Bayou Salé GlassWorks

Everyone has been wondering just how these windows looked when we installed them so this post will hopefully answer that question.

There’s an upstairs balcony with 3 walls that overlooks the back yard. There are two windows that we made trellis designs with some bright orange stained glass Golden Trumpet Flowers. This is the left side window:

The right side window was a mirror image of the other but the flowers, leaves and vines were drawn independently from the 1st window and positioned differently so that the two windows would match without being identical.

The master bathroom had one thin window sitting above the Jacuzzi-Bath that we filled with stained glass as well. I loved the fact that the bath has no faucet. If you look at the ceiling you’ll see the spigot that the water pours into the bath from. I thought it might splash water after falling from that height but it doesn’t.

Here’s a better view of the window itself. I regret to say that there were stickers on the outside of the windows that we couldn’t remove before taking the picture. You can see their shadow on the left side of the window. (The master bathroom is located on the second floor of the house and we had no way to reach it from the outside.)

The Office was built around 4 windows that were made for the house when it was first constructed. We matched the glass and the bevels of these original windows to create the other 9 pieces that would rest in the 2 new newly constructed walls that make the office. This is the entrance wall with 5 of the 9 windows that we made.

Here’s a closeup of the transom above the doorway to the office.

The right wall of the office already had 4 beveled windows on it so we matched the design and the glass and repeated it on the newly constructed left wall.

Here’s the left wall again as seen from outside the office from the living area of the house.

Which brings us to the biggest windows of the house located in the dining room. Although there are only 3 windows here they are by far the largest ones in the house. The center panel is 5 foot wide by 6 foot tall. Here’s a shot of them in the darkened dining room.

Here we are with some lights on so you can get an idea of the size of these windows.

And here they are from the right side of the dining room table. You can see some color variances though out the pictures here that are hard to correct. The path in the center window is actually more of an amber color than the pictures show.

I hope this helps give you a feel of the house and of the work that we did for it. Although it took a while I feel the end result was VERY much worth it. And the owners were thrilled with all of the windows.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks

It’s been a VERY busy week here and I apologize for the tardiness of this entry. The good news is that all the windows for the Port Allen job have been completed, delivered and installed as of Sunday afternoon. Things will most likely return to normal around the shop (if it gets cleaned in time for classes- it’s a mess). I’ll do a special post here later in the week so you can all see the finished results.

Now, without any further delay we’ll dive into what happened in class this past week. Jane finished her octagon Cardinal window and had a slight mistake (I’ll never tell what it was) that she worried was going to ruin the window. Using a simple technique we were able to remedy the problem area in about 2 minutes and Jane was VERY relieved that it was handled so simply. Once that was completed she added her border pieces and walked out the door with her finished window.  Right below the picture of her Cardinals we also have a look at the pattern she’ll be working on next. If all goes well we will have a unique solution to a tricky situation of creating a star in the middle of her sky. Check back in about 2 weeks and we’ll see how it all works out.

Cheryl completed the first of her beveled windows that she started last week. The second one is all wrapped and tacked together so we’ll see that one completed next week for sure. And to think that Cheryl was worried that she might have forgotten how to do this since she’d missed a few classes. I guess she just proves my point: making stained glass is like riding a bike– you never forget how to do it. I’ve also posted a line drawing of the pattern she’ll be doing next.  It should be another stunning window!

Judith has only 4 pieces left to cut for her window and those are the 4 quarter circles that fill in the corners of her border. When she saw the green background glass in place she decided to forgo a blue sky and I think she made the correct decision. She’ll be soldering this one next week and starting a new adventure with a soldering iron. :-)  She has nothing to worry about because I believe that the soldering process is the most relaxing part of stained glass.

Sheila has all of her Fruit Bowl cut and ground with most of it being wrapped as well. She’ll be soldering it all together next week and cutting out her background glass. Pictures don’t do the color of the bowl any justice. Wait until you see this window back lit. Again, Sheila is doing remarkably well for a beginner. This window below proves this.

Barbara decided on a nice rich purple for the cloth color of her cross rather than the dark purple that faded away when light hit it. After reworking the center pieces she had to decide on the color of her border. Initially she planned on going with a sky blue color but when she saw the sheet of purple glass that she used for the cloth near her window she thought that might be the best color for it. When the rest of the class saw it everyone agreed that it was, without a doubt, the best choice. It looks like Barbara will be soldering this during her next class.

Lea wrapped her “precut” beveled border after she tacked together all her pieces. She’s taking a little bit of playful ribbing since her bevels are already cut and ground but this ‘luxury’ literally comes with a price: Bevels are not nearly as inexpensive as a sheet of glass. But when this is finished it’s going to sparkle in a way that sheet glass never can. Lea will cut the final border next week and tack this all together.  We’ve seen great advances in Lea’s wrapping abilities and next week she’ll get to use the strip cutter!

Gerald continued working on his tiger eye, grinding the glass he cuts along the way.  Normally I frown on this but I can’t frown too much as I sometimes use this method myself.  Gerald is certainly no beginner at this anymore and his methods always work out just fine.   He’s only got one color left to cut before he can start wrapping this and then finish it off. Next week he’ll bring in the actual piece of glass he’s replacing because it isn’t perfectly square and we need to make sure that this will fit in the opening it’s made for.

Janice was busy at home last week so she wasn’t able to grind her pieces or wrap them while she was at home. When she came into class she wasted no time at all and flew through the 4 corners not only get them ground but wrapped as well. Janice has come a LONG, LONG way and now not only works with precision but speed as well! This window is flying together already!

Let’s finish the Blog this week by looking at Grace’s latest creation. This window is about 30 x 30 inches and she started it 2 weeks ago. In that time she’s traced out her pattern, cut that pattern into separate pieces and then traced them all onto glass. She’s cut all of the glass and has started grinding it already. Grace, like her mother, is moving at a blinding speed on this window! I can’t wait to see this one next week…

I think that about covers it this time around. Look for a special post coming late Monday night so you can all see all the windows that we’ve been making since Christmas installed and in place.

Paul
Bayou Salé Glassworks

When you’re making a bowl of fruit in stained glass the last thing you want to see in it is a rotten banana. Sheila is moving at an incredible pace through her first project and it’s all cut out save for the background glass.  She’s begun grinding it and has the bowl section finished.  Next up is the fruit itself and the best part is that you won’t find a rotten piece in the entire bowl.

Judith has certainly picked up speed in the past few weeks.   I remember when she was having trouble making her breaks and now she’s cutting glass like a pro!  After finishing with all her pieces she ground all of her glass and then took it home with her to wrap. Next week we’ll tack this together and then cut out the remaining 10 pieces that make up her background. Once they’re wrapped and tacked together Judith will move onto her border.

Janice is working on her second large Fleur De Lis window but rather than having 3 identical windows hanging side by side this will be slightly different from the first  that she made. We’re still a bit unsure what the Fleur De Lis will look like but that didn’t stop Janice from getting all four of her corners cut out. She even remembered the shortcuts to make doing them easier. She’s moving quickly here and I expect we’ll see the center Fleur De Lis section of her window next Tuesday. I didn’t get a picture of the glass she cut out but this is the modified corner section that she cut 4 out Tuesday night.

And speaking of Fleur De Lis we have a picture of what Lea accomplished this week. With her center all tacked together and surrounded by bevels, Lea got the 4 large sections of her window cut, ground and wrapped. Next week she’ll attack another row of bevels and then finish it all off with the final border. This picture doesn’t show the pattern in the clear Flemmish glass she used (because it’s laying on a table) but you’ll see it perfectly when it is held up and back lit in anoethr 2 weeks or so. This window is really going to sparkle!

Barbara was hard at work cutting the remainder of her clear background pieces. By the end of the night she had completed grinding them and started wrapping her pieces in copper foil. She’s taken her glass home with her to wrap and I know for a fact the she’s finished with her wrapping because she brought it back the next day hoping to find a more vibrant color for the cloth that hangs from the cross. She left with 2 other pieces of glass and plans on re-cutting the pieces and dropping them in place to determine what she thinks she’ll like best.

I like the fact that she’s willing do do a little extra work to make the window look better. Many times I’ll cut something and then discard it because it really isn’t the correct color for the piece. And although the picture below looks great I have to agree with Barbara and say that the purple doesn’t stand out as the center piece when the yello and cleay background is lighted from behind. It will be interesting to see what color this changes to next week. Regardless, Barbara’s work is excellent!

Grace is working on a large Caduceus Widow. Now you may be asking yourself what a Caduceus is but stick around for a minute and you’ll see it first hand. I’m sure you’ve seen it hundreds of time especially if you are involved in a medical type profession. Maybe you know it by another name: The Staff Of Asclepius. Truth be told, I just Googled the phrase “Medical Symbol” and got a picture and the two names that I just told you about.  Grace is moving right along with her window and I suspect she’ll be grinding it already next week! All she needs to cut is the staff, the background and the red EKG like line that runs the length of the window.

Welcome back Cheryl! We have Cheryl back for a few classes while she works on 2 Beveled Windows (which she practically finished this week) and a large Sun/Moon/Wind window. Although it looks as though the beveled windows are completed, they aren’t. The bevels still need to be cut into the clear background glass that they are sitting on top of in the picture below. These are going to look great.  Cheryl was worried that she might have forgotten a thing or two in her short absence from class but the only thing she had any problems with was recalling that we run a family kind of establishment here.  lol  Actually we’re very happy to have her back!  The place was getting a little quiet without Cheryl or Mary Lynn. 

Lastly we have a picture of an address window that Tommy made last week. As you may (or may not) know, Tommy has been working steadily on his glass at home. When he got a chance to make this window for a friend he jumped on the opportunity and made this 28 x 14 inch window.  Tommy does wonderful work as you can see from the nicely defined numbers in his window.

Although we didn’t have any finished pieces in the actual class room this week we’re sure to see some soon.  Maybe even as soon as next week.  So come back  then and see what’s up.

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks 

(This is a quick notice to anyone who’s somewhat new to reading this blog: The small pictures that you see in between paragraphs can be clicked on for a larger view. Finished works are already blown up to their large size inside the blog itself and are not clickable.)

After all these weeks of hard work we got to see Janice hold her completed window up. We all fell in love with it she washed it but then when she applied the black patina to the lead it all came together perfectly. Now I touched up a little bit of the soldering on the first side but this was only run-throughs that appeared while soldering the second side. Janice did a wonderful job soldering this project and must be a glutton for punishment because she’ll start a similar window next week! After seeing this finished Fluer De Lis window I can understand why she likes the theme. Great job!

Jane S was another person to finish her project this week and I think she was amazed at what it turned out to look like. When the windows are sitting flat on the table all covered with magic marker lines/numbers and flux it’s hard to get a feel for what the finished window will look like. But once it’s washed and hanging up we always see a lot of smiles. Here’s the Window that Jane S made during her 5 week class.

Lea is working on a beveled window only slightly smaller than the one Janice just finished. She got the center section all cut and ground so we’ll see it dropped into the larger square section next week. Lea’s working quite well here and it’s hard to believe that this is her first real week of class!

Judith continued to cut out and grind her window making some major headway. All of the male’s hair is cut out as well as the females flesh and hair. I suspect that we’ll see all the cutting (save for the border) to be completed next week. You can really see what the pattern looks like now that there’s some color on it. And Judith gets a big nod of approval for being able to master the use of the glass pliers while she was at home this past week.

Sheila picked a classic Fruit Bowl design and went to work cutting out all of the bowl and the leaves. She’s doing very well and taking her time cutting each piece in small sections rather than trying to take everything off in one quick (and impossible) cut. And it’s paid off. Look at the color she has in this window already!

Denise was busy as can be while she was at home this week. She’s got a bird and Flower window on her table being worked on as I type this (unless she’s finished it already!) and she’s also made a series of cross suncatchers. Don’t these all look great?

Meanwhile, Jane P was busy as usual this past week. She finished her Bird Window and had her Beveled Window all ready for zinc channel (which she didn’t have at home). We may not get to see the Beveled window completed because it may get picked up before class next week by the person who ordered it from Jane but if she still has it we’ll get a full sized picture and post it in the blog next week. Meanwhile you can look at her finished Bird Window. Jane has a special way of tying in her borders to colors that are used inside the windows she makes.

Here we have Jane’s Beveled window and a look at the pattern she’ll be starting at home this week.

Barbara resumed working on her Cross Window by cutting out the yellow sections of the background and then having it ground as well. I highly suspect that she’ll be wrapping this next week. Barbara is one of those rare people who seem to have taken to the Stained Glass process very naturally. I can’t fault her for anything she’s done so far and it only gets easier from here on out on her project!

Christine was also busy while she was at home this week. She has most of her Wolf window cut out and has begun grinding it. This one is slightly smaller than the one Grace made previously but Christine is breezing right through the smaller pieces of glass!

Grace made her 3rd (and final) cross in her series of 3 crosses. This one looks very similar to her 1st cross that she made about 3 weeks or so ago but with a slightly different background. Grace will start to take up some major table space when she starts working on a large window that you’ll see here next week.

Denise continued to work on her Ducks by grinding the remaining pieces. When she finished that she began wrapping and got very far along. One they are tacked together we’ll work on figuring out what the background will look like. She’s already decided that it will have water on the bottom of the window and sky above it.Wait until you see this wrapped– all the pieces will stand out nicely then.

Gerald worked on his Tiger Eye Window and cut out all of the black. With a little luck his Orange glass will be here next week along with some more black so he can resume working on this . It may not look like much now but just give this window another week to really see it pop!

I think that about wraps it up for this week. I mentioned that a new student would be joining us this week but he had to postpone the date of his starting due to his work schedule. We’ll see him soon enough though. Everyone have a great week and we’ll see you all a week from now.

Paul
Bayou Sale GlassWorks

It was a busy week and we have a lot to show so let’s jump right into it.

Mary Lynn is VERY happy with her completed window. She’s still unsure if it will hang on the front of her house or if it will be displayed as a lawn ornament but it’s finished and ready for display. The title of our Blog is dedicated to Mary Lynn who always advances through her projects worried about how it will all come together. We always reassure her that it will look great and she always agrees in the end. She loves her window. (As do we!)

We had two new students this week and we all know what that means– 2 more butterflies! Lea came in, buckled down and jumped right in to cutting and grinding glass. By the end of the night she walked out the door with this butterfly suncatcher.

Sheila came in with Lea and worked on a butterfly of her own but in different colors. Here’s a look at hers:

Both Sheila and Lea had no problems at all handling their cutters and finishing their first projects. Look here next week to see what patterns they chose for their first windows.

Jane S continued working on her Bird Window and got VERY far indeed. All of her background is now cut, ground and wrapped. I was amazed at how quickly she managed to wrap all her background pieces. Jane has really got the hang of wrapping glass. We’ll but a border on this next week and see this hanging up with some light behind it.

Gerald measured the viewable area of the 4 windows he’s working on and discovered a slight problem: there was an awful lot of glass covered by wood which meant that he had to redraw his patterns, especially the tail window.  With almost a quarter of the left hand section of the tail hidden it was a simple thing to shift it over slightly so it would all be visible when then window is installed.  Also, the eye window has been completely redrawn to match the one in the center of the LSU Football Field. Here’s a look at the new patterns that Gerald will begin cutting next week.

Gerald isn’t the only person making a window for someone. Jane P kept busy this week soldering her bevels together and then laying them out to outline in 3 different colors of glass. There’s still a blue section to be added and I’m fairly sure we’ll be seeing this one finished next week.

Judith had her pattern for her first window picked out before she came into class. It’s based on Eros and Psyche. After tracing out her pattern and cutting out the paper pieces she cut the flesh parts of the male in her window. She’s moving right along and next week the glass she cuts won’t blend into the paper pattern so much and we’ll really be able to see the progress she’s making.

Cheryl was in this week along with Danielle to finish up the window that Joey started but has been unable to finish due to his new work schedule. Once again I didn’t need to touch up any of the soldering on this window because Cheryl’s soldering has become near perfect. It’s nice to see how Cheryl and Joey have managed to work together so often to get projects finished. Don’t you love the colors on this one?

Grace went to work this week on her third cross.  We have a pattern emerging here and only time will tell how many of these she’ll end up making.  All I know is that she moves faster and faster with each one she makes.  This time she got it all cut out and nearly ground as well. We’ll see this one finished next week for sure.

Meanwhile Janice worked on getting the back side of her Fleur De Lis window soldered.  She moved along with great speed and I barely have to do any retouches on the soldering at all.  Let’s just say that Janice has nothing to worry about when it comes to soldering.  Here’s the final look at this window before we see it finished.

Barbara was in earlier during the week to ask if the pattern she had drawn up was possible to do in glass.  It certainly was so this week she began cutting out the glass for it.  She’s ready to start cutting out her background glass already!  I think she’s really gotten the hang of this art already and can’t wait to see this one hanging up.

Christine came in and she finished up the last of her deer window.  After soldering the back she decided to skip a border on this window and let the deer speak for itself (so to speak).  Because of the way the lead lines worked out we didn’t need a border to attach the hooks to hang this one.  You can see how wonderful it looks hanging in the window here in the shop.

And she didn’t stop there either.  While she was at home she got this rose cross made which looks just as good as her deer window.  This is another pattern that was designed by Christine herself.

Not being context with all of that, Christine also worked on another Kaleidoscope Airplane.  All she needs to do to finish this is solder the wirework for the wheels in place and she’ll be ready to go!    It’s obvious that Christine doesn’t waste a minute’s time while she’s at home!

Next week we’ll see one more Butterfly and a whole lot of progress on all the windows you’ve seen here as well as a number of new projects started.  Be sure to check it all out!

Paul
Bayou Salé GlassWorks