Stray Men

Proper Grinding is important for numerous reasons.   The two most notable being 1) to allow the foil to adhere to the glass better, and 2) to prevent your piece from cracking when solder is applied.

Below is a piece of glass that has not been ground.   The edge is shiny and the corners are sharp enough to easily cut through any foil the you might try to use on it.

Here you can see the front edge has been ground but not nearly enough.  Although there are sections that have been touched by the grinding wheel (they appear white) it isn't a thorough job.  You will still have problems getting the foil to lay flat along the glass and there's still a possibility that the glass will crack when the lead is applied.  If your glass looks like this you might want to try reversing your piece by putting the top side down on the grinder and going over it again.  Sometimes that makes a big difference especially when skimming borders.

Lastly we have a properly ground piece of glass.   The edge is completely white, the foil will stick to it easily, and the odds are far better that the piece won't crack due to heat.  If all of your pieces look like this before you foil your window I can guarantee that your finished window will be sturdier than if the pieces were just lightly skimmed.

So with that out of the way lets move along to the work that our students have done during the past week.

Although Melissa believes that this window is long overdue, I have to repeat that I ALWAYS stress quality over quantity.   It may have taken about 4 months to make this but look at the level of detail in it.   Also, almost everything she did on this was done in a new (and exciting?) manner.    Repeating patterns are very tricky so this was worked on from the inside out and as each section was completed it was tacked together so nothing could shift.  The end result is this perfect window that looks so much better than the window that Melissa originally saw online.   Melissa should be very proud of it because I certainly am of her.  I couldn't have made this any better myself.

 

Susan D's Peacock is beautiful and even more importantly, it's a milestone for her.   She's designed this window from start to finish on her own and then constructed it by herself as well.   I cut the lengths of zinc channel for her but that was it.   This window is a stunning victory for Susan all around.

 

Roy is moving faster and faster on his windows and he completed this one on his own as well.   He's only into his second set of classes with us but he achieves the majority of his work while at home.   This window is smaller than you may assume which means that Roy now has experience with any window makers greatest bane-- tiny pieces.   Alas, everything is perfect here and the fact that Roy is always challenging himself means that his stained glass skills are growing quickly.

  

Susan R's Owl Of Many Colors Lawn Ornament was made almost entirely of cathedral glasses (save for the eyes) and as a result it really sparkles in the sunlight.  In fact it sparkles so much that the pictures I took of it out in the sunlight had too many 'hot spots' (places where the reflected sun would create white spots) for me to use.  Susan certainly did wonderful work on this as you can plainly see.

 

Rowena completed this stunning Single Sunflower and had no problem dealing with the irregular border that the curved corners created.     This was also made out of all Cathedral glass and the end result, like Susan's Owl, is vibrantly stunning.

Our second Sunflower this week was made by Barbara H and it's more of a panel rather than a window.  What's the difference?  Well, it is basically about size.  Once a window is smaller than 1 square foot we tend to refer to them as panels.   Please don't think that means they are easier to make though-- the contrary is usually the fact because smaller pieces are always more challenging to work with.  Also, it seems that once someone uses a double border they just can't stop using them and Barbara appears to be no exception to that rule.

Carol texted me a day or two before class and asked if I would be offended if she used a different hummingbird in the Flower and Hummingbird pattern I had drawn for her.   I said, "Certainly not," and when Carol showed up she had a new (and far superior) hummingbird all cut and ground.   While she was in class she cut out her background glass and she's now grinding it to fit within her beveled border.

 

Lara has begun working om her 'Flower of Life' Window and has the first of three flower panels all cut out and ground.   This will be a fairly large window but most of the cuts will be straight lines which will be cut from one sheet of glass so that everything fits together perfectly.  We'll see that happen in the weeks to come.

 

MiMi has the flowers and the leaves all cut out in her second Rose Window.   She's deciding on what background glass to use but once that's done she'll make quick work of this window.  Alas, Mimi has cut her finger and will be taking a short break from this project until it heals.   Mark my words though-- this is going to be beautiful.

  

Shelley has begun grinding her Cat Window and she's already got the lower pieces fitting together nicely.  When she returns she'll get to the face which is the most important part of any window featuring an animal.   All she's going to need to do is take her time and then the face will balanced out easily.

 

Linda L has all of her Rose Heart ground and has started wrapping it.   She's also working on a Stylized Cross of her own using the remains of some Fractures And Streamers glass that she had leftover from a previous window.   I think the use of that glass will make this cross really stand out.

 

Betty has each if her three arms working on a different project.   She's got a large Cross Window just about ready to be soldered (once the border is attached), a Fleur De Lis Window that will be hung as a diamond rather than a square, and a Stylized Cross Suncatcher of her own done in a monochromatic 'color' scheme.

  

 

Rowena was also hard at work on her Victorian Themed Window and it looks to be as elegant as any window could ever be.  After wrapping and tacking the center piece Rowena cut out her background.  Once she has that tacked into placer she'll only need a border and some solder to finish this off.

  

 

Each week Mary Grace's Iris Window gets closer and closer to being ground.   I know she thinks this is taking forever but when you tackle a window that's 3 foot by three foot it's going to take a little time to get it done.  Still, with each passing week we see major progress.  Next week I think MG will take a bit of a break and start wrapping her pieces to help ease her weary mind.

 

Ok then, Linda L's Mickey Mouse is looking MUCH better this week.   You can see that he has a smile on his face which helps, but it's the addition of the nose (which she ground into the center of a solid piece of glass) that really make him look 'human' (for lack of a better word).

Martha is officially tacked together (well, her Deer Head is) and she even has her channel in place.  She's begun soldering so it shouldn't be long now before she hangs this and moves on to her Beveled Lighthouse and Sailboat Window.

 

Trace has just begun a large Address Window and that means that this week she traced  and cut out her paper pattern pieces.   She's also got  a lot of those paper patterns traced onto sheets of glass so she'll  be cutting actual glass when she comes back in to class next week.

Lastly we take a look at the Crab pattern that Roy is starting to work on.  He has his glass all picked out and I suspect we'll see this well under way when we next see Roy.

And that about wraps things up for this first week of May!   Where IS this year going??

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Some Assembly Required

Although we've covered this once before it's a very important tip so we're repeating it again.  While grinding it is important to trace a line using another piece of glass as a template.  When doing this make sure that the point of your marker is angled inward towards the piece you are tracing.  If you angle it the other direction the line will be off and you'll cut your piece short which results in gaps throughout your window.

Below is the correct way to angle your marker to get a line that not only matches the piece you are tracing from but also allows you to get a perfect fit on the first pass without gaps.

Moving along to our students I will say that technically this is MiMi's third window with us but it's the first window where she did all of the wrapping, grinding and soldering herself with no teacher intervention while she was working on any of those processes.  This window is all about curves and MiMi did a fantastic job making everything fit together perfectly and curve elegantly.

 

Jeannette wrapped up work on her latest Beveled Window that was made from two different shade of solid gray glass--  A lighter gray for the background and a darker gray for the final border.  You have to admit that the end result is striking.  Further on down you'll see that Jeannette is working on another one of these beautiful windows.

 

Beth has been a very busy woman!   She came into class this week with a second Iris Window all cut and ground and then spend the night fixing a few minor issues, wrapping her pieces, and getting border cut out.  She's hoping to finish these next week and I say "Let's go for it!"

 

Shelley came in and started work on one of the nicest Cat Windows I've seen.  This is a tribute piece because Shelley lost one of her cats last week and she wanted to do something to memorialize him.  She's made a few adjustments to the pattern to allow it to match her cat better and I have to say that this already looks great.

Roy has the stained glass fever and I know this because he's printing out his own patterns, cutting all of the glass and grinding it all while at home!   This Heron Window has only about 8 pieces left to wrap before he starts soldering it and he told me that he'll get that accomplished before he comes back in.

 

Terry's latest window is anther Geometric design that she's cut from glass using only one quarter of the pattern.  I love that so many students are recognizing repeats within their windows!  With the center piece all cut and ground Terry will be able to wrap and tack this if she wants.

 

Cindy was all set to start working on a small circular Shark Logo but then a relative called and requested a window for their bathroom vanity.   The window is all cut, ground and wrapped so Cindy will be finishing it when we see her again in two weeks.  Although it's hard to see Cindy does have the paper pattern to her Shark Logo all cut out and ready to go as well.

 

Rowena is making a Victorian Window design that incorporates rules from geometric Windows.  She also recognized almost instantly that she could just trace out just a quarter of this pattern and then cut 4 pieces of glass from each paper pattern piece-- two on one side and two reversed.

 

Susan R is in the middle of making her own Owl Of Many Colors and she's using techniques that I've posted here in the blog.  Give that woman a gold star!   Now that she's almost finished wrapping it, there's a chance it will be finished when she comes back in.

  

Lara is in the midst of making what I think is going to be a very interesting window.   It will consist of three long sections repeated three times (similar to Frank Lloyd Wright's Tree Of Life Design.)  Since the majority of this is background glass all Lara has to cut out initially are the top and bottom panels.  We'll see how this all works out as her work progresses.

 

I have to say that Mickey Mouse looks downright terrifying without a nose.  Needless to say, Linda L will get that nose cut into her Mickey Mouse when she returns to class because I don't want to look at him like this any more for fear of nightmares!  He's like Mickey Voldemort (only happier).

 

Patrice's 4H Clover Window is all cut, ground, wrapped and tacked!   Before class ended Patrice was able to get channel on it as well which means that she's going to be putting a final bead on this when she comes back to class.   And since this is mostly straight lines I think she'll move quickly on it.

Mary Grace is making steady progress on her Iris Window and will soon get to the wrapping phase of this large window.  There are still more than a few pieces left to grind but she knows what she's doing so it won't be long now.  She's not thrilled with how long this is taking her but I know she'll be thrilled when she hangs this.

 

Martha has all of the borders cut for her Deer Head Window and even got the first one attached before she left class.  With all the pieces now in place she'll begin soldering this when we see her again.

 

Melissa is so very close to having her Geometric Window completed!   With the final border attached and the front side soldered the only thing left to do is to affix the round zinc channel (which we curved before she went home).   She plans on having the back side soldered when she comes back in and I have full faith in the fact that she will walk out the door with this as a completed project when she comes back in next week.

 

Although we only had two windows completed this week it looks as though next week will be a busy week when it comes to completing windows.  Susan D's Peacock will likely be among the finished windows because she accomplished a lot on it while she was in class.   The front side is soldered and she has the majority of the back side completed as you can see in the picture below. 

Jeannette had all of her bevels wrapped for her second bevel window and made short work of tacking the bevels together and getting the background cut and ground.   There's only one border left to go on this and then she can begin soldering it.   The interesting thing about this window is that it was made from the same colors as the one she completed last week (see the beginning of this post).   It's a perfect example of how different a window will look when it actually has some light behind it.

 

Barbara H made the most of her night with us as she ground her Sunflower, tacked it together and then got the first border attached as well.  She's going to add a second (final) border to this when she comes back in and it will be cut from the same glass that she used for her background.

Lastly we take a look at the Hummingbird Window that Carol has started.   This will have a beveled inner border featuring two bevel clusters in opposing corners.  Because we've been having difficulties with beveled borders fitting, Carol has her border already tacked together. The pattern itself was drawn within the perimeter of the bevels assuring a perfect fit.  It just makes things so much easier down the road.
  

Even though we didn't see many completed projects this week we had VERY busy classes since everyone was trying to get to a point where they could continue working at home of to just come into their next class for a relaxing few hours of soldering.   Come back next week and see what happens next with each of these projects and a few new ones as well.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Peanut Butter Song

Before we hop into things I'm going to mention that we have a Fusing Workshop scheduled for next month with just two openings still available in it.  The dates are May 19th and 20th and classes run from 9am until approximately 4pm (depending on how quickly things get accomplished).   By the end of the second day 5 projects will have been assembled.   Some will be available to take home on the 20th with the others being ready the following weekend after they spend another night or two in the kiln.   If you are interested give Russ a call at 337-350-0244 to reserve yourself a spot.  Below are an example of some of the projects that you will make in the workshop.

OK then, I have to say that Lara's Indian Headdress Window has been a very popular window among our students.   Students are always asking if it's in the shop so they can see it in person and they're always disappointed when I tell them that Lara has it at home with her.   Now we get to see it 100% completed and it's another show stopper.  Lara always manages to make make intricate and unique windows and this is surely no exception.  I think that this is nothing short of stunning.

 

I wish I could show you how the wings on this Pelican flap but a static picture just can't do it justice.  Actually, I must confess that we I ended up giving up and soldering the wings onto this Pelican's body so they don't move at all.   Yes, I have to admit defeat because even though the instructions for this project were followed perfectly (and gone over by three different people) the wings would not flap.   It certainly didn't help that the illustrations didn't match the written instructions and that there was even one wire that was attach to the head and then never instructed where to attach it from there.   Since Susan R didn't realize that the wings were supposed to flap she was more than content having them permanently affixed to the body.  Even though the wings don't flap I must say that in the end it still is an incredibly nice piece of work that Susan made flawlessly.

 

Next up we have Rowena's Heron Window which is pure perfection.   From the cutting to the fitting, to the soldering, there is not a piece out of place in this.   Her choice of border colors compliments the subject flawlessly and adds to the window without stealing the focus.  Another job VERY well done.

 

This is an adorable little Sunflower Panel that Tracey completed and I have to say that as a panel it turned out even better than I thought it would.  And to think that this started off as a quick sketch of a Sunflower to illustrate the right and wrong ways to utilize the grain of your glass.  Out of the smallest ideas magic can grow- if Tracey is the gardener!

Myrt finished the wrapping and soldering on her pair of Angel Wings and they certainly are inspirational.   Her use of iridized glass is nothing short of perfect as is the workmanship that went into making these.   The curves all flow smoothly and the outside edges all line up perfectly which makes me very proud of Myrt's work indeed.

  

A while back we had a student that our longtime readers will certainly recall.  Janet's shined brightly with all of the projects that she made with us but she sadly moved away.  Luckily she moved near Armstrong Glass so when we drive through Georgia and stop for glass we give her a call so we can meet and catch up with each other.   During our latest get-together she showed me these pictures of a fireplace screen that she made not too long ago and I told her that I needed to post them because, Wow(!), has she done a beautiful job on this!   Janet is easily one of our biggest successes because she's doing stained glass all on her own and doing a wonderful job at it as well.   And that's what makes me appreciate  being a teacher.

Next we have Rowena's latest Modern Art Suncatcher.  These are pretty popular here in class.

 

And here are four more Modern Art Suncatchers that Cindy made this week.  These certainly prove that worrying about color is a flat out waste of time because you just can't screw these up.

So check this out!  Beth is one of our newest students and she came into class Thursday night with this window all cut out and ground!   And to think that she worries about how she's progressing.   I say she's doing wonderfully and can't wait to see this completed when she comes back in to finish it off.

 

Although it's hard to see because the background is clear and the heart border that traces out the yellow flowers is white, this is going to be one beautiful window.  When Linda F showed me this pattern I had to laugh because I had already saved it on my computer a few months earlier as a window that I would possibly make some day.   Linda is already grinding this so she'll be finished with this before you know it.

 

Patrice also has a lot of clear glass in her window which is invisible in the picture below but all of the glass has been cut out for her 4H Clover window and she's already begun grinding by starting at the bottom left corner.  I suspect she'll begin wrapping these when she comes back in because this already fits together pretty darned well!

 

Rowena also started a new Window this week and she gets extra points for realizing that she only needed to trace out pattern pieces for 1/4 of the window.   By cutting two of each pattern piece and then reversing them and cutting two more she's able to get all of the glass cut out for what is surely going to be a beautiful window.

 

Linda L only has a few scant pieces to go on her 4th of July Mickey Window and then she'll move along to the grinding process.   She's taking her time while cutting out her pieces and you can see that it almost fits together perfectly before a single piece has touched the grinder.

 

Further on down you'll see another window that Tasha has all ready to be colored and waxed.  Because she didn't have enough time to do that in class Tasha resumed working on grinding her Abstract Poppy Window that she had started a few weeks back.  This only needs a few more pieces ground before she gets to wrap it

Martha spent her night replacing a few pieces in her Deer head Window and is ready to get a border attached to it now.   That won't take long at all so she'll begin soldering when she comes back into class next week.

  

Susan R's Owl Of Many Colors is so very close to being completely ground already.   She's really flown through this project (no pun intended) and I have no doubt that she'll begin wrapping it when she comes back in.  Her use of color in this is absolutely perfect.

 

Mary Grace is missing a few pieces but she's moving along at a nice steady pace on her Iris Window.  She isn't missing all of the pieces that you see left opened in the picture below so she still has some grinding to do before she starts wrapping what she has.   Once you begin grinding a window and you discover that you're missing pieces it's best to just tack the window together and then use the openings in the window itself as a pattern for the missing pieces.

 

MiMi finished the soldering on her Rose Window just as class was over so all she needs to do on this is to wash it and add a coat of patina to it.   Even though it's not washed yet you can easily see that this is going to be one stunning window.  Next week we'll see MiMi get this completed and another window started.

 

Here's another look at the Seahorse Window that Becky S is making.   With a good majority of the pieces already ground she's doing very well indeed.   This is a complex pattern and once the grinding is completed she'll begin cutting a lot of those pieces in half to give it even more detail.

  

Look at this!  With just 8 pieces left to go (or 16 depending on what Melissa wants to do) this window is so near ready to be soldered that it isn't even funny.    Her eye for exactness is dead on and this makes the original that she found on line look downright bad!   The end is certainly near on this.

 

Myrt is working on a Modern Art Suncatcher of her own and she's gone patriotic in her version of this popular design.

 

With the last border all cut out and tacked on to her Peacock Window, Susan D is ready to move on to the easy and relaxing task of soldering.   This week she also got the Peacock's crest cut out and if I were to say that it went together perfectly then I'd be understating the fact.   When Susan returns we'll add some zinc channel to this and then she'll complate the soldering. 

 

Lastly we have another window that is so very close to being completed.  With just a quick washing and coloring left to go, Tasha will easily finish this when she comes back in.  That means that we'll be see this among our completed windows in our next post. 

 

We'll be back next week on Monday with the latest pictures of all of our students wonderful work so be sure to come on back.  We'll be sure to light up a window or two for you!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks