A Picky Palate

Most times in stained glass you want to follow a procedure to make your window flow naturally.  The grain for your backgrounds should always run from left to right (horizontally) if you are using blue glass because most everything that you see in the sky flows in that direction.   If you are using clear glass or any other color for your background  you can run the grain in any direction you want-- just be consistent.

Now we all know that every rule has an exception so here we go.  If your border is cut up into random pieces, many of which are unnecessary,  that don't simply make the cutting easier, then you can break the rule of having your grain flow in one direction.  Below I've colored in Shawn's Address Window and I've run the background grain from left to right (horizontally) in one direction.   It looks wonderful to me and there is nothing wrong with making this window in this manor.

Next I've randomly run the grain so that nothing matches up.  Someone used this grain scheme a long, long time ago (but in a galaxy not far away) and it worked so well that many, many other stained glass artists followed suit over the years to the point where it's almost expected, but only when a background is cut up into more pieces than it needs to be.  Me, I like the look below best.   The fact that it doesn't all flow together draws your eye to the window which is actually somewhat boring since it's only numbers.  The look below is the one I'd go for and it's the the look that Shawn went with as well.   You'll see her window later on where the effect is much more apparent.

First off this week we have Jeff who has completed his  Flowers and Scenery Window.  Now that it's hanging up in the light you can easily see how all of his hard work has paid off.  Jeff is going to take a few months off since he'll be working out of state but we hope to see him return a little while down the line.

 

Martha's Flowing Textures Window is finished  but since she colored it with black patina (which I recommend for all clear glass windows) she had to let it sit for 45 minutes before washing the patina off.  Since she colored this late into class she left for home and I washed it right about the time she would have been walking into her home.   In other words, she hasn't seen this 100% completed yet but as we can ALL see, it's wonderful.

  

Jeannette put the finishing touches on her Coffee Pot Window and Angie is already eyeing up the pattern!  This window is made out of a bare minimum amount of colors but still stands out vibrantly due to it's high contrast and excellent craftswomanship.

 

Barbara H put the finishing touches on 3 different Dragonfly Flowerpot Decorations  and even attached the stakes herself which is something that a lot of our students find daunting.  Way to go Barbara!

Tracey's Single Sunflower Window is all cut out and she's begun grinding it already.   The long clear top piece had broke in half while cutting it but rather than replacing a huge piece of glass we simply put a lead line through it to make two shorter pieces out of one long one.   Then we saw that the stem of the sunflower looked like it ran straight up and out the top of the window so to fix that optical illusion we cut a green stem and now all is fine.   I actually prefer the green stem over the original lead line stem that the pattern called for.

 

 

Annette's Cross Window has really taken form now that the background glass has been cut.   She's already grinding her pieces and you can now see the dove perfectly even though it's somewhat hidden behind the cross.  People in other classes are already talking about making this for themselves!

 

MiMi began working on two Heart Sunflower Suncatchers and has both of them cut out along with one of them being ground already.   Her fit is perfect and her colors are exquisite.  I loved this design so much that I cut three of them out over the weekend for myself!  I'm hoping that this becomes a popular design and MiMi's flawless work will surely help make that happen.

Wow, Lara got all of her Flower Window ground in just one class!   This proves just how much time you can actually save if you slow down, take your time, and stay on the the line while you are cutting your glass.   When Lara was packing up she stumbled upon the missing pattern pieces for her stems so those five opened areas will have pieces cut and ground for them upon Lara's return. 

 

Rowena began work on an American Flag and Eagle Window by cutting glass this week.   As you can see she got it all cut out and even has some of it ground already.  It won't be long before this eagle flies out the door.

  

Cindy has all her ducks in a row (so to speak) by having her pair of chickens all foiled and tacked together.   Next week we'll get to see her work on cutting out the background glass for these two birds which, compared to cutting the chickens, will be a piece of cake.

 

 
Kerry has begun working on an LSU/Tiger Eyes Window and got as far as getting his paper pattern pieces traced onto the glass he'll be using for the dark sections of the tiger portion of his window.  That means that Kerry will be cutting glass when he returns.

 

Shelley has returned!  We knew she couldn't stay away from us for too long and when she walked in the door this week after being absent for 4 months she just fell right back into place.   And what's she working on?  Those of us who know Shelley's previous work aren't surprised to see that she's working on a Mermaid. 

 

Linda F tacked her Underwater Scene together, filled in a few missing pieces and then redesigned the lower left corner so that it had more coral in it.   Not a bad days work at all!  Next week she'll add a border and then start soldering this beast.

 

Lisa spent the day foiling all of her glass and she's just about ready to tack this, fill in a few missing pieces, and then add a border or two before finishing this up by adding solder to it.  It's all coming together now for her!

 

Roxane was back in class this week and tacked together her Penguin Window after which she added two borders, a grey one and a black one.   Now she's just about ready to begin soldering this cute family themed window.

  

Susan R  has just a few scant pieces left to cut out for the background glass in her Seafood Window and then she'll finish it off with a border before she begins to solder it.   All of her hard work was well worth it as this window already shows off her stained glass skills.

  

Jeanne M has finished grinding her Easter Window and even began wrapping all of her pieces with copper foil.  She hopes to get this done in time for Easter and I'm sure that this will be hanging in her home before Easter gets here.

  

The stained glass woman that Angie is working on is feeling under the weather but luckily she has an umbrella with her that her handbag accessorizes with perfectly.  Angie got her first border attached which means that she's got just one more to go and then she'll finish this rainy day scene.

 

 

Fran's begun cutting glass for her Red Fish Window but will be redesigning the background of it.   When she comes back in we may see what her new pattern looks like but even if it isn't drawn up she'll be able to continue grinding this colorful fish.  Fran still needs an eye in her fish but we're going to cut that into place once the eye has been cut and ground so that it fits perfectly. As always, the smaller the piece the more important the precision.

 

  

Carol is working on an LSU/Tiger Eyes Window of her own and she's really far along in the creation process.  We make this window in two separate sections so we can be sure that the Tiger Eye portion and the LSU section are EXACTLY the same width otherwise you end up with a lopsided, trapezoidal shaped window when the borders get attached.

 

 

Susan D's Ali The Dog window is officially ready for its background glass.   Now that she has her dog foiled and tacked together the rest of this window will be child's play for Susan.

 

Mary Grace worked on getting a zinc channel curved to wrap around her Circular Anchor Window and then went to work on filling in some missing pieces that she still had to deal with.   After that was finished she managed to get the front side of her window soldered which means that with a little luck she'll be wrapping up this project upon her return.

 

Jeanne L is grinding the fruit for her Fruit Basket Window and it won't be long before she tacks this together and then cuts out her background glass.   I've never understood why I've found this design to be such a fun window to make but Jeanne (and everyone else who's made this) has agreed with me.

Melissa stunned everyone when she came in with ALL of her glass cut!  She was worried about splitting both the green and blue pieces so that each separate piece became two but she said that when the first one cut so easily she just couldn't stop cutting and grinding every one of them.   Melissa wants to finish this next week and if she can get this soldered at home I see no reason why that won't happen.

 

Betty worked on two different projects this week.  Her small Lily Panel only needed a border which everyone in class helped picked the color for.  Once that was chosen and cut she put that project on the side so she could finish it at home.  She then resumed work on her Stylized Fleur De Lis Window which is also almost completed.  Look for these two windows to be in a spotlight position near the top of our next post.

Which brings us back to Shawn's address window which sort of started this post. Shawn has a big decision to make.   She 's thinking about adding another border to her Address Window but there's a size restriction so she's unsure if she should add more to this or not. Either way, she'll be soldering this before you know it.

 And there you have it, everything that happened in our first class for the month of March.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Put Your Big Girl Panties On

Be comfortable, not contorted!  This is something I tell students two or three times a week when I see them reaching to the other side of their projects trying to see if something lines up or not.  Our first golden rule is to first cut point to point when cutting an inside curve, but our second most  important rule is that you should never work beyond the halfway point of your window.   Once you go beyond that point you should spin your project around so the area you are working on is closer to you thus enabling you to see exactly what you are doing!  You'll be surprised at how much time you save with this one simple tip.


So our first completed window of the week is Annette's Max The Dog.  Although Christmas is behind us Annette thinks she might very well hang this up for a while anyway.   Just in case you don't recognize him, Max is the dog that starred in How The Grinch Stole Christmas.  This window, along with her Grinch window, will surely make quite a statement during the 2020 Christmas season.

 

Next up we have Belinda's Church Window which was finished this week.   As you can see all of that hard work sure paid off.   The funny thing is that all of those thin white boards that make up the church weren't hard to do at all! The 'Love', 'Faith' and 'Hope' words were fired onto the glass that make the scrolls in our kiln and the finished result is nothing short of inspirational.

 

Kerry's Deer Window looks exactly as a deer should look which is a great compliment because I've seen some on the internet that need a label to let you know what you're looking at!  This is yet another stunning piece of work by Kerry.

 

 

And Jeannette made another Wedding Invitation Plaque this week with colors completely different from the ones she used for her last wedding gift.   Although it's difficult to see in the picture, the glass she used for her border matches the flower on the invitation perfectly.  That color tie in is what really sells this design.

After completing her Max the Dog Window, Annette traced out and began cutting glass for her new window.   She wanted a Cross but we added to it so that it wouldn't just be 4 pieces of brown glass in a frame.   This cross is made up of three colors and features a Dove behind it almost in silhouette.  I may be wrong but I think we're going to be seeing a few more of these made over the next few months.

 

Meanwhile, Shawn is working on an Address Window with a background that will very closely match the background of the Cross Window that her mother is working on.  We're going to dive into the design esthetics of a 'fractured' background next week as our tip of the week. As for Shawn, well, she cut out all of her glass and even got half of it ground in just one night.  Way to go!

 

MiMi is working on three Suncatcher Birds and in just one class these have been cut, ground, and ready to be foiled.  The three of these are so perfectly matched that you'd almost swear that they were a kit.  Alas, only people who don't properly know how to do stained glass assume that other peoples' work came together starting life as a prefabbed kit.

 

  

I have to say that Jeannette's Coffee Pot Window looks fantastic!   When I drew this up I accidentally reversed the width and height measurements but Jeannette said she liked it so much that she was going to make it anyway.   So who knows, we may see another one of these running wider than taller later on down the line.

 

Lara's always on a roll so it should come as no surprise that she has her Flower Window completely cut out and ready for grinding.   Well, she hasn't cut six pieces of her stems yet but somehow the pattern pieces have turned up missing so we're going to deal with those a little later on.

 

Ali the dog is completely ground and since Susan D had to drop on by the shop for more foil I'm thinking that when we see this again a lot of the pieces are going to be wrapped.   With the bulk of the work on this project behind her now, Susan will most likely finish this before you know it.

  

It's official.  Lisa is just 3 weeks into her first window and it's already been ground and set to be foiled.  She wrapped a few pieces before she left class and it's safe to say that she's got the foiling process pretty well worked out.  Most importantly she knows that if there's a foiling problem you just can't ignore it and I have seen her go the extra mile to re-wrap pieces to ensure nice and even foiling.   

 

Melissa now has all of her inset pieces ground and even has the round circular insets wrapped which means that when she comes back into class she'll work on cutting them into place and then separate the remaining pieces that still need to be cut.   This isn't even finished and it looks spectacular already!

 

With the fruit bowl all cut and ground Jeanne L has moved along to cutting out the fruit for her window.   I've always found that to be the fun part of making this window because there aren't many set colors which allows you to run free with color placement.   Her fruit is almost completely cut out so I have no doubt that when Jeanne returns she's be working at the grinder again.

  

With just a small handful of background pieces left to cut for her Seafood Window, Susan R is coming close to adding a border and then soldering her piece de resistance!  This is close to finished now and all of her hard work is already shining through.

 

As you can see, Barbara H has been busy working on Dragonfly and Butterfly Flowerpot Decorations.   She's already got four Dragonflies cut and ground along with a Butterfly that is very close to fitting together.   She'll be tacking these onto small steel rods which will then be inserted into flower pots all throughout her patio.  And do you know what?  They also make GREAT gifts!

 

Jeanne M resumed the grinding process of her Easter Window and I have no doubt at all that she'll get this completed in time for the holiday.  The only pieces she has left to grind are the cross and some of the background.   Once that's done she can come in, relax, and take her time wrapping all of these glass pieces.

 

Lastly we look at Martha's Clear Flowing Textures Window.   She's begun soldering the front side already and has taken it home with the hopes of getting more of it soldered before coming back into class.   Even if she doesn't get the soldering done at home there's a very good chance that this will be completed upon her return.

And there you have it.  Come back next week when we look at newly completed projects as well as newly started ones as well!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

I Quit!

It's been a LONG day as we installed a pair of windows that took up most of the day.  Let me just say that I hate being on scaffolding!

 
So without further ado we're skipping the tip that usually starts our posts and jumping right into our students' work.


First up is Tracey who finished her Nativity Scene and it is stunning.  I'm partial to deep blues so this one really appeals to me.   Tracey did the majority of the work on this while at home and all I can say is that she's easily able to make windows on her own.  I just love the New Age/ Modern feel to this window.

 

Angie's Coffee Window was knocked out in record time and there's no mistaking what this is all about. Cream and sugar, anyone?

 

MiMi's got her Leaf Suncatcher finished before leaving and she's proved to be a master at the art of what our students call the 'tap tap' procedure.  Many people have trouble getting a nice bead around the outside of a suncatcher but MiMi had no problem at all.

 

Rowena put the finishing touches on her Stylized Fleur De Lis widow this week and the two different black glasses that she used in this compliment each other wonderfully.  

 

Carol finished another Cross Suncatcher and at first I thought it was identical to the one she completed last week but the Carol set me straight-- the colors have been reversed on this one.   Either way this looks great because with this pattern you just can't lose.

Lara's begun working on a new window this week and it's a Modern Floral design.  She's already cutting glass for this and as we all know, Lara wastes no time when it comes to getting a window completed!

Melissa's done it!  Her Peacock feathers are essentially ground and now she's grinding the accent pieces that still need to be inserted.  Once those accent pieces are ground and wrapped she'll place them on top of the pieces they fit into and trace around them and cut them. By grinding and wrapping them in foil before she traces them she'll get a much better fit since she won't have to allow for foil.

 

Shawn has begun working on an Address Window and since she's going to border it with bevels she spent her night making that border by wrapping the bevels and then tacking them together.  Now that she's accomplished that she'll cut the rest of her glass and then grind it to fit within the border.

 

 

Betty worked on two different windows this week.   Her Stylized Fleur De Lis is all cut and tacked so she's ready to get her border attached so she can begin soldering it.   Then there's her Floral Panel which is all ground now and ready to be wrapped and tacked so it can get a border also.

 

Lisa is making incredible progress on her Owl Window.  Now that everything has been cut she's learned how to grind one piece from a piece that touches it.  This always insures a quick and perfect fit while achieving it in the fastest way possible.   Lisa already has about half of her first window ground and it's looking great.

MiMi worked on this Art Nouveau Flower window while at home and almost managed to finish it off before class was over with.   This will be fitting into a wooden frame and I hope we get to see it in its finished state.

 

Jeff is ready to wash and color his window.  It most likely would have been completed this week if he didn't have to leave early for an appointment.   We'll see this hanging up in our completed windows section when we return for our next post. 

 

Susan D  has one dog leg left to go and then she'll be wrapping all of these pieces and tacking them together.  Why do we sometimes tack things together before all the glass is cut?  There are different reasons for that but please remember that 95% of the time we don't tack things together before all the glass is cut and ground.  In this case we don't want the pieces that make up the dog to shift and therefor distort her.  Plus, if this grows at all after the pieces are foiled it will grow evenly because of the way the dog has been drawn up and we can adjust for this by making the background smaller.    In short, just remember that unless there is a very good reason, you should cut all of your pieces before grinding.

  

Speaking of dogs, Jan began working on her Psychedelic Poodle Window that she is making for her daughter.   With the paws cut out Jan is ready to work her way upward toward this colorful dog's body and head.

 

Annette is so close to finishing her Max the Dog Window that it isn't even funny.  With just a little soldering left to go on the back side, she's got this window finished next week without a doubt.

  

Fran is back and she's working on her Fish Window.   She's decided to redesign it so she spent a good portion of the class redrawing the pattern so that the fish is jumping out of the water rather than being completely submerged under water.  She began cutting glass before class was over so she's on her way now.

 

Jeanne M has finished all of the cutting on her Easter Window and moved on over to the grinder this week. She's already got  two eggs and the Rabbit fitting together so it won't be long now before this is a completed project.

 

Jeannette started this Wedding Invitation Plaque the minute she walked in the door and when she left it only needed some channel to surround the glass and 2 hooks in the back.   Yes, for all intents and purposes, this is a completed project that essentially only needs a bath now.

 

Susan R is down just just a few pieces left to cut out for her background.  Before she can resume cutting these missing pieces she's going to have to tack together what she has fitting together so that she can lift the window and to more background glass underneath it.

 

Linda F's got all of her Fish Window ground (the bottom left section is going to be slightly redesigned)  and now she'll begin wrapping all of her pieces so she can tack it together and then make the changes to that empty corner.

 

Belinda got the front side of her Church Window all soldered and she then flipped it over and started working on the back side.  Her soldering looks great on the front and there's a good chance that she'll be able to complete this upon her return. 

 

Cindy's pair of Roosters are taking shape now that she's got more feathers cut and you can now easily see just how vibrant these Roosters are going to be.

 

 

Martha got all of her Flowing Window  tacked together which includes the border that she picked out.  She'll begin soldering this upon her return so this window is quickly nearing its completion.  If she solders this even half as good as she cut and ground it this will surely be a masterpiece for her.

 

Kerry really hoped to get his Deer Head Window completed this week but two sides of a window is generally too much soldering for someone to get done inside of 3 hours so here's a look at the back side of his window so very close to being completed.  I'm going to have to figure out what he wants to do when he returns to class because this won't take long at all to complete.

  

Mary Grace filled in the missing piece of her border and then cut, ground and wrapped the final darker, outer border.  There are just four pieces left to cut for this and then Mary Grace will begin soldering her Anchor Window.

 

Mary's begun working on a circular Magnolia Window and got her paper pattern traced out and cut out.   Glass cutting will occur when she walks back in the door next week.

Barbara H is working on 2 Dragonfly Lawn Ornaments which she managed to get all cut out. Alas, she boxed all of her pieces before my camera came out so what we have here is a picture of some of the glass that she left behind after cutting out her Dragonflies.

So there you have it.  When we return next week I promise to have a new tip to start things off.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks