That’s Why God Made Grinders

Bee's window needs no introduction at all.  If you can't tell what this represents you'd best find a good eye doctor and get fitted for some glasses!  Bee handled the making of this window with every air of professionalism all throughout the creation process.   She always knew what to do and when to do it.  When a problem reared its head Bee smacked it down and regrouped flawlessly.   I do believe this is perfect!

 

 

Linda L has used another one of her bevel clusters to make this elegant Fleur De Lis Window. You can't go wrong using all clear textures in a bevel design and then Linda went ahead and used black patina on the lead to make the lines contrast beautifully against all of that sparkling clear glass. In sunlight it's even more spectacular.

 

 

 

 

Cindy's Large Butterfly is colorful and wonderfully symmetrical as well. She made this quickly and efficiently with the end result being an impressive Butterfly that will put a smile on anyone's face. It's beautiful work for sure!

 

 

I do believe that Judy said that she needed to make about five of these Cross Suncatchers. This first one took her just a hair more than two weeks to make but I'm betting that the next one goes quicker. Once you get into the groove of making these they can go pretty quickly.  You just need to fall into that groove.

 

 

Zoe is making this large Madonna and Baby Jesus Suncatcher as a gift and picked this design after sorting through our numerous patterns. Its always been a popular suncatcher but one that wasn't made last Christmas at all. Perhaps after this is completed it will see a resurgence.

 

  

 

 

Let is nearly finished with her pair of Humming Birds which form a heart (once you know the heart is there). She got the idea for it in a rough drawing that she found online where the heart was VERY apparent-- however the humming birds looked more like dolphins with wings! I drew my own birds and made the mirrored pair look as heart-like as I could without making the birds look like something out of The Island Of Dr. Moreau.  All in all I think it fits the bill and Let's work is bringing it to life in a wonderful way.

 

  

 

 

Susan D has been busy as a beaver working on her Flowers and Humming Birds Window. The flowers have now all been cut out and now she's grinding them. She'll tack this all together before cutting out her background glass and believe me when I say that she'll get that cut fairly quickly since it will consist of nice, graceful flowing curves. 

 

 

Cindy is Working on a circular Flower Panel that isn't large enough to be a full fledged Window but is also too large to be a Suncatcher which is why we call it a Panel.  Panels are any project (like this one) that rests squarely between two somewhat undefined stained glass sizes.  That said, this is going to be one vibrant pair of flowers.

 

  

 

Susan R has everything cut for her LSU Panel and is now working on grinding all of the pieces that she painstakingly cut.   The piece in the lower right that is missing was actually at the grinder with Susan who was shaping it when I snapped this picture.  She's certainly getting the work done quickly, that's for sure!

 

 

 

Wow, Annette's LSU Tiger Window has really taken shape. She still has some pieces left to wrap in the tiger and then she'll get to work on the actual paws of the Tiger. This is another window that is nearing completion and looking spectacular already.  It's a head turner for sure.

 

  

 

 

Keri's Praying Mantis Window is both colorful and exotic which is a perfect combination for a stained glass window. Add to it the fancy shape of the overall design which is going to frame it all out wonderfully. She's got most of it cut already so I'm sure she'll begin grinding this insect next week.

 

  

  

No, Lara isn't finished with her Oil Kaleidoscopes yet but she's made incredible progress on constructing these. Two of them are already completely soldered and the third is all tacked together just awaiting soldering. These will be finished before you know it. Kudos to Lara for her excellent ability to set a stage with her projects because her placement shows you exactly what these will look like when they are completed.

  

 

 

MiMi is filling in those pattern pieces one egg carton at a time.  Her attention to detail on this projects really needs to be seen in closeup to truly appreciate how perfect her fitting is on all of these tiny pieces and that goes a long way towards making a perfect lamp.

 

 

 

Yes, everything has been cut and Lorrie got her Peacock Window all tacked together as well as getting the front side completely soldered as well! If classes could have run a bit longer she probably would have finished this but the prospect of washing it and coloring it means that Lorrie will certainly end up completing this upon her return after which she'll resume working on her second different Peacock window. 

 

 

 

With the front side of her HUGE Beveled Window essentially soldered Cheryl will surely flip this over and do the back side upon her return.  I have to hand it to her-- her soldering on this proves that she is taking her time because she is achieving a very very nice bead on this.

 

 

With each passing week Linda F comes closer and closer to finishing off her sextet of Christmas Ornaments. Although they will be gifted out separately they certainly make a beautiful matched set!  Keeping the shape of these ornaments can be tricky but Linda is making the grinding look like child's play.

 

 

 

With all of the cutting for the Fractured Glass background in her Holy Spirit Window Ann is ready to begin grinding her background. She really enjoys making these and the 3D effect of the finished piece certainly sets it apart from other windows of a similar design.

 

 

Lastly we look at the GTO pattern that Paula will be making. As with all car patterns there are a lot of thin pieces that make this up but I know that Paula will have no problem bringing this to life.  She really seems to enjoy working on highly detailed projects.

 

  

 

 

Sadly, I appear to have missed getting a picture of Martha's Beach Scene Window. I guess I'll just have to show you two weeks worth of work that Martha will have done on it when we come back again next week with a brand new post.

And that as they say is that!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

It's Gonna Take a Lot to Drag Me Away From You

Zoe's Luna Moth was finished this week and is now ready to be displayed in her window.   Symmetry is a difficult effect to achieve in glass but Zoe handled it with aplomb.  The colors are minimalist yet broad, as well as being demure and dazzling all at the same time.  This is another fine example of Zoe's stained glass talent.     

 

 

 

 

Let made this stunning Lotus Suncatcher quickly and efficiently. She loves making larger circular and heart suncatchers and one of the benefits of those shapes is that tap-tapping along the edges is so much easier than tap-tapping along irregular edges. 

 

 

 

 

Cindy finished off her Soccer Ball Suncatcher that she personalized by adding a name to a banner across the bottom of the ball. The name LUKE was fired onto the lass which means that it will never come off of the glass or fade in the years to come. 

 

 

 

 

Betty has her first of many Frog Suncatchers finished and this was a sort of 'test' to see how she could securely attach the eye overlays onto the frog body.  It was also an exercise in bending the wire that form the feet.   I think it all worked out perfectly. 

 

Sheri's begun making suncatchers and she is out of the gate sprinting towards the finish line like greased lightening or a bat out of hell. In just one week she has five suncatchers completed and ready to sell. These only need to be washed, colored and waxed which she'll easily accomplish at home.

  

 

Lara is making three different Oil-Scopes which is a unique version of a Kaleidoscope. We will show you all the details and the amazing end result as these progress through the weeks to come.  Right now though, all of her glass is cut and she just needs to assemble everything.

 

  

  

 

Keri has decided to make a Praying Mantis as her third project and this one has far more detail (pieces) than her Chicken had last week. One of the things that she's learning this week is that she can just cut out one side of her symmetrical pattern and trace the pieces out in reverse on the glass to make the second side. It saves time and also allows for better color placement.

 

  

 

Cindy was working on this stunning Butterfly and got it all soldered just in time for the class to end. We'll attach some wires to form the Antenna and then add some hooks to hang it upon her return. 

 

 

Judy worked on a Cross Suncatcher and she got it all cut ground and wrapped which means that she'll easily finish this when she comes back in.

 

 

 

Susan R's LSU Plaque is shaping up quickly now as it only needs the background glass cut before she begins to grind everything for a nice, perfect fit. It already fits together nicely so the grinding should go smoothly for her.

 

 

 

Linda L finished wrapping her Fleur De Lis Bevel, tacked it together and then laid it on top of a piece of glass that she picked out for the background of this window. She traced around the bevel, cut it all out, ground it, foiled it and then tacked it all together. Next up will be a border for this which will come together very quickly.

 

  

 

 

June is filling in the missing colors of her paint by numbers Cat one piece at a time.   When she comes back in we're going to see what we can do about giving this cat a little more life by filling in the pupils of the eyes (among other things)..

 

 

 

MiMi has cleared her 'board' and is now grinding away at the pieces that will make the second portion of her Louis XV Lamp. You can already see that she's making good headway on filling up the pattern with her newly ground pieces. 

 

  

 

Bee wrapped all of her border pieces, tacked them onto her Tiger Eye/LSU Window and then got the front side completely soldered. She then flipped the window over and got a good portion of the back side soldered as well which means that this will be completed next week. 

 

  

 

 

Lorrie's Peacock has all of the tricky cutting completed.   The background couldn't be completely cut out until the border was cut,  and the curved half circle border pieces could only be cut after the strips of border were completed.   This intricate border is all based on pieces that are cut in a sort of reverse order.

 

 

 

Melissa is filling in the background glass for her Tiffany Styled Birds Window and she's using Fractures and Streamers to finish this all off.   The glass that she picked will surely complete the 'Tiffany' effect of this window.  She's also got a gorgeous border glass picked out as well but this window is already stunning even in its incomplete state.

 

 

 

Ann is grinding away at the 'fractured' background for her latest Circular Window. Look again and you can see her Holy Spirit resting along the left of the pattern. 

  

Cheryl officially has everything cut out for her large Beveled Window. She's already attached borders on two of the four sides and is currently wrapping the pieces for the remaining two sides. When she returns she'll tack on the final border pieces and then start soldering this beast.

 

  

 

  

Lastly we take a lot at the other Frogs that Betty has all set to be soldered.  She's got a style for all occasions!

 

  

Hakuna Matata!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Put Moron It

Paula's Sun and Moon and Rainbow Box is completed and although the pattern itself is wonderful I can't help but think that the colors that she picked are the actual highlight of this piece.  There's a lot of iridised glass in this which balances out perfectly the non-iridised sun and sky glass.  Add some flawless cutting and soldering and you have Paul's latest masterpiece. 

  

Here's a look at the box in a slightly opened position.

 

 

Sheri finished her Koi Fish Window and she may very well have improved upon the first one that she made a few years back. She's added some beveled accents throughout the heavily textured clear border to finish it off while still allowing the focus of the window to be the subject matter. Another job well done indeed.

 

 

 

 

Let made this beautiful Lily Window and used one of her favorite glasses (wispy transparent green) for the background. She knows that she just can't lose with this color combination (although a beautiful pattern never hurts)!

 

 

 

 

Linda F's Butterfly Window worked out perfectly even though she had a design issue more than halfway through the making of this piece.   This proves that you can alter a pattern on the fly and still end up with a window that is flawless.

 

 

 

Linda L is making windows at an astounding rate and this beveled piece is simplicity raised a degree through its elegance. Simple, light and colorful without being flashy, this is just stunning.

 

 

 

 

Judy's Indian Head was also completed and it's another exercise in perfection as Judy shows off her skills once again. By lowering the feathers actually into the hairline, Judy was able to make them a permanent fixture on this Indian Woman rather than something that would fall off in a month or so.

 

 

 

 

 

Betty loved Let's Window of three Dogs that she saw her make a few weeks back and decided to turn the dogs into cute suncatchers complete with googly eyes! She made six of these and will be ready to make more of them when they sell. I can't wait for someone to walk into the shop and ask, "How much is that Doggy in the window?"

 

 

Cheryl's Magnolia Window was done at home and came in this week so she could get some hooks on it and then get its picture taken to allow her to show it off. Her soldering is improving with each piece and I think that this highlights that wonderfully.

 

 

 

You've just got to love this Chicken in Boots and a Hat that Keri made.  Many newer students would have just selected one color for the chicken and then another for the 'clothing' but Keri used four different colors which when combined made a delightful and stylishly chic Chicken indeed.

 

 

Let is working on this beautiful Circular Lotus and really enjoys using the soft pink/green glass that the flower itself has been cut from. It accents so beautifully with the pure green leaves atht she's picked and makes the entire piece sing. 

  

 

 

Linda F is wasting no time in getting this years Christmas projects started. She's well under way with these six intricate Christmas Ornaments that will soon be under her belt and completed in plenty of time for Christmas 2025.  Linda is avoiding the last minute deadline that many of our students face just before Christmas.

 

  

 

 

Cindy's Butterfly is already almost completely cut and ground. There's just a final trim of iridised blue left to go on this before she can begin foiling all of her pieces. Soldering is just around the corner now.

 

 

 

Although it's hard to see in this picture, Lorrie's Peacock Window has its background glass cut and ground. She can't attach it or foil it yet because the fancy border that she'll be making for this will actually cut into the background glass as it borders it. That means that she'll cut the border, grind it, foil it and then trace it atop her clear glue chip background glass. Trust me when I say that it will all come together when Lorrie returns.

 

  

 

 

Susan R wanted to make an LSU Window about the size of a sheet of paper. She wanted it to be fancy but she didn't want to go overboard with detail either. Enter the LSU plaque that we've see made from time to time. She's well into it already and I'm thinking that it won't take Susan long at all to knock this out.

 

 

 

 

Linda L is on a bevel kick because she's decided to use some of the items that she's been accumulating over the years from sales as such. This Fleur De Lis bevel is going to get a background cut for it and then a border to set it all off.

 

  

 

Now that a piece of the blue glass that Cindy used for the name plate of her Soccer Ball has been fired in the kiln she can re-cut the four pieces of blue that form the folded banner on either side of the name.   Since the glass she used wasn't a fusible glass the texture changed after the name was applied causing the ends to mismatch badly.   Now they match perfectly and Cindy will surely finish this off upon her return.

 

 

It's official-- Melissa's Birds and flowers are all cut, ground, wrapped and tacked together which means that she'd about to begin cutting out her background glass piece by piece. She's using Fractures and Streamers glass and as long as the lines of the streamers run up and down she'll be able to mix and match throughout. It will be slower than cutting everything at one but the end result is so worth the extra time.

 

  

 

Judging by the vibrant colors that June is using on her Multi-colored Cat Window I think I'm really going to like this! And just look at how perfectly she's grinding each piece-  a machine couldn't do any better. She's the new teacher's pet! (This week.)

 

 

Kandise flew through the cutting of the Flower portion of her Address Window.  The large curved red pieces proved to be a bit too complex to keep in one piece so we've separated the piece into three sections to make this far easier to cut and solder.   Kandise and I both tried to keep each of them as one large curved piece but we ran into breakage issues even before solder was applied.

 

  

Ann now has all of the glass cut for her latest Fractured Window and will mount the Dove / Holy Spirit on top of the it using posts to keep it raised from the background. Blue and green are my favorite colors so I have to admit that I'm feeling a bit partial to this design.

  

 

 

After many different color choices Bee has decided to go with a pure white border for her LSU / Tiger Eye Window.   The border just needs to be skimmed on the grinder and then foiled before she can tack this together and get a channel added to it.  I think the soldering will go quickly on this so Bee is going to have to think about what's she's going to be making next!

 

  

 

Mary Grace has another Picture Frame all cut out and tacked together which means that she'll solder and finish this when she comes back in. She's knocking one of these out every two weeks and had four more to go after this one has been completed.

 

 

 

Lastly we look at the flowers that Susan D will begin. She's drawn them up and has traced them out so she now has poster board pattern pieces that she can now trace onto the glass that she's chosen.

 

 

And that, as they say, is that!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks