Whatever Ellen Said
Ellen came up with a good title for the blog this week, but since I didn’t write it down and now I can’t remember what it was she suggested. 
It was clever and witty and therefore there’s no way I’ll ever recall what it was on my own. Getting older is NO fun!
And speaking of Ellen, she managed to solder the first of her two windows and then get it washed and waxed. With this one finished she has only one more to go which I’m sure she’ll wrap up next week. Here’s a look at the first of 2 cabinet door inserts you’ll be seeing here this week. And here’s a belated but heartfelt Birthday wish to Ellen who celebrated a birthday this past week.
Our second cabinet door was completed by Joey. You’ll recall he had the front soldered last week and this week it came in with the back side soldered as well. He asked me to go over it and fix any soldering problems but there really wasn’t anything to fix so he washed, colored and waxed it before we dropped it into place in the cabinet door. Tell me this picture doesn’t look like it belongs in a catalog!
And when he finished with this first door of 5 Joey then ground the pieces for his second door which he then took home to wrap.
I have to admit that we’re on a roll with finished projects this week. Mary Lynn was the next person to finish her project and I could tell by the look in her eye that all her fears of how this would turn out were banished. And it’s no wonder– Just look at this window! Now that she has this one under her belt she’s talking about other projects that she wants to get started on. 
We even had this one completed quickly enough that we were able to get a picture ouside with a little sunlight behind it.
Shortly after Mary Lynn finished her window Janice finished her version of the Iris Window. The only real difference in these windows are the color schemes and the finished size of the window. Janice wanted a wider panel so it wouldn’t get lost in the window she is hanging it in. We doubled the width of it and ended up with yet another stunning design that I know Janice is quite pleased with. Although this was taken indoors the picture came out much better than most of the ones we take with a fluorescent light behind them. In fact, I think it looks just as good as if the picture were taken outside, which is very rare indeed. I can’t wait to see what Janice tackles next!
Gerald was back in after taking a little time off and he resumed working on the Iris section of his window. He’s decided to split this LARGE window into three sections to make the transportation of this project a little easier. With all the leaves and stems completed I’d say he’s moving right along. I guess we’ll be seeing this section tacked together next week.
Christine made her 3rd hand mirror this week and the proceeded to cut, grind, wrap and then tack together her 4th mirror! Normally she manages to just get the next one ground so it’s safe to assume that she’s become more confident and that her skills are growing with each class. She took a lot of glass home with her this week and plans to cut out some more mirrors at home throughout the week. Next week we’ll have a photo of all the mirrors she’s made so far so be sure to check it out. This is her latest offering, complete with a flower center in the bottom flower.
Jimmie and Tiffany did a first here this week. In all my years of teaching (about 25 years worth) I’ve never had 2 people work on the same project simultaneously. I wasn’t sure if they’d get in each others way while soldering this but apparently they didn’t because they got both sides of this LARGE window finished in one class! You’ll see the finished panel here next week when they wash, color and the wax it. It looks great already!
Fran began working on her newest window which is an Owl. The pattern may look familiar but she’s made a few adjustments here and there. And although she got all of the medium colored feathers cut out I just wasn’t quick enough with the camera to get a picture of the cut pieces on the pattern. But look here next week to see just how much further she’s gotten. Now that she has a grinder at home I think we’ll really see her moving along! Here’s a picture of the pattern she’s using.
Grace amazed me with her speed and her precision in grinding her pieces to the pattern. Most people are afraid to push against the glass to give the grinder something to chew into but Grace appears to grind about as quickly as I do. With the LSU section of the window completed and the tiger eye section all ground she started to wrap her remaining pieces her in class. I’d say she’s got about 1/3rd of it wrapped and the rest went home with her so it will be wrapped when she comes in next week. This will be ready to solder when she comes back so the toughest part is now behind her. Here’s a peek at what it’s shaping up to look like.
Then we have Cheryl’s Balloon Window which just looks better and better each week. I was watching her solder and thought back to her first projects where she could get the solder onto the foil, but not smoothly. Watching her this week was like watching an old pro at work. She moved quickly and evenly through each line getting the solder to bead correctly on almost each of her first passes over the foil. She’s come a long way and this window shows it. Next week she’ll have the border on it!
I consider myself lucky because we always have fun throughout the classes. There’s always laughter going on and everyone enjoys the company of each other. The people that you read about here each week are no longer strangers to each other and every week we learn a little more about one another. It’s certainly fun and I look forward to it as I’m sure our students do.