Bayou Salé GlassWorks

One of the hardest things to do with with Blog is figuring out what to title each entry. Since no one really cares about a title, let’s move on to what was accomplished today during classes.

(OK, I re-titled this just for Julie)

Kim started her beveled window and went to work on the four corner sections. The bevel cluster in the center is wrapped and ready to go. The majority of the work in a window like this is in the corners and the final border. Usually borders are quick and easy, but in a pattern like this the final border isn’t made of simple rectangles with 4 straight cuts: it’s made with irregular shapes filled with complex curves on the inside edges. But the end result will be well worth the effort. Pictures below is a full shot of her pattern and a closup of one of the corners. The missing circle will be filled in next week with a 2 inch beveled circle. We also have a picture of another butterfly that Kim cut out at home during the week. She would have ground it at home with her new grinder but she didn’t have a face shield for it yet (which she does now).

Julie worked very hard and diligently on 2 other panels today. Working with such a complex design means that she has to wrap each panel as she grinds them so the pieces (which are all very similar) don’t get put into the lamp out of place. This is slowing her down because she has to do the tedious and time consuming wrapping here in class rather than in her spare time at home. And since each panel must be ground inside a jig, we can’t help her as she moves along. But she left the jig and her pieces here at the shop this week so maybe some of those elves will help her along while she’s gone. She certainly deserves it!

Ellen finished cutting and grinding the flowers to her lamp as well as the 9 pieces of background that we had to skip last week when we mistakenly thought we ran out of glass. Then I organized the pieces on the table so they followed the pattern which makes placing them on the mold a LOT easier. We chose to use double sided tape rather than wax to attach the pieces. Wax is great for larger projects, but it makes a mess out of the inside of the lamp and then you have to wash it with kerosene to remove the wax that sticks to the glass. And then you have to wash out the kerosene, so you can see why we went with tape for a nice medium sized lamp like this. Ellen quickly got the hang of soldering it all together and within an hour or so she had the three sides complete. We joined each of the sides together and only had to refit one pice (which is great!) Then she watched (and learned) as I tacked on the cap to the lamp. We ended up with a lamp that only needs to be soldered now and she’ll be doing that next week.

That was pretty much what happened this week during classes. Except I forgot to mention the cookies that Julie brought in with her…. Home made and delicious!  The only other exciting event was when Kim’s daughter, Jessie, learned that she will begin taking classes next Tuesday. That means that we’ll be having a second mother/daughter team here in the Bayou!

Paul

Bayou Salé GlassWorks
* Shakespeare is the first writer known to use the term ‘bated breath’ in The Merchant of Venice: “Shall I bend low and, in a bondman’s key, / With bated breath and whisp’ring humbleness, / Say this …”. Nearly three centuries later, Mark Twain employed it in Tom Sawyer: “Every eye fixed itself upon him; with parted lips and bated breath the audience hung upon his words, taking no note of time, rapt in the ghastly fascinations of the tale”.

The correct spelling is actually bated breath but it’s so common these days to see it written as baited breath that there’s every chance it will soon become the usual form, to the disgust of conservative speakers and the confusion of dictionary writers. Examples in newspapers and magazines are legion; this one appeared in the Daily Mirror on 12 April 2003: “She hasn’t responded yet but Michael is waiting with baited breath”.

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