I Can't Read It!

Paula's Butterfly Bookends are Beautiful and may actually draw attention away from the books that ultimately reside between them.   We've discovered that just resting the wings into the slots of the wooden bookends doesn't provide enough stability for the stained glass so she's going to hot glue them into place  to ensure that they don't slip out and become broken.  

 

 

 

Lorrie's got the first of her two Macaws completed and at twenty four inches tall this one IS a head turner.  Although twenty four inches may not sound *that* large, when you are talking about a suncatcher it's practically immense!  Her next one will be a tad bit smaller since the hoop the Macaw will be mounted in will be two inches shorter.

 

 

Here's what he looks like in the wild.

 

 

 

Let's Stylized Tulip Panel was completed but just as she was about to color the lead she discovered a crack in one of her border pieces. She knocked the offending piece out so it's ready to be repaired when she comes back in. I still took a picture of it while it was whole just to see if you can spot the crack. I'm doubting that you will because I can only spot it since I know it's there.  It could honestly be just a spot in the glass alas it isn't and it shows up prominently with sunlight behind it.

 

 

 

Betty made four more of her patented Silverware Dragonflies of which this one was her favorite. She was hard pressed between this one and the Dragonfly with the white iridized wings but the iridescence was so faint that we both knew that the picture wouldn't show it, so here we are in blue.

 

 

 

Cindy got more Cardinal Crosses completed which only proves that I'm out of the loop when it comes to knowing how many she needs to make because she also has one more she's working on!

 

 

Kandise ground on her Trio of Dogs and even made the small frame that will hang from and under the Camera that she made at the end of last year. Alas, with all of the rushing around I forgot to get a picture of that so enjoy the Dogs! 

 

Let is hard at work on another Tulip Panel and I'm running out of names for these so we will call this one a Stylized Tulip with Scalloped Border. Watch and see if this isn't completed upon her return.

  

 

 

Bee is wrapping away on her dragonfly and we now have the measurements for the frame that she plans on placing this in.  That means that this oval will indeed be squared off.  Thanks to some LED lighting Bee's finished project will have light behind it even though it will be hanging on a wall.

 

  

 

 

Martha was relieved to discover that we got new grinding wheels in so she was hard at work grinding away on her Oval Hummingbird Window.   She's also decided to leave it in its oval form so squaring it out is no longer the plan. 

 

  

 

 

Linda L changed the white trim of Minnie's Dress to a heavily textured white to make it look more Girly-mousey. Then she began wrapping both Minnie and Mickey in foil after which she'll tack their respective heads together.  (trust me, it's not nearly as gruesome as it sounds.) She also cut out a test heart to see how easily it would cut and, as I suspected, it cut out very easily indeed.

 

 

Last week Mary fooled me into thinking that the front of her Eye Of The Tiger Window was already completely soldered. This week I discovered that it wasn't when Mary finished soldering the back side and then flipped it over to do the front! Still, she managed to wrap up all of the soldering on this which means that it will get a channel and hooks attached when she comes back in.

 

 

Tracey, on the other hand, is definitely and most certainly finished soldering the front of her beautiful Magnolia Window.  In fact, she's already well underway on having the back side soldered as well. We will be bending a zinc channel for this next week and will surely get it attached. Hopefully the entire window will be completed as well.

 

 

 

Shelley's Ballerina got her arms and head added which means that this is only two legs away from being completed! No offense intended but right now it reminds me of a shark attack!

 

  

 

 

Keri has a second and third Pink Princess Philodendron Leaf cut out with the one below having been ground as well.  Look for some soldering fun to happen when she comes back in next week because she's taken this along home with her so that it will be ready for solder the minute she walks in the door!

 

 

MiMi is wrapping away and that's about all that I can say but it's close now--it's really getting close.

 

  

 

  

And here's the next Cardinal Cross that Cindy is making. She only has a few more pieces left to foil and then this will be behind her!

  

 

 

Susan R's Yorkie Dog has eyes now doesn't look so dazed and confused. The colors are a bit perplexing for Susan to envision because the fur appears to be colored somewhat differently in each of the pictures of the dog that she's trying to match. This is almost always a problem with a pet projects yet they always turn out nice.  I just wish I had a picture of her progress to show you but I apparently didn't take one.  :-(

 

And lastly, Annette came in and picked up a Logo pattern. She also plans on working on another Triple Cross but this time it will be a full window.

So yeah, breaking up is hard to do but I really have to go and get some work done!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks 

And a One, And a Two…

Let's Fancy Rose Window was done in record time yet the craftsmanship she's displaying here didn't suffer at all.  When Let decides on a pattern she makes sure that it's something that she expressly wants to accomplish which adds fuel to her creative fire.  This, as an example, is beautiful work of art which will adorn yet another of the windows in Let's Workshop. 

  

Annette is back and finishing projects already. Her pair of Tri-colored Cross Suncatchers were made in two different sizes: one large and one small. I have a sneaking suspicion that they incorporate some patriotism as well as spiritualism due to the use of red, white and blue glass.

 

 

 

Keri's assembled the first of her three pink princess philodendron leaves and has decided to color the lead black rather than in the standard copper since the decorative flower pot these will reside in is made out of tiny black mirrors.   Look closely and you might be able to see that this leaf wasn't assembled as you would normally put together a suncatcher.  Instead Keri angled the individual pieces to give a flowing curve to the leaf.  A nice touch for sure.

 

 

  

 

Here's a look at what I believe is the last Cross that Cindy will be making (for a while anyway) as well as her latest Cardinal Cross which I believe she has only one more left to make.

 

  

 

 

Linda L's Mickey and Minnie have taken shape rather quickly.   My advise was to get the mice done first and then tack them together to make lining up the rows of hearts that form the background that much easier.  Now it's true that I always say that the background isn't the focal point of a window but in this case it most certainly shares the spotlight along with Mickey and Minnie.   Precision will be very important on these background pieces but I know that Linda is more than up to the task at hand. 

  

 

 

Even though Let completed her Rose Window she still managed to find the time to get almost all of her fancy Ovalized Tulip Panel complete. She's fast and efficient that's for sure.

 

  

 

 

Judy began working on this stylish looking Woman's Head and has only a few more pieces left to cut on it. The curves of the face are going to be VERY important and will require extensive use of the small grinding bit in small controlled bursts. We surely don't want this lovely young lady to look like she's been in a car accident!

  

 

 

Cheryl's Mr Bingle is nearing the finish line. She needs to re-cut the hat and draw in a face which she'll most likely do after the border and channel have been attached so she can more easily lift this entire window to get some glass behind it to trace the opening onto.  I hear that she'll be adding a number to the streetcar as well.

 

 

 

Mary Grace got to class only to discover that a large majority of her Spine Window were accidentally left at home which meant that she had to work on something else instead. Luckily she had another pattern in her box of tools so she began making three Mushroom Flowerpot Decorations and even got one of them cut, ground, foiled and ready for solder.

 

  

 

 

Barbara's hard at work on grinding her Mardi Gras Fleur De Lis. When this has been ground she'll tack it together before cutting out the 10 pieces of background glass. Things will go much quicker and far more accurately that way.

 

  

 

Sheri's Bird and Leaves Window now has glass cut so we can now see it coming together.   Glass can be a strange thing and in this case the green that Sheri picked out for her leaves was a real pain in the glass to cut out.  It was brittle and seemed to want to break wherever there wasn't an actual score line.  Alas, a little persistence and a lot of determination allowed her to get very far on her leaves with only a few left to go.

 

Julie dealt with the small pieces of her Star Suncatcher in a rather spectacular way. She ended up holding each of these small pieces above the grinder bed to get a better grip on the glass and allow her to get more exact grinds. By the end of the night everything fit together wonderfully and she was able to get a center nugget ground into place as well.

 

 

 

Shelley's Ballerina is certainly looking the part. She's drawn the pattern herself and it still amazes me how she got it to look exactly like a child. My 'people' designs always come out looking like adults-- and older ones at that!  This is really going to be precious.

 

 

 

Susan R's Yorkie Dog is getting more and more definition with each passing week. I'll post an actual picture of the dog whens he finishes this so you can see how closely she's managed to 'flesh out' this piece of stained glass. 

   

 

Tracey got her border cut, ground and attached which means that her Circular Magnolia Window is now ready for soldering. Tracey's work on this proves that even after a long period away from stained glass has not dulled her skills at all.

 

Lara's been busy grinding away on her African Woman window and making sure everything fits just right.  Once this is all ground she'll work on matching the turban to the outfit as only Lara can!  She's our other color queen.

 

 

 

Bee's grinding away on her Dragonfly Window which I believe she said she planned on extending outward to make it rectangular rather than oval. She mentioned that she had a frame that she wants to place her Dragonfly into so we'll get a feel for that next week when brings it in so we can correctly size out the pattern.

 

  

 

Paula's two Butterfly halves are also nearing completion ans she has the left side all soldered save for some minor touch ups. That leaves only the right half to go which I'm sure will be finished by the time she comes back in. Look to see this project as a featured piece in out next update.

 

 

 

Lorrie's Circular Peacock is nearing completion as she steadily fills in all of its background pieces. I also pointed out that I only just recently realized that the two of the 'flowers' in the border are actually Butterflies.  With that in mind Lorrie added black pieces under them to make butterfly bodies which in turn will make the butterflies themselves more apparent.  She doesn't know it yet but we're also going to add antennae to them as well with some wires!

  

  

Martha's Hummingbird Window is being ground and she (like other students) are eager for new batch of grinding wheels to finally arrive since they've become a hard to get item.  And the fact that some of ours are dull isn't helping matters.

 

 

 

 

Mary was some one else who worked on her border pieces and after they'd been ground, foiled and attached she went to work on soldering her window. If you have a keen eye you can tell that what you're seeing below is the back side of her window which means that the front has been completely soldered already.  Expect to see this completed upon hers and our return next week. 

 

 

 

Here's Cindy's next Cardinal Cross which will also surely be finished when she returns. I know she's planning on having this out of the way because she took home the pattern for the next window that she'll be working on so she could trace it out and get ready to cut.

 

  

 

And lastly we turn to Mimi who is now focused on foiling the last 353 pieces of glass for her Louis XV Lamp.  At this rate she'll be putting the final third of this beast together within the next two weeks or so baring any unforeseen dramas!

 

 

Sincerely yours, despite the circumstances,

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks
  

It’s Not Like It's a Rocket Appliance

Cindy was as busy as can be over the holidays and her Rainbow Dog Window Suncatcher is a wonderful example of her Calligraphy skills (as well as her stained glass skills). She drew up this and her next pattern that we'll see all on her own to which I say, "Bravo !" 

 

 

Cindy gorgeous Dog Paw Suncatcher also features her amazing lettering skills.  Her painted handwriting REALLY impressed everyone in class so much that the actual window work may have been overlooked!

 

 

And this Cardinal Cross (which Cindy has made numerous times now) is the final suncatcher that she made over the holidays.  

 

 

 

Bee completed this Christmas Ornament before she put 2025 to bed but I didn't get a picture of it. When Bee came back in this week she opened up her stained glass tool box and exclaimed, "There it is! I'd been looking all over for my ornament but never thought to look in my toolbox!" So fate allowed me to snag a picture of it after all! 

 

 

 

Julie is making a colorful Starburst Suncatcher that she managed to get all cut out during her first class of working on it. There are a lot of tiny pieces so next week she's going to learn how to grind pieces as she actually holds them rather than resting the pieces on the grinder's flat bed which tends to throw them off the grinder if you aren't VERY careful!

  

  

 

 

Barbara started a new Fleur De Lis Window for the new year that she's making in Mardi Gras colors. She got a lot accomplished in just one class and her weak hand doesn't appear to be slowing her down any.

 

 

 

Kandise has begun a Dog Window with a trio of delightful looking dogs in all assorted colors.  She's already well into this having only worked on it for one night!

  

 

 

Keri's making a Pink Princess Philodendron with a twist. It will consist of three leaves that will form a 3D piece that will reside in an actual flower pot. She's got the first leaf cut and ground and will put this one together when she comes back in.

 

  

 

 

Linda L has begun what will surely be an impressive window. Micky and Minnie kissing may be the main focal point but it will be the overlapping, repetitive hearts that make up the background that will take this to the next level.

 

  

 

 

MiMi's gone ahead and managed to finish grinding all of the pieces in her lamp!  That means that there will be no more egg cartons filled with glass in her life (or at least until she makes another lamp).  Next up she'll be foiling!   

 

  

 

 

Let began wrapping all of the glass for her stylized Rose Panel and once that was completed she tacked it together and then cut and ground her border glass. I can't help but believe that this will be completed when she returns.

 

  

 

Lorrie's Circular Peacock is all cut and ground save for the background glass which she began cutting this week. That said, the really good news we have to report is that we've been able to turn up some red glass for Lorrie's Parrots which she will be working on again when she returns.

 

  

 

Tracey's Circular Magnolia looks fantastic as she managed to accomplish an impressive amount of work during the Christmas holidays and everything has be ground. It all fits together nicely and since she's held her pieces into position with pins nothing has shown even a hint of growing after she's applied the foil to about half of her pieces.

 

 

 

 

Bee has resumed work on her Dragonfly Window and cut the wings out of an iridized white glass. She'll be adding lead lines to those four wings but not until she has everything else (including the un-separated wing pieces) ground first.

 

  

 

 

Susan R is cutting her Yorkie Dog Face and grinding her/him as she goes along. It's all beginning to take shape now.

  

 

Lara's African Woman's dress has been carefully color chosen by Lara as she has cut it out.   I always prefer to chose my colors one at a time as I cut rather than picking out all of my glass at one.   Have pieces actually laid out on the pattern helps to determine the weight of each color in the window and Lara has balanced things out wonderfully.

 

 

 

Paula is back at work on her pair of Butterfly Bookends which, as you can see, she's already very far along on. Each half of the butterfly will be mounted into a wooden 'L' frame which will rest on both the left and the right side of a row of books.

 

  

 

Martha was a cutting fool this week and managed to cut out almost all off her oval Iris and Hummingbird window.   Before she left class she asked if she could square this off so it would be a rectangle when she completed it to which I replied, "Sure." 

  

 

 

Then there's Sheri who traced out the pattern for her Bird on a Branch Window and will begin cutting glass for it when she comes back in.

 

 

 

 

And lastly we have Susan D is making Grinch hands!

 

Stay Frosty,

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks