Something about Delta Burke

After being MIA for about 4 weeks we are officially back in action with a new blog post.   We had taken the month of May off and I didn't get a chance to post this before we left so although this is a new post everything you see below happened during the last week of April.  With that out of the way let's get started. 

Bee's Front Door Window has been completed and let me tell you that it's larger than you initially believe it to be when you look at the picture.  It certainly took up a good deal of the table that she had been working on and it's so long that we could only get a picture of it horizontally on that work table.

  

 And here's a picture of her window after she had it installed in into the door of her brand new house.  Stunning!

 

Judy completed her Cowboy Dad and Cowboy Son Window and the addition of the vertical fence posts really changed the look and feel of the overall design.  Judy starts a project, gets into a working frame of mind and muscles through the project relentlessly.   When there's a problem she plows on through it rather than working around it and that's the ONLY way to handle that situation.   This window is a perfect product of her work ethic.

  

 

 

Jan handled the creation of this elegant Transom window with the greatest of ease.   The biggest takeaway that she learned while making this is that moving your iron back and forth like a paint brush while soldering a line only affords you bumpy lead lines, run-throughs, and cracked pieces.  This window shows off all that she's learned wonderfully.

  

 

 

Patrice made this variation on the Bathtub Lady Window by rounding it off and adding elaborate accent laurels along the top and bottom of the circle.    She's posted this on Facebook and the majority of the members there agree that this is stunning.

 

Melissa's Antique Sewing Machine Window was finished after she applied a new touch of 'realism' to it.   We've seen actual pins being added to the pincushion before but Melissa went the extra mile and made the 'thread' out of some thin but strong wire which was added on top of the window.  Doing this removed some difficult cuts and gave the overall look a slight 3D feel that works only because of careful wire placement and the fact that she used clear glass foe her background.   You can easily follow the length of the thread and see how it flows realistically from the spool on top to the needle on the bottom.

 

  

 

 

This Owl that Susan D completed is about the most perfect circle that I've ever seen a student make.   She ground each piece meticulously focusing on the rounded edge first and then worked on fitting the owl to the background pieces and the chest of the owl.  Susan never takes shortcuts and that is very evident when you look at the amber pieces that make up this bird's eyes.  Those indentations for the pupils were made using a small grinding bit that took plenty of time and effort but which which give this bird its amazing detail.

 

  

 

 

 

Linda F has finished her colorful Fish Panel and her background glass flows smoothly from left to right because she cut it from one piece of glass that started off as the exact size that she needed the finished panel to be.  This requires precise cutting because just one little break would shatter (no pun intended) the illusion of a continuous flow of water.

 

 

 

Check out this fancy Chicken that Lara made.   This Hen has more fashion sense that any of the chickens that we've ever seen in our classes.  You've gotta love those boots and her hat which are sure to put a smile on anyone's face that looks at this Hen.

 

 

 

Betty is a sunflower machine and here we see her latest in a long series of Sunflowers.  I do believe that this will get one more design change the next time that she makes it but I won't tell you what that will be until you see it completed by Betty again.

 

 

 

If Betty is a sunflower machine then Ann is a Cross machine!   She can knock one of these out per class and that's exactly what she did with this gorgeous purple Cross.

Martha began cutting out this popular peacock pattern and as you can see, she's gotten a lion's share of the cutting completed in just one class.  She's always loved this pattern and has made it numerous times in the past.  Because of that she makes this look easy even though it's certainly NOT a beginners pattern, but then again, Martha isn't a beginner...

  

 

Zoe's got her Deer Window all ground and fitting together and she's taken it along home with her so that she could hopefully get it all wrapped with copper foil between classes.   I'm pretty sure that we'll see this get a border attached when she comes back in and then she can begin soldering.  I still can't get over how perfectly everything fits together on this.

 

 

 

Cindy had a request to do a Cinderella Silhouette in glass but she's added a little more detail to it to 'spice things up a bit'.  By adding both detail and color she's turning a simple silhouette into a proper stained glass window.

 

  

 

Linda F also worked on a new small version of one of the popular Bird On A Wire Patterns.  She just picked three birds that she liked, ran them together and eliminated the other superfluous birds from both ends.   Her 'new' pattern is already coming together beautifully as evident in the picture below.

  

 

 

Meanwhile, Linda L has begun making a Drake Panel.   The letters and all of the clear textured background glass between each letter have been completely cut and ground but the glass on the top and the bottom will be adjusted to perfection AFTER the center section has been tacked together.

 

  

 

With all of her Large Cardinal Hoop cut and ground MiMi has move on over to the foiling part of this project.  It looks like she's very nearly ready to tack this together, after which she'll solder it and apply the hoop to the back of the piece.  this is stunning already so I can't wait to see it hanging with some light behind it.

 

 

 

Barbara's Orca Panel started off simply enough but then she added an inner beveled border along with a multitude of colors in the actual window itself which changed it from a cute little panel to an elegant window.  Also, that final border color choice is absolutely killer, which I suppose befits the whale itself.   Look to see this completed upon our return next week.

 

 

 

 

Susan R's pair of Chef's Panel was all tacked together after she came into class and got her background pieces cut, ground, and wrapped in foil.  With just a few border pieces left to go, Susan will be completing this delightful duo upon her return when classes begin again next week.

 

  

 

 

Speaking of Chefs, Kerry has his own Chef Window underway which features a well known Muppet  who goes by the name of Swedish Chef.  Somehow I've missed out on this character but thanks to YouTube I fully appreciate his comic value now. Dare I say that Kerry has captured him in glass perfectly.

 

 

 

Steve has all of his final panel all cut and ground for his Southern Belle Window but this Belle is going to need a face painted on her before he can truly solder it.  Still, there's wrapping and tacking that can be done so perhaps the face can wait another week.  We'll see what happens when Steve returns.

 

  

 

 

With Darth being completely ground June was able to come in and begin foiling all of her black pieces. The foil helps reveal some depth to all of that black by highlighting where lead lines will reside. Also, when you see this in person it's easy to see that she actually used two different textures of black which also give Vader more depth.   This week you can more clearly see more of the detail that June put into this window because of the foil that she's applied.

 

 

 

Sheri accomplished quite a lot since we last saw this window.   Everything has since been ground, wrapped in foil, tacked together, bordered, and channeled.  In fact, she even got the first side of it soldered before calling it a day and taking it home with her where she could hopefully work on finishing it up while our vacation was going on.  I can't wait to see what she comes back with next week!

  

 

 

Cheryl began working on this Cross Suncatcher but instead of using bevels she's cut the accent pieces out of purple glass.      By the time class ended she had this tacked together and ready to be soldered which means that this will certainly be another completed piece that you'll see in our next post.

 

 

 

Betty not only finished her Sunflower window but also worked on a framed Bevel as well as a series of Daisy Suncatchers complete with wire stems.  Look to see these completed upon her return.

 

 

And there ya have it.  As I said earlier, all of this happened a month ago and it's taken this long to post  only because we just returned from a long and well enjoyed vacation.   Classes begin again in June so our next post will happen on or around the 6th.  See you then!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

 

A Wet Doughnut?

Martha's Roses and Birdhouse turned out to be as beautiful as we all expected.   She never shied away from the complexity of the pattern as compared to the original which only had three MUCH simpler flowers it.  Whenever you add detail you add value, and this window is about to become a priceless gift that will always be treasured.

 

 

 

Cindy's Batman is immediately identifiable and her use of glass paint for the emblem on his chest is wonderful.  However, as good as Batman looks Cindy's attention to detail on her Spiderman figure is just mind boggling.  Check out the thin black webs that she added with the smallest of brushes.  This is impressive indeed!  Also of note, the patterns were drawn by a former student of ours named Terry who many regular readers here remember.

 

 

 

 

Helen finished her E.D. White Window which she is donating so that it can be auctioned off for a great cause.  With each window that Helen makes she gets better and better.

 

 

Susan D is getting quite good at coming up with designs and interesting ways to utilize different textures throughout her snowflakes.  And even though we call them 'Snowflakes' they are beautiful and versatile enough to remain hanging in a window all year round.

Barbara's Orca Window is absolutely stunning due to her fearlessly using a barrage of colors throughout the window.   Look closely and you'll see that she's going to be adding an inner border of bevels to this which will bring out the colors even more!

 

 

 

 Zoe finished cutting out all of the glass for her Deer Window during her second week of cutting on it.   Then, before class was finished she even got a large handful of pieces ground as well.   I have to admit that her grinding is moving along quickly because she really took her time while cutting the glass and she now has to only skim each piece to get everything to fit together.

 

 

MiMi got all of the glass for her Cherry Blossoms and Cardinals Window ground and it's looking amazing.   She's already begun to foil her pieces and the copper foil will help highlight where lead lines will form. I love MiMi's use of color tones in this as the leaves , the flower petals and the birds have been shaded beautifully. 

  

 

Lorrie's begun to start working on a wonderful Moon Window.  Alas, the Crescent Moon had such a deep inside curve that we gave up the ghost and broke out the glass saw to achieve the cut.  With that out of the way the rest of this will be simple enough.  Still, there are a lot of pieces to this pattern so it should keep Lorrie busy for  while.

 

  

 

 

Susan R's Chefs are coming together quickly as she has now begun to foil her second (and last) Chef.  A background will soon be cut and Susan already has her border cut out so this should practically begin to assemble itself at this point!

  

 

 

June got almost all of her Darth Vader ground and will begin wrapping all of his assorted black pieces when she comes back in.  I always find foiling glass to be relaxing because, unlike grinding, you can sit throughout the entire foiling process.  My feet ALWAYS feel better after a day of foiling as opposed to when I have a day of grinding or cutting to work through.

 

 

 

Susan D's Circular Owl is all ground and she's begun foiling her pieces now.  I have to say that I've honestly never seen a more perfect circle.  Perhaps just as circular, but never better! 

  

 

Sheri's got her Buddha Yoga almost ready to be foiled.  She only has a few pieces around his torso to be ground and after that the going will be very, very easy for her.  I have to say that she's done exceptionally well on all of this already so this being difficult in any way was never a consideration for Sheri.

  

 

 

Patrice is so very close to completing her Bathtub Lady.  She had all of the elaborate border pieces cut, ground, wrapped and tacked when she walked in the door so she was able to get to work on soldering right away.  By the time that class was over with she had the front side completed as well as the tap-tap edges.  With only the back side left to go this will surely be one of our completed windows next week.

 

 

 

Judy has the front of her Cowboys Window all soldered which leaves just the back side to go.  You can also read that sentence as,"Judy will have her Cowboy Window completed when she returns next week."  Of that there is no doubt.

  

 

 

Melissa is fast approaching the end result of her Sewing Machine Window.  She's soldering it now and next week she'll almost certainly bring it home with herself as a finished project.  I can't wait until she adds the wire to this which will form the thread and tie everything together.

 

 

 

Bee's Door Insert has been completely soldered on the front side with most of the soldering having been completed on the rear of the window (pictured here) as well.  the only thing left to do now is attach the zinc to the window on the back side and then wash and color this.

  

 

 

Jan's got everything soldered on her Transom Window which means that she'll touch up the solder next week and wrap this up. This window will have been completed in record time for her. 

  

 

 

 Annette filled in all but one of the missing pieces in her New Orleans Scene Window and then went to work soldering it.  She's working slow and steady while skipping every other line while she solders to avoid putting too much heat on all of those long thin pieces to avoid breaks.  I'm going to give extra points to anyone who can find the missing piece of glass in this.  Oh, and it's not the steeple of the church-- that's just been wrapped in copper foil so that it will be all lead when the window is completed.

  

 

 

Ann hasn't decided on a color scheme for her Geometric Toruses so she decided to begin making a Cross this week knowing that she can complete it in the two classes that we have left before she and we go off on vacations for a bit.

  

 

 

Shelley's Butterfly is just about completed.  She'll be foiling this and easily  finishing it up the next time we see her.

  

 

We have a lot of window that are about to be completed so next week we should have a fairly busy post!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Lost In Perfection

Lorrie came in with her Acadiana Flag Window almost completely soldered, both front and back.   She was unsure of how to fill in the four little slivers of blue that are found in between the yellow Fleur De Lis.  After learning how to easily fill in missing pieces she tacked them into position, soldered around them nicely and then washed and patinaed her window  to finish it off.  Another job WELL done!

 

 

 

 

Let's Cat Tails Window has been completed and her colors are the icing on the cake for this window.  There's not many choices to be made when doing a sprig of Cattails but her choice of texture and border color is what makes this stand out so nicely.

 

 

 

Betty made three of these delightful Daisy Suncatchers.   They're simple (despite the wire work), they're are obviously quick to make, and they are stylishly elegant as well!

 

Zoe has begun her first window with us and everyone agrees that her cutting is nothing short of amazing.  She came in, traced out her Deer Pattern, cut out the paper pattern pieces, and then picked out some brown glass for the deer fur.   By the time she left she had numerous pieces cut and she is already proving herself to be an excellent glass cutter as you can easily see for yourself.

 

 

 

Let had none of this beautiful Flower Window cut out when she left last week-- She only had the paper pattern.  Flash forward to seven days later and we now see all of her glass cut out as well as being perfectly ground!  And her color choices and shading are breath taking.

 

  

 

 

MiMi's Cherry Blossoms and Cardinals Window is shining away even though it's still resting on the table with no light behind it.  Pay attention to her flowers to see how important shading can come into play while only using one sheet of glass.  MiMi has shaded these flowers by careful selecting the dark and light sections of a single sheet of glass. 

 

  

Linda is taking a break from her Carousel Horse Window because she wants to have it finished before we go on vacation and after she possibly has surgery.   Letting a window sit for too long after its been tacked together makes soldering a little harder to accomplish.  That's why she's working on this Multi Colored Fish Panel—  She knows that she can complete it within the next 2 classes. 

 

 

  

 

 

Helen's E.D. White Window features a vivid Cardinal backed by a W.  It's already been tacked together with its front completely soldered so I'm guessing that she'll solder the back side while at home in hopes that she can leave next week with a completed window.

 

 

 

Melissa bordered and then cut the two accent pieces that bookend the heart out of the same glass that she used for her border.  Soldering comes next and once that's done she will apply a long twist of wire to her Sewing Machine to form the thread coming off of the spool and winding its way to the 'needle'.

 

  

 

 

Jan has only four corner pieces left to cut for her Transom Window design.  This will be another quick solder job because there are very few lines throughout this window and they are almost all straight.

 

 

 

Steve resumed work on his Southern Belle Window and the face panel of this project is really coming together now.   He's going to paint the eyes, nose and mouth with enamel paint which will then be fired onto the glass in the kiln.   That is why her face is currently blank.

 

Bee finished off the final border of her large Front Door Insert and has begun the final soldering process.   Although this is a large window the lead lines are mostly straight and even lines.  Although the corner accents are curved they are relatively small which means that the soldering should go fairly quickly on this.

 

  

 

 

Sheri has been working on her Buddha Yoga Window by spending her class time at the grinder.   Everything has been cut and most everything is fitting together nicely if not perfectly.  It won't be long before Sheri begins a new project.

 

  

 

 

Martha has her border attached and the front side of her Roses and Birdhouse Window soldered which means that this will be flipped over and become either completed or very nearly completed when you see it again next week.

 

 

 

Annette completed the final border of her New Orleans Scene by grinding all of the pieces, wrapping them, and then soldering them to the window itself.   With only the steeple of the church left to go it's safe to say that Nettie will be soldering this when she comes back in.

  

 

Betty has the channel attached to her newest Curved Corner Sunflower Window and will most likely put the finishing touches on it when she gets at home.  

 

  

 

 

Barbara has the pattern picked out for her Orca Whale Panel and is ready to see what glass she has at home before she begins cutting anything.

 

  

 

 

Here's a look at the two patterns that Ann is about to embark on.  Both are eight inches (in width and height) and both are 'geometrical' Toruses.  The only difference between the patterns is that one has eight sides and the other has only six. You can specifically see that difference in the center of the toruses.

 

And that's all there is!

Paul

 

Bayou Salé GlassWorks