New Studio Space

I've spent the last week fixing the glass studio since I still did not have a place for the glass band saw. I've a soldering stations/layout place, a cutting area and a staging table in between to hold all the stuff that magically gathers on the 2 other tables if I'm not careful.
All that's left to do is to put up some magnetic strips t hold ideas, patterns and other papers and I'm ready to get cracking again!

Tagged- I'm it

I've been tagged, wich means I have to reveal 6 things abouat myself and then tag 6 others. It's a silly but fun way to learn about other bloggers.
Here goes
1) I inherited 19 chickens and a rabbit last year.
2) Living near DC means always having the company of relatives visiting the capital.
3) I can wriggle my little toes independently of the others. Try it, it's not easy.
4) Peanut butter and banana sandsiches are great. Peanut butter and pickle takes some getting used to.
5)I'm afraid of horses, but don't let them know that.
6)Salt makes melons taste better.

Photos of Ballston Show

It's a bit small and hard to see, but here's a photo of the Ballston Arts Show we were at last Saturday. The stained glass looked wonderful in the light. You can see the Appalachian Star on the left and some of the Interlocked Squares in the center.

Back From Ballston Show in Virginia

Phew! A great show! I was at the Ballston Arts and Crafts Show today and had a great time. I sold a yellow Arkansas Star, a round piece with 12 different yeloowish triangles surrounding a rich brown center and our own Goose Wave pattern in rainbow colors. Surprisingly, I didn't sell any of the smaller hearts and Tumbling blocks that are our big sellers. Different audience I guess.
I also sold a number of the fish ACEO's. Since the show site is near the National Science Foundation and the Nature Conservancy, I guess the locals are into natural themes.
More later including photos when I have more time.
I have to restock and make new pieces for the next show!

Picture of New Trial Piece Stained Glass

As promised, a mock up of the trial panel I'm working on. Just some English muffle for the border, some swirled pieces for the background, and a red heart in the middle. I'm not sure it is solid looking enough; a stained glass piece needs some presence and I'm not sure this has it. I'm using odd scraps I have around so I've only a bit invested. Still, I find that working out a design in paper is useful, but at some point, you have to reach for the cutter.

I'm reconsidering the heart- it's not right. This may need a different shape heart, a completely different piece in the center- I'm not sure what.

Designing Small Stained Glass Panel

I've been having so much fun with the small one piece hearts, I thought I'd try to come up with a small panel that uses them.

After playing around , I finally came up with a 7" square panel set on point. For non quilters, that means oriented like a diamond. I've a knobby English Muffle glass in a sherry color as a border, with a champagne colored background and a wine red free hand heart in the center. Since the background and border are regular, I thought I 'd more or less center an irregular heart as the focal point. It keeps the piece from being too static.



I picked warm Fall colors, but the undertones clashed. The orange red heart looks terrible next to the English muffle maroon in the border. Fortunately, the champagne swirls bridge the gap between the 2 colors.





Small panels, ornaments and sun catchers tend to be viewed up close, so the static versus flowing aspects of the design are more noticeable. In a very large piece, the most important consideration is the effect the colors have on surrounding area.

One Piece Glass Heart

I thought I'd post a picture of one of the one-piece hearts. I cut most of the shape out freehand in a sort of ice cream cone shape- pointed at he bottom and rounded at the top. I then cut a concave slice out of the top edge, creating the 2 lobes of the heart. I then grind into the space with a 1/2 inch and a 1/4 inch bit to get the v shape between the lobes.

I've no idea who makes this beautiful deeply rippled glass. I found a scrap of it in the "junque" bin at the Glass Key, my local stained glass store. The ripples are deep enough for me to really embed the wire hanger so I don't need to solder or drill into the piece.

More and More hearts-

It's beginning to look like Valentine's day here! I found a way to make all in one piece glass hearts with wire hooks. It's less work than making the 2 piece ones, so I'm making a batch of those tonight.

All the news that's not fit to print

Slow day- doing last minute taxes, getting bargain shelves at IKEA, the usual errands.
The bargain shelves have a light alread in in them so they uplight anything set on them. It looks like the perfect accessory for out booths, as stained glass panels set on top of these will glow. So not altogether a lost day.