional red scarf and hat band for her Christmas Window. Through these Frosty the Snowman Windows you can easily tell who the Tuesday morning clan is!

 

 

 

 

Lastly, we can see that Sheri is close to having all of her text surrounded by glass.  Once that's finished the rest of the background pieces will consist of nothing but nice simple straight cuts.  It looks like the end is near!

  

 

And there you have it!

 

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Confirm or Conform

We're starting things off this week with Cindy's quick, efficient, and stylish Fleur De Lis Panel which she did in gold, black and clear.  She begin with the idea of a black border but when the strips were cut she instantly saw that it was just too dark and that she had to break it up with some pieces of gold as well.

 

 

 

And then Cindy made a Witch Hat as well!   The clear spider web pieces not only dress the piece up but provide essential stability since they block hinge points that would cause this hat to fall apart without them.   She painted the spider webs onto the iridized glass with black nail polish and the end result is eerily marvelous!

 

Meanwhile, Sheri has skipped Halloween and headed straight for Christmas with her Long Tall Santa hanging and her Frosty the Snowman panel.   These are border-less only because they are small pieces thus allowing hooks that aren't soldered into lead lines to support them.

 

Angie got both of her Eye of The Tiger Windows finished and the two different color schemes make them two 'different' windows, even though they were made from the same pattern.   It's always fun to play with different colors and Angie certainly isn't afraid to try anything new and different.

 

 

 

Linda L put the finishing touches on her last two three dimensional Succulents.   They reside perfectly in these small flower pots and the best news is that they can't possibly be killed due to lack of water!

 

 

 

Ann got her third Angel Winged Heart completed and this one was made with hooks so it can be hung in a window.  She can easily make one of these from start to completion in just one class.

 

 

 

Betty's on a Grinch kick again because they sell as quickly as she can make them!   There's only one pictured here but she actually walked out of the door with five of these stink, stank, stunk Grinch hands! (And if you don't get that reference perhaps it's time for you to watch the 25 minute cartoon again )

Butterflies are a staple of stained glass classes and Helen is getting her fill of them!  She's made two more in different blues these week with each one emerging from a different pattern as well.   These are actually Flower Pot Decorations and will reside in any flower pot for nice added touch!

 

 

 

Martha's on a stained glass warpath having cut out six different beach themed suncatchers in assorted colors.   They aren't even ground yet but they certainly look like they already fit together wonderfully to me!

  

 

Linda F got all of her New York Yankees Window cut out and there is no mistaking this window for anything else.  She's done a wonderful job getting everything to curve gracefully and she's our second student this week who has a window cut out and fitting together almost perfectly before any of the pieces have touched the grinder.

  

 

Judy began work on a Cardinal Window and by the time class ended she'd not only cut all of her pieces but managed to grind them all as well!  It looks like she'll be able to wrap and then tack this together when she returns after which she'll  work out that  complex border the holds this all together

  

 

Betty not only completed Grinch Hands but also worked on another Jester Window as well.  She's done this pattern at least one other time in the past and perhaps even more than once.  In other words, this should go fairly quickly for her since she already knows the ins and the outs of the pattern which include all of the trouble spots.

 

 

 

With her background all cut and tacked into position on her LSU Tower Window Cheryl will be ready to add her double border upon her return.   Once that's finished it won't take her long to solder this and then take it home.

 

 

 

MiMi has her Unicorn Crown all ground and it's looking magical indeed.   This will be going to a little girl who loves Unicorns  and who will certainly love this as well!  Oh, and there's going to be some sparkly beads added to provide a tasteful amount of bling to the finished project.

 

  

 

 

Susan D worked top to bottom while grinding her Peacock and completed the grinding in record time by doing it that way.  Now she is taking the same approach when wrapping her pieces in copper foil.  As you can see, she's working from the head on down to the tail.   Now that she's working in the middle of the bird, the most intricate (and smallest pieces) are upon her but that will turn into large and easy to manage pieces soon!

 

  

 

Let's Clear Textures Tulips are so beautiful.  It's a shame the camera can't capture just how much this window sparkles!   Hopefully when we see the completed piece next week we can get some proper lighting behind this stunning work of art.

 

 

 

Susan R has her Squirrel all soldered save for the tap-tap-tapping of solder around the outside edge of the glass. That means that once that simple process is completed it will just take a twist and a few turns turn of wire and then a stake to finish it all off!

 

 

 

 

Bee is moving right along on her Deer Window and she's been making changes along the way to suit her customers wishes.  It's almost completed now so hopefully there's nothing left to change because when change is  wanted this late in the game, well, it makes things really difficult!

 

 

 

 

Speaking of late in the game, Mary Grace is ready to wash and color her Wellness Window.  With both sides soldered she only needs a channel on this and then a little clean up to finish it all off!

 

 

Steve is calling it quits on his extensive piece of Lawn Art.   It's as sturdy as can be and he's taken it home to wash and color and then display proudly on his daughter's lawn.  He's promised a picture of it when it is finally in its place so I'll share that once it gets delivered.

 

  

 

Lisa likes her Halloween Spider Webs  and is pretty much making them with her eyes closed now (well, almost!)  It won't be long until we see this completed and that could very easily be next week in our next post. 

 

 

Roxane is so close to completing these Address Numbers that I can guarantee a finished window out of this when we next return.  Not only that-- we'll also see these started yet again but with a new set of numbers in the center.

 

 

 

Shelley's Cat Window is at a perfect stopping point. The eyes are still not cut out because we want to tack as much of this together as possible before we place the eyes.   The positioning of both eyeballs and the positioning of the pupils is of the utmost importance.  We don't want a twisted face or a cross eyed cat!   That's why we are making the rest of the window as solid as we can before moving along over to the eyes.

 

 

And there you have it, we'll be back again next week.  Until then, live long and prosper!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

It Might Have Been Your Crack Pipe

Cindy has completed Myrt's Address Window and it's nice to see this stunningly colorful window be completed.   There's more to this than meets the eye and it all becomes apparent when you learn that it will spend its life residing at 2 Cherry Street!

 

Lisa started and completed  an adorable Bat On A Moon (which she drew up herself) as well as a large Halloween Pumpkin.  Then when all of that was said and done she added hooks to her circular Bonsai Window so that it can hang in a window rather than be displayed on a stand.  That's quite a productive class!

 

 

 

Linda L completed the first of her three 3D succulents and this one is a winner.   There are a lot of tiny pieces throughout this project(the stained glass part only stands 5 inches tall) and believe it or not she's already got the other two wrapped and ready to be assembled.

 

 

 

 

Judy finished an Angel Suncatcher that she said she'd never do again (that was about a year ago).   That said, she made this one look easy by completing it so quickly and effortlessly which proves just how far her stained glass skills have come along.

 

 

 

Our former student Roxie needed a purple Butterfly Lawn Ornament quickly so I came up with this.  I liked the colors so much that I decided to post it here so others could see it!

 

Mimi was intent on grinding away at her Unicorn Crown which is shaping up to be a colorful affair.   This project will also feature some wire work to add in little details that are too tedious to cut out, grind and wrap.

  

Martha has her Yellow Texas Rose all tacked together and even got her beveled border assembled so she knows the exact size her background glass should be when she cuts it.   My prediction is that the background for this will be cut, ground, wrapped, and maybe even tacked together all in her next class.

  

Shelley's working on a white Kitty Window from a pattern that she's made in the past.   She's altered the pattern to remove any stripes of color that the first cat had resulting in this pure white cat.   Shelley has cut this out rather quickly indeed but then again, we always say that the second time you do something it goes quicker because you know all of the ins and outs of the pattern.

  

Susan R is gettin' squirrelly!  Her Squirrel is well on its way to becoming a rain gauge holder that Susan will mount in her back yard.  And from the looks of things that could possibly  happen as soon as next week!

 

 Cindy also started this small Fleur De Lis Panel and in one class got to the point where she only needs a background cut and then a border to complete it. Symmetry is the key in a FDL and she's done that wonderfully here.

    

Let has got two irons in the fire and her Flower  Window is very nearly finished.  I'm expecting that to be one of our completed windows next week.  She also has this stunning Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired Window well under way featuring assorted densities of clear glass offset by three small drops of color.  I love it!  

Sheri's  Business Card Window is moving along at a steady pace but in between other projects as you can see in the picture below.  She's got a Frosty The Snowman Face all cut out and ready to be ground as well as a Santa Face which just needs to soldered.

  

 

 

Lara's Louisiana Collage Window is really starting to reveal itself now that she has most of the pieces that she's already cut ground and fitting together.   She's chosen to grind her pieces before everything has been cut so that she can more easily make the choices for remaining colors.  Lara wants a nice color-balanced window and sometimes this is the best way to get to that goal.  

  

 

Susan D's Peacock has been completely ground already!   She makes excellent time on all of her projects and her grinding on this is absolute perfection.  We'll see this begin to get foiled when she returns. 

  

 

Kerry was busy grinding the second wing of his clear, black and red Butterfly and he's moving along nicely with it.  I will say that when you have to grind clear glass things go easier since you can see the pattern lines through the glass but that doesn't mean that there's no skill involved. On the contrary--  over-grinding is a definite possibility which Kerry has avoided beautifully.

 

 

 

Steve continues to work on his Lawn Art Piece continually adding more pieces to sturdy it up.  It's a formidable piece of art and because everyone believes that this is much smaller than it actually is I've made sure that there's a hand in the picture to help show the true size of this piece. 

  

 

 

Roxane's Address Window was wrapped and tacked together leaving her with just a final root beer border left to go.  That's not cut yet but as longtime readers know, a border takes no time at all to cut IF you have a strip cutter.  And we DO have a strip cutter.  We do!

 

 

 

Cheryl's LSU Tower is getting closer and closer to being completed.  She's decided to go with a double border on this which she will cut after the last two pieces of her background get cut and attached.  The end is near.

 

  

 

Ann started a new Winged Heart but this one will go in a window rather than being placed in a yard.  The only thing that needs to be changed to make that happen is to simply add two hooks.   Ann has taken this home to wrap in foil which means that it will surely be completed next week. 

 

Unfortunately, Angie escaped out the door unnoticed so I didn't get a picture of her two Tiger Eye Windows.  Rest assured that they will be completed when she returns next week and then we will have some really nice pictures of them.

 

Arrivederci!

 

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks