I'd Rather Be a Bayou Salé Girl

Martha's Art Deco Woman steals the show with her tasteful use of clear textures and iridised white glass.  Rather than using a second color Martha opted to make the ribbon portion of the hat out of lead covered glass which accents the window while maintaining its monochrome color scheme.  I call that perfect! 

 

 

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have Susan R's Autumn Leaf that features almost as many fall colors as it has pieces! I told her that there was no way that she'd lose making this and it looks like I was correct again. Interestingly enough Susan R also used lead as an accent piece by making a solid lead stem rather than a thin and easily breakable piece of glass. There's a lot of work here and Susan handled it with a calm assuredness and graceful poise. 

 

 

 

Kandise made this delightful Camera for a friend who just happens to be a photographer.  How convenient!  It's the perfect gift that may even get a small frame hanging underneath it so that it can become even more personalized.  Kandise comes more and more into her own with each stained glass piece that she makes.

 

 

 

Julie scaled back a bit on her Hamsa Hand Window by deciding to not add an arched border in a different color. Instead she's gone with two different clear textured glasses that still allow the arch to be seen without adding a new color that could possibly steal the focus from the hand itself. The end result works wonderfully and Julie's first window is most likely hanging up as you read this. I'm just sorry that I overexposed the picture thus making the two textures in the clear glass practically invisible.

 

 

 

 

It's amazing what you can learn while making stained glass. I've learned who Stitch is due to multiple students making him over the past few months. Keri has added eyes to him by using glass paint which means that she was able to avoid using distracting lead lines. Stitch looks better than ever! 

 

 

 

As you can see, Let has made a new multi colored Cross with Bevels.  Her perfectly straight lines makes this another stand out piece in her stained glass repertoire.  Stained Glass is thought to be all about color but it's attention to detail that really pulls everything together.

 

 

 

 

Mary Grace completed her Beveled Nativity Manger and then incorporated it into a Wooden Frame that features the sheet music for Silent Night. It's a wonderful marriage of wood and glass which always work well together. Her idea adds new depth (no pun intended) to a cute little Christmas Scene.

 

Linda L made a half dozen different versions of this simple yet effective 3D Dragonfly.  The best ones featured textured iridised glass for the wings but my pictures of them came out blurry because I kept getting too close to them.  These are actually very tiny which makes attaching the wings at the correct angle a tricky little buggery to do! 

 

 

Now you're about to see just how busy Betty has been during this past week. She's already made a Toy Soldier but in this class she completed yet another pair of them in different colors.

 

 

  

Betty also put the finishing touches on her first small Nativity Scene Suncatcher. It's a wonderful design whose light and airy simplicity draws the viewer in to it immediately.

  

  

 

 

This Blue Cross can be made with 5 Diamond Bevels or it can be made out of straight up stained glass.   Betty chose to make this one without bevels and cut the diamonds out of a textured clear iridised glass to emphasize those five pieces.

 

 

 

But wait, that's not all that Betty accomplished. She also cut up some of her scrap clear textured pieces of glass to make this festive Christmas Tree as well. She's left the lead on this silver to give her Tree a nice icy feel to it.

Keri has begun work on a circular Humming Bird with Flowers panel.  The inside of the circle will remain open and the pattern was designed so that the pieces that make it up can handle the added stress of the opened center.  This is going to look lovely indeed (it actually already does).

  

 

 

Cindy is on a Christmas gift rush as she hammered out two more Heart/Crosses. There are at least two more on the way as well as a slew of Crosses.

  

 

Mary Grace is well into her Spine window as she cut's out her background glass. The text and it's the glass that makes up its background won't be cut until this top section has been tacked together. That ensures that the sizes will be both the same width and perfectly square.

 

 

 

With her Teepee all cut and ground Judy is on a mission to get this finished in time for Christmas. I do believe that it could happen during her next class because I believe in Christmas miracles. 

 

 

Jan cut and ground her Heart Panel which means that she'll be able to foil this, tack it together and then get the border cut for it upon her return.  This is simple, sweet and from the heart.   

 

 

 

 

Bee stopped working on her Dragonfly to put together a quick Christmas Ornament Suncatcher. It's all cut and ground which means that she'll easily complete this before Santa slides down her chimney. By the way, that's a dark green hat she's used for stripes. On the pattern paper it just looks incredibly dark but once it's hanging it will show its true color.

 

 

 

Lara's African Woman is certainly colorful.   She's also coming together quicker than the first time she did when Lara first made her.   When it comes to stained glass, familiarity stimulates speed!

Mary got her Eye Of The Tiger Window tacked together and then she worked on filling in the pieces that had somehow turned up missing.  Once they were (quickly) tacked into position she then got her first clear inner border attached.   And then after all of that she got her final border cut.  That means that she will be grinding for a bit next week.

 

 

  

 

 

Cheryl's Mr Bingle grabbed the wrong hat from the hat rack so he's taken it off until he gets back home and changes it for a hat in his signature color.  Meanwhile he's riding a streetcar while Cheryl foils his pieces and puts Mr Bingle back together again.

 

 

 

Here we see that Betty has four more Christmas Suncatchers under construction.  We don't call her 'Two-fer' Betty for nothing!  However, over the years she's been making far more than just two of everything.  When she's on a roll she's REALLY on a roll!

And rounding things out we take a look at the Peacock Pattern that Lorrie has begun.  She actually had a few pieces cut already before she called it a night but this picture was taken before they were cut and I had the opportunity to take the picture.   The funny thing in that Lorrie didn't want to make a Peacock that was as involved as her last one was but this one comes darned close in terms of pieces!

  

And there ya have it, God rest ye merry gentlemen!

 

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

You're Gonna Have To Get through Me First

Lorrie put the finishing touches on all twelve of her Oil Kaleidoscopes by inserting the mirrors and then soldering an clear glass eyepiece at the back of the scope.  Most of that eyepiece is covered by foil and then with lead which leaves a small triangular opening that lines up perfectly into the mirrors so that you only see the colorful oil wand when you look into the scope.  

Let me just say that the twelve of these certainly make an impressive set!

 

 

 

 

Barbara's Tiffany inspired Bird and Flowers Panel is the sweetest thing! I've always said all patterns have a certain size that they should be made to. Enlarging a small window to a much larger size always looks awkward and putting too many pieces into a small window just looks cluttered. At only 7 inches tall this is the perfect pieces-to-size ratio thus making this as charming as it could possibly be.

 

Sheri is the first out of the gate with a completed Alligator Santa. Placing Santa hats on just about any animal (especially animals native to Southern Louisiana) are a definite crowd pleaser and this is no exception!

 

 

 

 

Let threw this quick and easy Bordered Cross together quicker than you can say 'Peace Be With You'! It's simple and to the point which makes this a definite keeper.

 

 

 

Cindy managed to complete four Heart/Cross Suncatchers but I only got pictures of three of them because I ended up taking the picture of the blue heart twice by mistake. Leave it to me to manage to mix up just four suncatchers!

 

 

 

Let also managed to finish work on a Christmas Tree Suncatcher that she made from assorted clear scraps that she had hanging around. We love to see scrap get used especially when the completed piece turns out as nice as this. 

 

 

And Let didn't stop there. Her latest Teardrop Flower is different from her first one only in terms of the color of the flower. It still features the iridized green ribbon set within the now iconic Let teardrop shape. 

Mimi began a 3D Beveled Cross repair last week and finished it this week.  Normally we don't cover repairs but since this was a complete disassemble I think it's worth viewing.  The original version was done with an odd thin silver plated channel but now it's been copper foiled which has made it probably twice as sturdy (or even more) than it was before.   Also, I wanted to post this because it's a great design!

 

Mary Grace set to work immediately on a new window that she's making for her back Doctor. It's hard to see right now but there's a white spine there in between the two healing hands. I have to say that I'm VERY impressed with the amount of work that MG achieved this week. She's says she's feeling better and it's nice to have her back to her old self again!

 

  

 

Paula has KPop in her blood as she makes Derpy  from KPop Demon Hunters.   He's a lot of work but Paula has that mouth, tongue and teeth cut out and ground so perfectly that the rest of this should be child's play for her.

  

 

 

Linda L has a series of small 3D Dragonflies that she's working on.   She also took home a Mickey and Minnie Mouse pattern that she'll soon begin and let me tell you that it's a M&M Window the likes of which you've never seen before.

 

 

Judy continues cutting glass for her large Teepee Suncatcher.   I have a very strong premonition that that this will be all cut out when she returns and even partially ground.

 

  

 

 

Keri resumed work on her large Stitch suncatcher but by the end of the night she just didn't have enough time to apply the paint that finishes this little guy off. He currently looks blind but that will be rectified in our next post.

 

 

They may be hard to see right now but Lorrie is also working on a pair of very large Cockatiels(?) that will mount and hang inside of metal hoops at right angles from the hoops thus turning this into a 3D project.

 

 

 

 

Bee is grinding the background pieces to her Dragonfly Window and making excellent progress. She's pretty much pinned down what glass she'll use for the wings and it's going to be a beautiful white iridised glass with plenty of subtle yet obvious shades of pink, green, yellow and blue shining underneath.

 

  

 

 

Sheri liked Let's Cross so much that she began one of her own this week. There are only 12 thin strips left to go for her to finish this off.

 

  

 

With the leaves and the background to her Magnolia window almost entirely cut out Tracey will next cut the scant few pieces that had broken while she cut them. After that she'll be grinding away at this marvelous window. When Tracey said that she wanted to make the round magnolia we spent a good half an hour looking for the pattern before I remembered that I had put it on the side so that I could eventually make it for our next show. This is another window whose size and piece count match perfectly.

 

 

 

Susan D toiled away on her next six Dragonfly spoons and left class with each of them being cut, ground and foiled. You only see four here but rest assured there are two others stored safely in plastic baggies just waiting to be soldered.

 

  

 

Susan R finished all of the grinding and all of the foiling on her multi-colored Autumn Leaf.  Soldering will begin next week and I can already say that this is going to look spectacular when it's up and off of the work table. 

  

 

Mary wasn't able to finish grinding her Eye Of The Tiger Window while he was at home but that's nothing to worry or fret about.   It's not easy to find time to work on stained glass during the week and that's why our students show up so regularly to our classes.   Of course we always manage to have a great time while we work the class away as Mary's laughter throughout the night well proved.

 

 

 

Martha's classy looking Art Deco Lady got her final border attached and Martha is now soldering it. I think the minimal color scheme is wonderful and I can't wait to see this one hanging up.

 

  

 

Cheryl is back to work on her Mr. Bingle Panel and she now has all of it cut save for the background and borders.  I'm going to insist that she tack this together before cutting those last few remaining pieces just so that things don't get twisted out of shape.

  

  

June's Cat is only missing one piece of glass but rather than filling that in she's begun foiling everything so that she can tack this together and then simply place a color of her choice behind it to fill in that missing piece. It looks to me as though that will be done when she comes back in since she only has a few pieces left to foil. 

  

Lastly, Betty got another Toy soldier almost completely finished but wasn't able to get the hook on it before she had to leave. I can guarantee that we'll see that Soldier and maybe two others completed in our next post.

So there you have it, another week succinctly spelled out in stunning detail by yours truely!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks 

Life's A Big Orgy

Cindy's Golfer Window is complete and on par with the best of any golf window that I've ever seen.   I'd even consider it to be a hole in one! 

 

 

 

Linda L's Fractured Background is a multi-colored delight. The bevel in the center proudly displays a Mantra worth living by and her work on this was top notch. I know she said that she really wasn't into making this but I saw her smile when it hanging up with some back light behind it.

 

 

Lorrie's Birds on a Wire are 100% finished and they are a striking piece of stained glass. You can never lose with this design (or similar birds strung together) but people rarely notice just how much work is involved. Cout those pieces and be impressed.

Lorrie also made this Large Flower suncatcher with the help of her daughter and she really liked the assembly line that the two of them formed while making this. I think we can all agree that it paid off handsomely!

 

Let completed her Flower and Ribbon teardrop suncatcher with ease. We can almost always count on seeing a finished piece of stained glass by Let because it's practically a weekly occurrence.

 

Betty's first Toy Solder looks marvelous and she really did a bang up job on all aspects of creating him.  Her only problem is determining which is the front of the soldier and which is the back but you know what?  It really doesn't matter since she won't have any control as to how it is hung/hanged after it is purchased.

 

 

Paula was kind enough to send me a picture of her completed Ironman Suncatcher.  I do believe that Tony Start would be quite proud of the work Paula did on his new Armor! 

 

Judy has begun working on a large Teepee Suncatcher.  Or is it a wigwam?   This is something I'll have to look up. It's a Teepee!  FYI, a wigwam is a rounded or oval-shaped Native American dwelling made of poles covered with bark or mats, while a teepee is a conical tent made from animal skins over a frame of long poles. 

 

 

 

Sheri has the first Alligator Santa started and she almost completely finished him in this class.  Look to see him completed when she comes back in next week.

 

 

Kandise got her Camera all ground and then whisked it home with her where she hopes to foil all of the pieces. She's planning to attach two small chains at the bottom of the camera where a picture frame will hang to give the finished camera a very personal touch. We still haven't figured exactly how to affix a photo into the said frame but I'm currently working it out in my mind. 

 

 

 

Keri's Stitch Suncatcher is all ground as of this class and she's taken him home to hopefully foil so she can tack him together upon her return. If she finds the time to foil these pieces over the holiday weekend I see no reason why this can't be completed in time for our next blog post. Her work as one of our newest students is amazing!

 

 

 

Barbara's small Tiffany styled Flower Panel is just about ready to become a window hanging. After getting her background cut, ground, foiled and tacked together Barbara was able to pick out a border and get that cut and ground as well. Even if she doesn't have the border foiled when she comes back in I can say without a doubt that this will still be completed upon her return.

 

 

 

 

Cindy is working on new Christmas Hearts to end the year. She keeps a detailed log of which teacher has received what Heart in years previous so that the recipients can assemble a complete collection without the fear of receiving repeating hearts.

  

 

MiMi put aside her lamp for a bit while she repairs this 3D Beveled Cross.  Since there wasn't much left of it that hadn't collapsed the best way to fix it was to rip it apart completely and then rebuild it from scratch.  Tonight she disassembled it, washed all of the pieces and now has all of them foiled which means that this will go back together next week.

 

 

 

It's official- Susan R has all of her Autumn Leaf cut and ground!   I know that I've said it before but I'm going to say it again.  I'm proud of her work on this and her drive to see it through.  The rest of the work on this will be child's play for Susan.

 

 

June has almost all of her Multi-colored Cat cut and ground and she even has the head of the cat foiled.   It won't be long now.  I showed her a Multi-colored Dog that I saw on the internet and it turns out that her husband Peter had also shown the dog to her.  She told me the same thing she told him-- "No way".

 

Lastly, Betty also made three more of her Cat Suncatchers which sell as fast as she can make them.  Alas, I didn't get a picture of them.  Also, Lorrie soldered the last three stands for her Oil Kaleidoscopes which means that next week she will begin the final eye pieces for each of the wands.

And that would be all there is that's fit to print this week.

Sayonara!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks