And Yes, It's More Complicated Than it Sounds

Sheri's Geometric Window was completed while she was at home and the workmanship that she's displayed is top notch.   She put a channel on it when she walked in the door and then washed and colored it.  There wasn't even any need for touching up her soldering because it was picture perfect. 

 

 

 

Paula's Cross may look like a truly three dimensional piece of stained glass, but it isn't.  Her excellent choice of colors really help to sell the 3D effect. Of course, the fact that Paula is fastidious and precise with her work is the key reason this came together so well.

 

 

Let's Teardrop in clear textures gained a Crystal hanging in its center this week which accented it perfectly. This is more than just simplicity and elegance-- it's a great way to use up scrap glass as well! 

 

 

Jan's Virgin Mary was completed this week and I think it's a wonderful unmistakably modern representation of Mary.   I'm betting that Jan doesn't chose to make a project that involves tap-tapping anytime soon because she'll be the first to admit that it's not currently a skill that resides in her wheelhouse!

Annette made a very unique frame for a clear glass inscription puzzle piece that her church asked her to frame. The design was all Nettie's idea and once it was completed we glued the puzzle piece to the front of the glass using stone glue which dries clear and is VERY permanent. I'm so impressed at how Nettie got those puzzle pieces to fit and frame the card all on her own.

MiMi's soldering has already nearly reached the bottom edge of her lamp. All lamps has a larger circumference around the bottom edge that the top of the lamp which means that the lower you go, the harder it is to balance.   There are many different solutions for this problem but my favorite one is the least expensive one-- balance the lamp in a box.   Using a 'Lamp Arm Assembly' requires mounting an adjustable arm to the work table while the box method allows you to freely move the lamp to a lower table.  You can see the box method in the picture of Mimi's lamp below.

Julie spent her night foiling the pieces that she's already cut and ground for her Heron and Irises Window. There are just so many tiny pieces in this that I feel it's best to begin tacking things together so they can't shift when cutting and grinding the remaining pieces. Her foiling is impressive and I think she's going to be tacking things with solder when she comes back in.

  

Martha's begun working on a large Butterfly which will be a window rather than a suncatcher.  She's only cut pattern pieces out for one side of the butterfly because the design is symmetrical. When she traces her pattern piece onto her glass she then flips the pattern over so that the bottom is now the top and traces it out again. This gives her a mirror image of the first piece which makes up the opposite side of her Butterfly.

 

  

 

 

Cheryl was a cutting demon this week as she managed to cut everything for her Football Helmet Window. Very impressive! She'll be spending time at the grinder when she returns but the good news is that this already looks like a helmet since her cutting was so 'on the mark'.  That means that she shouldn't have to spend much time at the grinder which is an added benefit that comes from taking your time while cutting your glass..

 

 

 

 

Cindy only has a few pieces (nine of them in fact) left to cut and grind before she begins foiling her version of the Flowering Butterfly. Once the pieces have foil around them the roses that make up the left wing will suddenly come to life due the the added detail.

 

 

 

 

Linda is grinding away at her Transom Window and it's really close to being completely ground now. There's more to this project than you might at first believe because the small picture of it doesn't reveal just how intricate this window really is.

 

 

 

 

Let also has two more of the Mini Diamond Bevel Crosses cut out and ground with one of them having been wrapped already. I wouldn't be surprised to see these completed when she comes back in. 

 

 

 

Mary traced out and cut most of the blue glass which makes up the background of her Sunflowers Window. The change from gray to blue was literally like night and day. This was by far the more perfect color fit for her window. The gray background made it look rather blah while the blue glass Mary has used instead makes the window come to life.

 

  

 

June's got the blue glass for the tail of her Seahorse all cut out so it won't surprise me if she begins grinding this myriad of pieces upon her return.

 

 

With her Geometric window finished Sheri immediately resumed working on her Scissor Tailed Flycatcher Window. She filled in the missing pieces of her leaves, added a border and is about to begin soldering this which means that this will be completed before you know it.

  

 

 

Tracey's Magnolia Window has its leaves all cut out now.  With the flower petals already ground she's truly making quick progress on this which is probably due to the fact that she's very familiar with this particular pattern.  It won't be long now.

 

 

Susan R cut out all of the branch pieces for her Birds On a Branch Suncatcher after she completed the last bird. The first two birds will have eyes painted on after they have been soldered, colored and waxed which will make them look a little more lively. It's amazing how much a few pupils add to stained glass birds.

 

 

 

Barbara's also grinding away at her pieces and her leaves are now beginning to take shape.  She isn't rushing on this and is enjoying the experience by not taxing herself about just how much she 'needs' to accomplish on any one day.   Stained glass should be enjoyable, not a job.

  

 

Kandise is grinding away on her Magnolia but grinding less aggressively this time around because things are fitting together beautifully without the need to push things inward to minimize gaps.   As you can clearly see she's using the pin method for spacing and it's working like magic for her.

 

 

 

Lorrie wanted to begin a Turtle Window but we couldn't find the pattern for the one she liked in our pattern drawers. knowing that it was going to be larger than what she really wanted I told her that I'd draw it up to a smaller size during the week which left her free to begin foiling her Hummingbird and Flowers window. Lorrie ALWAYS has another project in her truck in case something happens and she can't work on whatever she was hoping to. It never hurts to be prepared!

 

 

 

 

With the front side of her Mickey and Minnie Mouse Window just about soldered Linda has realized just how many lines it takes to make a window like this. Those hearts just go on and on but the effect is well worth it. Even without the wire work that will be applies to this it's total recognizable and very stunning.

 

 

 

 

Betty's Mardi Gras Mask Panel is all ready for solder. She picked a heavily textured clear glass for the border which is too thick to allow. channel to be put on it so Betty will simply 'tap tap' around the edge of this. The only drawback to that is that she has to be sure all of those border pieces line up around the edge since there won't be channel covering any minor flaws. As you can see, Betty won't be having a problem with alignment because she took her time and tacked everything together perfectly.

 

  

Susan D is hard at work repairing a Yard Ornament that she made a few years back.  Even though she made sure that it sturdier that the project called for in the book that  she got the pattern from, it still ended up having stability issues. It's those issues that Susan will be addressing with even more reinforcing when she starts tacking everything together again.

And lastly there's Judy's Dog Window which has been slightly redesigned.  It's almost finished and soon we'll be able to show you the next window that Judy will be making.

So there then!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks