It’s Flu Time!
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