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Softness, gracefulness and fluidity are very import in the art of stained glass.  We like to see lines that flow and merge without sharp or odd angles.  It's the difference between good stained glass and bad stained glass. We want curves that are exaggerated because by the time we add an eighth inch of lead on top of them they tend to flatten out and look considerably less appealing. 

With the flower below you can see how you can start with the most basic of ideas and then flesh it out by adding curves and amplifying existing curves.   The difference is truly night and day, don't you agree?

 

Next we have an example of why we need to have lines flow gracefully.  The Heart on the left is a sharp and angled mess.  Pay attention to the curves you cut.  An arc shouldn't look like half of a stop sign.  It doesn't matter of you have an eye for art or not-- EVERYONE (especially the people looking at your work) can tell when a straight line is rippled and when a curve has points along it.  Take your time and do it right.

Well then, I had thought that Cindy was leaving the lead on her Address Number Plaque silver last week and that we wouldn't see it again but she brought it back this week all washed and colored with black patina.   The contrast of the black against the clear really added a lot of definition to the numbers and I have to say that this did indeed turn out very nicely.

Our next four completed projects were each made by Rowena who is on a serious roll!  As always, her Bumble Bee Lawn Ornament turned out lovely indeed.

 

Then she made a new Lawn Ornament that we haven't see before.  There's no mistaking that this is an Iris and I have no doubt that we'll be seeing more of these being made.   I love how the stake doubles as the stem of the flower!

 

This UL and pepper suncatcher has been done before but it's the first time that Rowena has made one.  You can't tell that from the workmanship though, can ya?  :-)

 

Here Rowena ends her spree of completed projects with an original ST logo from her old Alma Mater.  Featuring the school colors and a color guard flag behind the logo, Rowena turned out a great finished gift this week.

Let's start off our works in progress with Cindy who has begun her somewhat large Rosie the Dog Window.  As you can see she's working from the inside out as we always prefer to do when we work in sections.   Once the dog is ground she'll tack her together and then finish off the top name and the background pieces.  Once that's all tacked together she'll move along to the name on the bottom and finally the borders.  Rosie is looking good already and she hasn't even been ground yet!

 

Mary is taking a little break from her Dreamcatcher Window so she can make a quick gift that needs to be completed in two weeks.   She started cutting out a LOVE Window this week and by the time class was finished she had it both cut and ground.   In fact, she even had one piece wrapped in foil already as well!  This will certainly be completed in time.

 

Jan's Poppies Window is really taking shape now.  Next week I'll demonstrate how her background glass was cut from a single piece of textures glass the exact size of the background that she needed.  One small piece had to be sacrificed (see the red arrow) to do this but we will easily line up another piece so that it will blend in perfectly.  the end result will be a swirling pattern in the background that remains unbroken.

 

Beth filled in the missing colors in her paint by number dreams (that's a Jackson Browne reference there) and then filled in her missing pieces as well.  After getting her border cut and tacked she got her channel attached and then completely soldered the front side of this Flower Window masterfully!  Her soldering skills have grown by leaps and bounds this week and I think she should be very proud of what she accomplished.  Slow and steady ALWAYS wins the race.

 

 

Speaking of winners, Shelley has begun working on a new project that I predict will be a winner indeed.   It's hard to see right now since she's just begun cutting class, but the scene is of two buxom ladies enjoying some wine.   Just wait until you see this window unfold-- it will surely bring a smile to your face.

 

Then we have Terry who is officially soldering the back side of her Humming Bird and Flowers window which means that it will surely be completed the next time we see it.   If class had run just a half an hour longer we would have seen Terry finish it this week.

 

 

With her borders completely attached and the front side soldered, Tracey is close to finishing off her Address Window.  She took her time soldering the first side and although all she can see are mistakes I have to give credit where credit is due and say that her soldering is FAR better than the soldering you find on stained glass that I see being sold in stores.  With each project Tracey gets better and better and I love the progress she's making. 

  

Myrt is in the midst of cutting glass for her Cardinal Window and she's decided to add three flowers to the pattern.  Since they are well removed from the Cardinals themselves this will be an easy addition that we'll see sketched into place upon her return. 

 

 

MiMi left her with her Flower Window under her arm (figuratively, not literally) and planned on doing some more soldering on it while she was at home.  The next day I saw a post by her on Facebook showing a picture of her window that also said the that soldering was finished!   That means that all we need to do is add a zinc channel to this (30 minutes work at the most) and then wash and color it.  And I will say that MiMi's soldering is impeccable.

 

With just two more cloth sections to grind into place (the 7 and 9 o'clock positions) Melissa's Sacred Hearts Window is very near completion.   The border will go very quickly (as always) and before you know it Melissa will be starting a new project.  I love her attention to detail-- Melissa is not afraid to go back to the grinder three or four times to achieve a perfect fit.

 

 

Next we have another window that will most likely be completed when we return next week.  Susan R's Chef Window has all of its pieces in place and it's nearly soldered.  There's a little bit of wire work to go but we'll easily handle that upon her return.  I'll bet Susan will thrilled to finish this and get started on a new project.

 

And in the end the lighthouse you take is equal to the lighthouse you make.  Martha has nearly got all of her wrapping done and she will be adding a beveled border around it once it is tacked together.   Very elegant indeed and going together quickly if I do say so myself.

So that's it for this week.  Come back next week when even more is accomplished and the curves we see are more curvaceous than ever!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

You Can't Afford To

We've been having questions again (it's a re-occurring theme in class) about how the grain should flow on the different pieces of glass in a window.   Most people run into problems when they overthink it.  The 'rules' are simple but keep in mind that there ARE times when we break them.  By and large though, we simply follow these three simple rules:

1.  Mark you grain lines BEFORE you cut up you paper pattern.

2.  Grain lines should follow the length of the glass.   (In other words, put the longest line that you can on the piece.)

3.  Background pieces run horizontally (left to right) unless you have glass that looks like rain or falling water.

That's it.  Too many people think that the grain should run from left to right on ALL of their pieces.  Doing so gives you the flower that you see below on the left.  The flower on the right was colored using the same piece of glass but with the grain following the length of each piece.   It's quite a difference don't you think?  I also put the lightest sections on the outer ends of the petals whenever possible and tried to avoid any harsh straight lines.

So remember to mark your grain lines with the length of the glass and you'll be fine.  (It won't always be from left to right.) 

Once you have grain lines on your pieces you needn't think about it again-- just place them on the glass as they are marked and you'll be absolutely fine.


Well now, Roy surely did an excellent job on his Wine and Grapes Window.   He did the majority of work on this while at home and with each project I see him getting better and better.  Two  of the things he learned  was that Grapes are a pain in the glass and that when cutting out grapes you ALWAYS need to number those pieces!
 

I wasn't sure when it was drawn out on paper just how this would look since it was based on two different pineapple sketches that I merged into one.  I will say that it was to the best of my abilities but sometimes that isn't enough.  As you can see however, Rowena did a splendid job on this design and created a pineapple that's not only realistic but truly says, "Welcome."

 

 

Betty completed her 3D flower Suncatcher this week and learned how to tack two pieces of glass together so that one overlays the other.   The leaves are actually on top of the bevels that they 'point at' in the pattern below.  Betty added an extra helping of lead in the middle of the flower to give it a center which I feel tops it off nicely .

 

  

Koy the kitten may be gone but his likeness lives on in stained glass.  Shelley added wire whiskers to the face of this cat and the end result was more than worth the small amount of time it took to do so.

 

Rounding out our completed projects this week is Cindy's small address panel.  I'm not sure where this will be mounted but I'm guessing it goes into a mailbox since the finished piece measures only 6 inches tall.  The picture below isn't the best but that's only because it still has flux on it because it wasn't washed yet when Cindy took it home with her.

This is Terry's latest creation and it's yet another of her own designs.  Her humming Bird and Flowers Window is already all cut out and is now being ground to fit.  Terry wastes no time when it comes to window making!

 

Speaking of flowers you can see that Beth is moving along at a nice pace on her Flower Window.   There are only a few pieces left to cut but since there are so many tiny pieces that can easily shift (even if they're pinned down) we've decided to begin wrapping and tacking together what Beth has ground here.

 

Betty also managed to work on her two Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Suncatchers.  With the front sides soldered she'll move on to the back sides of these when she returns and surely have them completed.

 

Lara has begun cutting glass for her stylized New Orleans House and the pattern itself is literally split in half across the center (because of the two floors of the building).   To minimize confusion Lara is cutting, grinding and tacking the bottom half of this window before she starts the top.  This is going to be a bright Window and a real head turner for sure.

 

Brenda has her Magnolia Window halfway wrapped which means that she'll be looking for a border glass when she comes back in.  That won't be next week though because Brenda will be spending time in her camper during the 4th of July week. 

 

 

This is the center portion of a window that Jan is making.   There will be a little more extending outward from the left and right which will make the border that surrounds this really something to look at.   Jan is just about ready to get the background cut for these flowers and she'll be using a single piece of Baroque Glass so that the twisting flow of the glass remains intact when this is put together.

 

With two more sections of her Panel Lamp completed Carol hopes to be able to assemble the six panels into a single lamp when she returns next week.  Once the panels are soldered it doesn't take long to join them together so that could VERY easily happen.

 

Martha got her Lighthouse and Sail Boat Window resized and then all cut out as well!  The sky was cut from a single sheet of Baroque Glass (much like Jan's background) and it already fits together perfectly.  Her ocean water was cut from a heavier textured glass which helps give the waves some 'depth'.  This will surely be ground before Martha expects because things are going to be able to move quickly now.

 

Linda L has some more of her Ocean Floor cut out and once she gets about four more pieces completed we will tack this and then get the rock behind her coral all cut out.  And that should happen real soon...

  

Mary spent the night cutting out the feathers for her Dream Catcher Window and the only thing left to cut is the background!   Mary actually cut the ribbon pieces while she was at home and she did a wonderful job getting them to essentially fit even though they aren't ground already.

 

With all of the 'cloth' cut out for the background of her Sacred Hearts Window, Melissa focused on grinding the pieces into place.  Once they fit together she'll cut fold lines into them which will ensure a perfect fit.  It's all about perfection with this window and Melissa certainly has achieved that already.

 

 

Myrt found her Geometric Suncatcher that she had forgotten about under the table this week and got that ground so she could take it home and wrap it.  Then she moved along to her Pair of Cardinals Window which is already recognizable even though not a single piece has been ground.  That's called good cutting!

 

With all of her borders attached Tracey is now ready to begin soldering her very long Address Window.  It's now too large for me to fit in a picture unless I set the window on the floor and hold the camera above my head.   Do you know where she lives?  I'll give you a clue as to what the street number is....

  

Patrice started another Sunflower Window this week and she's already well under way on it.  There is no doubt at all that she be grinding on this window when she comes back in because she's done this once before and the second time through a project always goes much faster.

 

Rowena worked on two projects this week, the first being a UL Suncatcher and the second being a suncatcher representing her Alma Mater.    With just a flag pole left to cut out and grind, Rowena will be able to start wrapping these suncatchers even before she comes back to class if she wants.

 

Susan R only has to fill in one missing piece and then she'll be ready to tack this Chef together and get the border attached.  You've got to love that glass of wine he's holding up because it was cut from a single piece of glass.   There was actually a spot on the purple glass that ran completely clear which made for a fortuitous  piece to utilize in her window.

And that about wraps things up on this 4th of July Week!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Passionate About Soldering

"Do you think I can cut this curve out?"  I hear it every week.   My first instinct is to say, "No" because the student is already doubting their ability by asking me if I think they can do it.  Still, there is a GENERAL rule that you can use to determine if you want to try to take that curve in one cut or not.  First you have to figure out the 'depth' of the curve.  This can be done in your head very easily without a ruler but I'm going to draw it all out for you to help explain it.

Start by connecting the two ending points of the the curve as I did in the illustration below with the red dotted line.  Next, measure the distance from that line to the deepest part of the curve (usually, but not always, the center of the curve).  This gives you the 'depth' of the curve.  An actual number isn't needed as you will soon see. 

If the 'length' of the curve (the length of the red dotted line) is MORE than three times the 'depth' of the curve you can almost always get the curve cut in one or two scoops with your cutter.

In the topmost example you can see that there are more than five 'depths' making up the 'length' curve.  That means that if even if you have moderate cutting skills you can most likely get the curve out in one cut.

In the lower example we can't even fit two 'depths' into the 'length' of the curve.   I would never try to make this cut without scooping it out a little at a time.

If you follow this simple formula:  "Never attempt a curve that is less than three lengths of its depth."  You won't have any trouble deciding if you should go for the curve in a single cut or not.

Well I have to say that Myrt had no deep curves in her Ivory the Dog Window.   This week we  saw her finish her tribute window from what I've seen on the internet it's a dead ringer for the actual dog itself.  I think Martha might have been calling Ivory to get the window to come over to her work table so she could pet it!   Myrt agonized about the face of this dog as she was making it even going so far as to rip it apart to make minor adjustments to the mouth.  In the end she captured Ivory's look perfectly and that is a testament to the detailed work that Myrt does.

Here we have our first look at the pair of Aeroscopes that Carol finished in class this week.  The one on the left was made for her husband, Totally Rad Richard, while the one on the right is Carol's.  As I said before she has more propeller wheels cut out so she'll be ready to begin a few more of these when she wants.   They're certainly becoming popular pieces as you will see in the weeks to come.  The image in between is what you see when you look through the back of these planes.  However, a single picture doesn't do it justice though as the colors and shaped blend in and out of themselves as you spin the propellers.

 

Here's Cindy's Sunset Fantasy Waterfall Scene all completed and ready to hang.  I found the image online in a fantasy art website and thought it would look great as a suncatcher.  there are a lot of little pieces but we all know that's what Cindy loves most in her projects.

 

Patrice finished her first Bumble Bee Lawn Ornament and it's the first one we've see done with green eyes.   As we all know, green and yellow go together wonderfully so there was never any doubt that this was going to turn out anything less than stunning.

 

Rowena's Flowers and Humming Bird Window turned out as perfect as perfect can be.   She knew she was starting with a great pattern (thanks to Carol) and did a wonderful job on her own interpretation of it.   And yes, this is bigger than you might think because when other students saw it hanging up in the shop they were all surprised at how large it is (almost three feet tall).

 

Next up we take a look at a pair of Mickey Mouse Silhouettes that Susan D completed this week.  A little further on down we'll take a look at the matching Minnie Mouse Suncatchers that Susan is making to go along with these.

 

Here's Tracey's Aeroscope complete with a view through the Kaleidoscope that runs through the length of the body of the plane.  These never fail to impress people even before they realize that it doubles as a kaleidoscope.  Tracey did a great job on this and her soldering is top notch.  I'm going to have to make a video so everyone can get the full effect of the kaleidoscope image.

 

Terry completed her Butterfly on a Flower Window this week but it was finished too late for her to wash and color it.   I don't know if we'll get to see this again next week so here is her completed window as we all saw it on the table (rather than back lit).  Even in an unwashed state you can see that it's a very beautiful window featuring beautiful work.

  

Mary is back!  It's been a while now and I have to say that everyone was all happy to see Mary return to class.   She had wrapped all of the pieces for the center circle section of her Dreamcatcher Window but she forgot to bring the glass that she was going to use for her feathers.   Rather than wasting time, Mary tacked together the circular section of her window and then put a finishing solder bead on it- but only the front side!!!   With the hardest part of this window easily behind her she should have no problems at all from here on out.

 

 

Betty has turned up a new Nativity Scene Suncatcher and had me print it out in two different sizes.  This is the larger size and after cutting out two of them she's decided that it's best to keep things this size since it's already tough enough to cut out some of the small pieces.

 

Beth has the bottom half of her Flower Window all ground and is now about to begin grinding the top half which contains all of the flower petals.  It may look like a lot of work but if she moves slowly and steadily then Beth will have no problems whatsoever. 

Carol also spent time working on a new panel lamp.   I believe (although I could be wrong) that it consists of six panels.   With these two completed she's already a third of the way to the finish line!

 

The glass Becky picked out for her final border is PERFECT!  I just love the combination of the two different greens.    With the front side completely soldered she's going to flip this over and finish adding lead to it when she returns to class.   Look to see this window in all its glory next week.

 

With the background all cut out for her Magnolia Window, Brenda has moved over to the grinder so that this all fits together perfectly.   Before you know it we'll be looking at this window in our completed projects section!

 

Linda L is going against the rules here because she's cut and ground and wrapped the pieces for her Sea Horse and Coral before the rest of her glass has been cut.  Why?  Because this will allow the grain of the glass she uses for the the ground that this coral is in front of to flow perfectly throughout all of those little pieces.  Sometimes you have to break the rules for greatness to occur (but only sometimes.)

 

Mary Grace did an incredible job soldering the front side of her window this week and I have no doubt that she'll begin the back side when she returns.  This window was causing her some problems in the beginning of it's development but not any more.  In fact, she's showing it who the boss is now!

 

Susan R is just about ready to get the border tacked onto her Chef window now.  There are a few pieces that she's going to have to re-cut for a better fit and there was a small break that she'll  repair by adding a new piece but after that it will be time to pick out a color for the border.

 

 

Melissa has her Sacred Hearts tacked together and she's got her sky cut and fitted as well. With just the 8 sections of ribbon(?) left to go I think that she's making excellent time on this project.

 

Roy made another change to his Wine Bottle Window this week by adding some wine to it.   Last week the bottle was empty but this week you can see that it's more than halfway filled.   It looks dark sitting there on the work table but when you see this lit up you'll agree that it's a perfect purple glass for wine.

 

 

 

Tracey not only complete her Aeroscope this week-- she also tacked together her address window and got the inner border cut out for it as well.   She has the color for her final border all picked out and there's a good chance that we'll see what that color is when we look at this again next week.

 

Cindy began work on this small address panel and already has the numbers cut and tacked together.   That leaves her with just four pieces of background left to go before she wraps this one up when she returns. 

 

Lara is about to embark on another stunning stained glass journey.  Since you can't see the colorful New Orleans style house that she traced while in class this week I've put a colored picture of it in the upper left corner.  I'll bet it ends up being spectacular.

  

 

You got to see the two Mickey Mouse Silhouettes that Susan D made at the top of this post and now we see the two companion Minnie Mouse Silhouettes.   These will most likely be completed upon her return.  Oh, don't let the bow tie fool you-- the top left Minnie is resting on the Mickey Pattern so it looks a bot odd.

  

Lastly, Martha returned this week and got the background for her Lighthouse and Sailboat Window all drawn up.  Alas, it's a little too big so she plans on scaling it down somewhat.   Once she has a size we'll work from there.

  

And that wraps things up for this week!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks