She's Got The Whole World in Her Hand

Our tip this week goes out to ALL of our students because I see this happen probably 20 times a week.  When using your flux brush to apply flux to your project there are 2 things you NEED to remember. 

1) Wipe off the brush after it comes out of the flux.  You don't want puddles of flux on your window-- that makes it hard to get a nice, even bead.

and most importantly,

2)  Don't press the brush down so hard that the bristles splay out all helter skelter as in the picture below.

You should apply the flux the same way you would brush paint on a wall.  The ends of the bristles should flow over the copper foil, not be smashed down into it.   The picture below shows how the brush should be positioned.   If you apply your flux like this the flux will work better AND your brushes will last FAR longer.  Remember, it's stained glass, everything requires a gentle touch.

Ok, it was a busy week here at BSGW and we're going to start things off by looking at  Shelley's Chef Window which was completed this week and which everyone loves.   In fact, the pattern is already out being copied to be in use again in the near future!  Check out that wire moustache-- it's awesome!

 

Roy put the finishing touches on his round Humming Bird Window while he was at home and I must say that everything (right down to his photography) on his second piece is picture perfect.  He's certainly got the hang of this Stained Glass thing already.

 

Beth started working on this cross the week before last and ended up walking out the door with it being ready to hang this week.   It all balanced out beautifully but Beth is ready to work on a window or two before she does any more suncatchers.   Suncatchers are always misidentified as quick, easy projects but windows are truly the ideal way to hone your soldering skills.   Suncatchers keep the heat and make multiple passes with your soldering iron trickier and trickier.  That said, I dare you to look at this Cross and then tell me that Beth didn't do an incredible job!

 

Well now, Cindy has been busy, busy , busy!  This UL Suncatcher is her first of  seven different suncatchers that she completed this week.

 

These three Interlinking Suncatchers were also finished by Cindy and she even added a forth link to one of these unique suncatchers.

 

And finally Cindy has finished three more Dress Suncatchers-- each on a wire hanger(!)   I just can't get enough of these dresses!

 

Since good things appear to come in three's lets look at the three Stylized Crosses that Betty completed this week.   She says she loved making these and with more cut out already I'd say that we'll be seeing a lot of these over the weeks to come.

 

 

Then we take a look at Betty's LSU Tiger Claw window.  It all turned out great and although it didn't go as quickly as Betty had hoped it would, she has nothing to be concerned about.  When she makes this again she'll be ahead of the game because she now knows that even though the subject matter may cut into the border we still add border pieces AFTER the center section has been tacked together.

 

Why wait until next week to see another of these lovely Stylized Crosses?  Let's just look at the one that Linda F finished while she was in class this week.  These have traditionally been done in multi colors but I like the fact that Linda put her own spin on things and made hers entirely out of different textured clear glasses.

Terry completed another Angel this week and made one small (but big) change to it.   Look closely and you'll see that this Angel explains the title of this post!  Terry also cut out and made a Geometric Suncatcher during class as well.

 

And the last of our finished projects this week comes from Angie.  This is her first Lawn Ornament and she plans on making another of these while she's at home Once you know how these 3D pieces go together you realize just how easy the effect is to achieve!

Now Patrice did some incredible work as she managed to get the center portion of her 4H clover cut, ground and wrapped all in one class.  And let me tell you that some of those pieces are TINY!  With just four more pieces left to grind she she will then tack this together and start working on the remaining pieces which are all straight cuts.

  

Susan R has begun working on a Multi Colored Owl of her own  this week and she's moving along at a nice steady pace.  These are becoming very popular in class and Susan is one of the early adopters to this pattern.

 

As I suspected, MiMi came in and blew me away with what she accomplished on her own at home.   Since everything was ground and wrapped to perfection she was able to get a border cut and attached to her window this week.  She's already begun soldering it and should be finished with it before you know it.

  

Then we have Becky S's Seahorse Window which is altogether recognizable now.   A lot of this has been ground already  (as you can tell by the use of pins scattered throughout the pattern) so it's safer to say that things are moving along swimmingly (get it?)

  

Rowena worked on two projects this week and has almost completed both of them.  First she has her Heron Window which she's soldering the back side of, and secondly she has another Modern Art Suncatcher that you'll be seeing more of later on.  I have no doubt that these will both be completed upon her return.

  

Myrt wasn't sure what she wanted to make when she walked in the door but after looking through some of the patterns that we have she decided to make two angel wings.   They're all cut out and ground already so Myrt took them home to wrap and possibly tack together as well.

 

Susan D has all of her Peacock Background cut and ground.   She's well underway wrapping these pieces and once the bottom section is secured with solder she will move on to working out the Peacock's Crest.   That will surely happen when she comes back in.

 

  

Tracey is moving along in leaps and bounds.   She got the remaining pieces of her Small Sunflower Panel cut out and then she ground everything perfectly!  She's taken this home to wrap and there's a good chance that if it's wrapped when she comes back in that it will leave the shop as a completed project!

 

Jan started grinding the pieces to her Jesus Window and she's about half way there now.   She's decided to change the color that she had picked for the halo because the orange she cut it from makes it look like Jesus has red hair!  (The name Carrot Top was mentioned several times.) Look for an amber/yellow halo to be cut when she comes back in.

 

Mary grace is close to the halfway point on the grinding of her large Iris Window.   She's now using my tried and true method of using the next piece to effortlessly get a perfect fit for each of the pieces.   Once you understand the concept it's a piece of cake and Mary Grace surely had a slice or two of cake as she worked at the grinder this week.  Look how nicely things are fitting together. 

  

Angie also worked on her own version of the Modern Art Suncatcher.  I told you that you would see more of these!   Popular and easy, these pieces are a great way to use up scrap glass.  And the best thing is that colors can go any way you please with this pattern.

 

Brenda now has all of the glass cut for her second (and last) Beveled Transom Window.   She even has everything ground and only has a few border pieces left to wrap before she can tack this together and then get along to soldering it.

This is Barbara H's version of the Small Sunflower Panel and this week she managed to get all of her pieces cut out.  She's taken them along home with her in the hopes of getting it ground and possibly wrapped, so we'll see where she stands on this when she returns.  She's done great with the cutting so I doubt this will cause her any trouble at all.

  

Melissa think that you can't see any progress on her window but I surely beg to differ!   She is so very close to being ready to tack this together and then she'll be able to tackle the missing pieces under the arms of the Fleur De Lis'!   She's dying to get to that step and I think it will happen before she knows it!

 

 

What's this?  Another Modern Art Suncatcher?   Yep, as I said, they are popular!   This one is being done by Cindy (I think--it's hard to keep track of them all!) and since it's all cut and ground I know we'll see it hanging up next week.

 

 

Lastly we take a look at the pattern that someone started this week.  If you've been following the blog for a while you might be able to guess who is making it from the subject matter.   Let me give you a hint: Her name starts with the letter 'L'.   Lin, Lind, LINDA!!!!!  Yep, Linda L is making another Mickey Mouse and this one is very patriotic.  Expect to see glass on this pattern very soon now.

 

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

No Egrets

Since we missed out on a week of classes due to an Easter vacation and I'm already a week late with this we're foregoing the tip of the week and just jumping right in to what our students are making.   Here goes!

Terry's Plate Window is complete and the cobalt blue glass that she's used for the background really highlights the cut glass effect of the four plates.   Rather than leaving the center blank Terry went ahead and incorporated a small round bevel to relieve the amount of deep blue in the center.  Trust me when I say that this window absolutely sparkles in the sunlight.

 

Linda L's Ballerinas are easily among the most charming suncatchers that we've ever seen.  She actually made 5 of these and although the wire work on them is extensive, the end results are incredible.   The little wire hair pieces are cleverly disguised braces that keep these suncatchers from pulling apart at the head.   When it comes to suncatchers it's very important for the finished piece to be structurally sound and the best way to do this is to add bracing that is disguised and that's what Linda has done here.   She also made another beautiful Cardinal Suncatcher so it's easy to see that Linda has been keeping busy!

  

 

Linda F put the finishing solder bead on her Texas Star Window but before she did that she made a little alteration on it.  When she came in she didn't like how thick the outer border looked so the first thing she did was decide on a new size.  Since she was trimming it by one quarter of an inch we decided to try to trim the existing pieces with the strip cutter.    Sure enough, all the pieces trimmed down perfectly and then Linda skimmed and wrapped them before applying the final solder bead.  And the end result is perfection!

 

Cindy worked on a few Dress Suncatchers and this is one of them.   I just love the wire work on these-- the hanger especially, is what really makes everyone ooh and aah abut these dresses! 

After soldering her project, Tracey completed her Cardinal Window and decided to color it using black patina.  She was prepared to do this from the beginning so she made sure that all of her clear background pieces were wrapped with black backed foil.  This makes the back of the foil (which is visible through clear glass) blend in with the the lead after it's been colored.   After applying the patina Tracy waited the 45 minutes for the black color to 'set' and then washed and waxed her window.  The end result is stunning, don't you think?

 

Myrt's Ribbon Bordered Fleur De Lis Window was finished last week and she's done a wonderful job on it (as always).  The tiniest pieces of background glass almost hidden within the ribbons didn't scare her at all and she tackled them with an ease and speed that astounded even me.   Many students look at me and say, "I'm supposed to cut THAT small piece???!!!"  The truth of the matter is that small pieces are some of the easiest to cut and take far less time to cut than larger pieces.   Myrt proved that with the 8 tiny pieces that she knocked out in about a minute. 

  

Beth completed her first two Cross Suncatchers and as you'll see a little later on in this post she's started a third.  These two offered little challenge as she cut, ground, wrapped and soldered them easily.  She's concerned that her work isn't up to par but I think she's doing just fine.  Looking at these two crosses wouldn't you agree?

 

Rowena worked on numerous projects this week and even managed to complete this beautiful pink cross along with a very patriotic Modern Art Suncatcher. You can always make a safe bet that Rowena is working on a stained glass project or two... or three!

This is Betty's first rendition of the Stylized Cross and I believe I heard something about her wanting to make a half dozen of them.   One thing is sure-- she says she loves making these so they should go quickly for her.  Keep your eyes peeled for more of these from Betty over the weeks to come.

Beth also worked on a new cross design this week and discovered that smaller projects are among the hardest to do.   That said, she's still making this cross with multiple small pieces.   I think its GREAT that she isn't backing down because every project that tests her abilities will improve her talents tenfold.   Staying within your comfort zone rewards you with very little which is why they say, "You've got to risk it for the biscuit!"

 

Betty resumed work on her LSU Window with tiger paws and she's doing just fine with it.  For some reason she insists that it's difficult but you can't tell that by looking at her work or by the speed that she's maintained while making it.   I think she just has pawphobia.  Also, she's working on a Stylized cross which is turning out to be one VERY popular pattern.

 

HEY! Jeannette is back!   Well, sort of.   Nevertheless, she was in this week and it was great to have her return to the fold.  She started a beveled window and got everything but the final border cut, ground and tacked together which is is no easy feat.   Although a lot has happened to her in the months since we've seen her last she's lost none of her stained glass abilities.  I'm sure that she'll finish this window when she gets to come back in which will hopefully be soon.

 

Rowena started this Heron Window while she was in class this week after knocking out those two suncatchers that you saw earlier on in this post.   The speed and accuracy of her work is astounding because there is only one piece left in this pattern for her to cut out.   This is a pattern that our new students start making which usually takes five weeks to complete.  Rowena has essentially cut it all out in less than 3 hours.  And just look at that fit!

 

Susan R's Pelican was completed but for some reason the directions that came with the pattern did NOT work out.  Instead of wings that flap this pelican had wings that hung straight down.   The directions contradicted the illustrations so it's just a matter of time until I figure out what's wrong here but my first thought is that the hooks on the wings are far too close to the body.   I hope to have this worked out shortly and when we get it I'll share the end results.

 

Mimi's grinding is moving along wonderfully.  She's already fitting things together perfectly and getting her curves to flow with a grace and elegance that this window requires.  She's taken pieces home to work with over the Easter Weekend so i can't wait to see what she comes back in with!

 

Mary Grace spend her day grinding all of the pieces that she spent the last four weeks cutting out.   She's moving along at a nice pace on this LARGE project and although she'll be spending a few more weeks grinding this she'll see that slow and steady is the best way to win the stained glass race.

 

Melissa resumed the grinding on her Geometric Window and is surely making great progress.  She understands that precision is of the utmost importance on a window like this but she's no longer working on pieces where the human eye can see slight irregularities so she can be a little more lax here.  And when she looked at the picture that this window was inspired from she was shocked at how imperfect it was.   That said, I know that HER window is going to be perfect because the worst of it is over with now.

  

Shelley has the border attached to her Chef Window and it's just about ready to get some solder on its back side.   The channel has been tacked around the edges and once the second side is soldered she'll add some wires and a few dabs of paint to complete this masterpiece.  I have no doubt that Shelley will be working on something new soon.

  

Terry has started a new large Angel Suncatcher and she's again improved on the aesthetics of the design.    She, like me, is always finding ways to improve things as she works on the next version of it.  I have no doubt that we'll see this completed next week.

  

Cindy's Birds on a Wire are REALLY taking shape as she's now got everything cut, ground and almost completely wrapped.  These will be done before you know it (which probably means next week!)

  

 

Lara has been busy soldering her Indian Headdress Window and the front side looks fantastic.   She's taken it along home with her and hopefully got the second side finished during the Easter week that we had off.  I know this will be finished within the next two weeks and I can't wait to see this with some light behind it.

 

Susan D now has the background all cut out for her peacock window.   It's amazing how one little change can  affect things and in this case the change to curved corner bevels forced Susan to redrawn her background pattern pieces.   It was easy enough to do, just a bit confusing since we didn't move the peacock onto a fresh piece of paper.  Nonetheless,  the pattern was successfully redrawn and cut out in glass before she left class.   And I love how she never wavered by suggesting that we "just do what was originally drawn." 

  

Martha spent her class working on wrapping all of the pieces to her Deer Head Window.   She won't be joining us next week because she's about to embark upon a cruse with her family.  We hope she has a great time while we're all slaving away working on glass next week!

 

Roy came in and wrapped all of his Hummingbird Circle and then tacked it together.  I thought we might be able to curve a small zinc channel to fit this window so we took a chance and lucked out when it fit (after a second go at it).   With just a little soldering left to go on the back side and some hooks to add to this I'll say that this project will be completed when we next see it.

After completing her Cardinal Window Tracey decided to start something small before getting to work on a second Cardinal.   She ended up picking this Sunflower Suncatcher which she will be surrounding in glass to turn it into a small panel.  As you can see, she has most of the work done already!

And that about brings us back up to date!  Look for a new post next week which will include another tip of the week.  See you then.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks