Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Here it is Friday morning and I’m just remembering to do the Blog.  With my desktop being as cluttered at it is right now it’s no wonder that I didn’t see the folder with the pictures I’d taken during classes his week.

Cheryl had soldered the front side of her window while she was home and then brought it back to pick out a border for it.  She would have soldered the back side during the week but we’d prefer not to solder the second side of a project until the border is on.  The reasoning behind this is actually very simple: when you solder your window you put a bead on the exposed copper foil which extends upward anywhere from 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch.  If the back is soldered then the actual glass isn’t resting on the table- the lead is.  When you place the border pieces onto the work table next to the soldered project the border glass will be 1/16 to 1/8 lower then the rest of the project. Rather than fight with aligning the glass on the project we prefer to solder the back after the window is completely tacked together.

So after a few minutes of comtemplation Cheryl decided on a black border.  She wanted something dark and the black set it off perfectly, almost like an actual aquarium.  After the border was cut and tacked on we cut some Zinc Channel for the project to help give it a little more strength.  Here’s the almost completed window:

Joey traced  out one of his three patterns and after picking out some colors he began cutting glass.  There wasn’t a lot to show so I didn’t get any pictures but I believe that Joey did manage to get the flowers cut out this week.  We’ll see some real headway into this next week but for now I’ll show you a roughly colored pattern that shows approximately what this will be looking like in the weeks to come.  With three windows in this one project it might take a little time before it’s complete but Cheryl has decided to pitch in to help get them finished quicker.

Gerald showed up the following evening and did the background and two borders for his window.  He’d originally planned on just using a single clear border but Russ had the idea of using a thin strip of orange to it.  After placing the orange glass next to the window we all agreed that a double border would look best.   As you can see it’s quite striking…

Lastly for the sake of having something else to look at here in the Blog this week, I made a few 3D hearts for Valentines day which are selling at the Sans Souci Fine Crafts Gallery in Lafayette. We have a number of items for sale there and highly recommend stopping in if you are in  the area.

We ended up missing Ellen and Jane again this week but it looks like things will be returning back to order next Tuesday.  We hope to see everyone then!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks 

We missed 2 of our students today due to illness and doctors appointments so we hope that everyone is doing better and that we can see everyone again next week.

Since our old postings have scrolled off the Blog with the start of the new Year (it’s now 2007 in case you missed it) I am reposting Ellen’s Window to refresh everyone’s memory with what it is she’s been working on.  When I talked to her on the phone yesterday she said she had the front almost completely soldered.  Let’s not forget that when this window is finished it doesn’t end her project– she has two other windows that bookend this one which will all rest inside a fireplace screen.

Next week Jane will be working on the familiar Dove window she’s done three times now. I guess four times the charm! Here’s another reminder of the window she’ll be redoing next week in a new color scheme.

Next up we have the top secret window that Gerald was making as a Christmas Gift that you heard about here in the Blog a few weeks ago.   We were unable to post his progress since the person who was receiving it reads this blog, but now that it’s been delivered we can show you what Gerald accomplished Mid-December. I have 3 shots of the window in various stages of the windows construction. And we hear it was a big hit on Christmas day.

Let’s bounce over to Cheryl’s window that she worked on this week. When we last saw it she had everything cut save for the water and the border. During the week she ground and wrapped everything and then tacked it together so she could cut the glass she would use for water directly from the finished glass pieces she’d already cut. When she came in tonight she started on the water and by the end of the class she had it not only cut but ground, wrapped and tacked into place. It’s looking like a real window now!

Joey made up his mind on a pattern idea that we ended up working on all night long. I can draw up just about anything but I am far from an artist and it takes me an incredibly LONG time to draw things which is why Joey didn’t get very far tonight. Alas, we’re set and ready to go for next week. This is the pattern he decided on. It’s actually 3 separate windows that will be installed next to each other in cabinet doors. You can see the pattern spans the 3 doors rather than having 3 individual designs.  There will be an interesting us or border on these windows that you’ll be able to see when the windows are complete.

Lastly we’ll show you what Gerald accomplished tonight (since this project is not a secret!). He had found a website with hundreds of stencils on it and liked one that he saw of a bird of paradise. He printed it out to the size he wanted to make his window and then traced it out to get his basic pattern. The picture below shows the stencil on the left and then the glass that he cut out on the right. The window will have a clear, reeded style background which I’m sure we’ll see next week. It’s looking great so far and he’s moving right along!  This goes to show you that ANYTHING can be used as a pattern.  Even a silhouette…

And that about covers what happened this week in the shop.
Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

We had a quick and dirty “Make-up Class” this past Thursday to help compensate for the 2 weeks we’d missed while we were having a holiday in Pennsylvania.  Unfortunately only two students were able to show up, but at least Jane and Cheryl managed to get some work done here in the shop.  It looks like things will return to normal again next Tuesday.

When we last left Jane she had her pattern ready and her glass all picked out.  She said she’d get some work done while we were gone and she wasn’t kidding.  This is the window that she had seen and decided to do:

She wanted to know if she could get some more flowers added throughout the window and I said that would be easy.  With a pencil in hand I added 6 more flowers to the pattern that Jane left with when we saw her last.  When she walked in the door on Thursday morning she had it all cut , ground, wrapped and tacked together!  All that was needed was a border as you can see here:

So we sat down, picked a color, zipped off 4 strips of a royal blue and cut the border for her window.  Jane spent the rest of the class soldering and this is what she left with.

Although this window was supposed to go in her house she’s decided to give this one away (as she has with so many of her windows).  This will go to her Neice which means that Jane will be making this window again in the near future for herself. 

Cheryl has been having a rough time with the holidays and many, many ‘new computer’ woes.  Then she ended up hurting her back as well but that didn’t stop her from getting really far with her window  during the past 2 weeks.  Like Jane, when Cheryl left class before Christmas she had a pattern and some glass in her hands.  When she came back on Thursday she had all the fish cut, ground and wrapped.  She has it all cut save for the water now and I’d imagine that will be finished when we see her again next Tuesday. It’s looking really good but what you can’t really see in the picture is the subtle shading that was done on the leaves that trail up from the sea floor bottom.  There’s 2 different greens in use here which you will be able to see better when Cheryl is able to lift the window and backlight it for us.  Trust me when I say that we’ll see that soon enough. :-)  And I have to say that I love the colors she used for her Sea Floor.

Look for more work next Wednesday as things get back to normal here.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks 

We’re back from our Holiday Break and posting this week’s schedule here on the Blog in case there are any questions.

Our regular Tuesday Morning/Noon class will be held on Thursday, January 11th from 10am until 1pm (or thereabout).

Our Tuesday and Wednesday Evening classes will be held together on Thursday, January 11th from 6pm until 9pm (or thereabout).

These changes will be for this week only.  Regular class times will resume next week.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks