tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77482391793242841142024-03-13T11:16:06.229-07:00Living Glass ArtA blog about my art and other things in my little corner of the worldlivingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-28573546390457200152013-07-23T17:42:00.000-07:002013-07-23T17:42:45.046-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After a year I've finally completed another version of the Rose Fairy. I started picking the glass for her last year but other projects would come up or I would be distracted by other things. A few weeks ago I remembered that parts of her were sitting in a box in my workshop and made a commitment to get her done.</div>
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A few years ago I was visiting with a friend and she had a collection of small illustrated books that I had not seen before. The illustrations were of fairies, all associated with flowers~~they were the flower fairies created by Cicely Mary Barker. I fell in love with the Rose Fairy. Rose is my middle name and I just adored the way the sweet fairy embraced her flower.</div>
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Here she is half way through the fitting process. By this time all of the pieces had been cut by hand and some needed to be cut with the ring saw. One by one the pieces were placed onto the original pattern to make sure they fit together, just one of the many steps involved in creating the piece.</div>
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The <b><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/61410307/stained-glass-rose-fairy-oval-suncatcher?" style="background-color: white;">Rose Fairy</a> </b>has been added to my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LivingGlassArt"><b><span style="color: blue;">Etsy</span></b></a> shop inventory and is currently available for sale. I've made a commitment to donating $50 from the sale of this piece to <a href="http://www.goathouserefuge.org/"><b><span style="color: #4c1130;">The Goathouse Refuge</span></b></a>, a no kill animal shelter in North Carolina. They work tirelessly to rescue cats and kittens along with providing medical care for them and trying to find forever homes for them. I truly admire their love and dedication. </div>
livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-68094250311961747102013-03-20T20:07:00.000-07:002013-03-20T20:07:07.588-07:00Spring has sprungHappy vernal equinox! Spring is my favorite season, or is it fall? Hmmm, I suppose I love them both.
Being such an important day I took some time to go exploring. I do love exploring the woodlands that surround me this time of year. Its quite exciting to see a little sprout of something make its way through the leaf litter on the forest floor. Its still a bit early for wildflowers to be blooming, but I did manage to find a few.
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The most abundant of the woodland wildflowers here seems to be the Toadstool Trillium. I've come across so many of them in my search, but have yet to find one opened.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtJ7WwOOpygWFqWi0butIShY9-0_V8_pdbnvRYcR_4kUpSImErYtLCgzlzcsZluiuqnxc4-C3NkqzRCVCizPiOruya1Cjd9nw21E-Dz-oGnGVbkxOc-M528SQJ-81bqmm8lkadiFNM5Q/s1600/IMG_6410.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtJ7WwOOpygWFqWi0butIShY9-0_V8_pdbnvRYcR_4kUpSImErYtLCgzlzcsZluiuqnxc4-C3NkqzRCVCizPiOruya1Cjd9nw21E-Dz-oGnGVbkxOc-M528SQJ-81bqmm8lkadiFNM5Q/s320/IMG_6410.JPG" /></a>
The one wildflower I did find was this little type of flower. I have yet to identify it but it was so pretty I had to include it here.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnqehLMs-UMsG4s5Pcw0BNitNLjbIJSW6TFvorkFpg5iWQMFAPXrB-PasW5dfrwbr6KeUx57v5nIniaLnEzOLFRx2TcvYjS-05GrJmVgbLZjhiHI9-BXzI4IyA3FBsnsZf3hm-yVSR1Y/s1600/IMG_6405.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnqehLMs-UMsG4s5Pcw0BNitNLjbIJSW6TFvorkFpg5iWQMFAPXrB-PasW5dfrwbr6KeUx57v5nIniaLnEzOLFRx2TcvYjS-05GrJmVgbLZjhiHI9-BXzI4IyA3FBsnsZf3hm-yVSR1Y/s320/IMG_6405.JPG" /></a>
There were more mystery plants on today's journey. Before the spring turns into summer I hope to have these figured out.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sYvDEWhNkcT-CBkQCNOgAExmq8aXP7feb-eAdBB859kU96pVSAHZC7muzFZKbjf-aTaJraLCuM5DeCk9Syog-CHMAWmAynp3BqpD0VcW5o2HKKN1okj1dgMX6nGrFwK5SfQDPe-P_A8/s1600/IMG_6418.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sYvDEWhNkcT-CBkQCNOgAExmq8aXP7feb-eAdBB859kU96pVSAHZC7muzFZKbjf-aTaJraLCuM5DeCk9Syog-CHMAWmAynp3BqpD0VcW5o2HKKN1okj1dgMX6nGrFwK5SfQDPe-P_A8/s320/IMG_6418.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeqBSg0V4phQKveL0IljR2MgCgNAPLwCJC4dyeOHRNRbHdXVAngdRg6qSnDT41CS8_ZGUmTZHk0rNtSO3dhWIqnKuRaPbEW66hDg37CljyaO4WIjJTrhvHLWzpwuEc2UuIpqwguSYspU/s1600/IMG_6440-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeqBSg0V4phQKveL0IljR2MgCgNAPLwCJC4dyeOHRNRbHdXVAngdRg6qSnDT41CS8_ZGUmTZHk0rNtSO3dhWIqnKuRaPbEW66hDg37CljyaO4WIjJTrhvHLWzpwuEc2UuIpqwguSYspU/s320/IMG_6440-001.JPG" /></a>
These I do know, they are Mayapples. Although just emerging and small here they will grow to a good size and produce flowers beneath the cover of the leaves.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYyPh3IG9q2z0lCMExoCMX_F02t_-OPdd2MQRzfqjGtZx6wKIbhSKo_RmjOSYHEfYnlObmp9LI6KfOWJey8gXajSCqQg1gY1KbvGPuzL_GhvVtJ_SjWScrIhB6kfZL3b944Vw2Q7alHI/s1600/IMG_6435.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYyPh3IG9q2z0lCMExoCMX_F02t_-OPdd2MQRzfqjGtZx6wKIbhSKo_RmjOSYHEfYnlObmp9LI6KfOWJey8gXajSCqQg1gY1KbvGPuzL_GhvVtJ_SjWScrIhB6kfZL3b944Vw2Q7alHI/s320/IMG_6435.JPG" /></a>
The beech trees are still livening up the forest by holding on to last years leaves. Soon they will drop them in favor of new ones.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjySh_CwfhEs7FuRG8MAX3rR0FA5riggNJqlWWCwNSVUxNdWTNbvP7oHUhrpO-1qSwKnQLKbwI802NeDC67zMlLDT3LQYkZQN4fmv8t-v9cN25Sl1qfLXc4mp4r4IqoNxq7VVblcnVQfI/s1600/IMG_6370.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjySh_CwfhEs7FuRG8MAX3rR0FA5riggNJqlWWCwNSVUxNdWTNbvP7oHUhrpO-1qSwKnQLKbwI802NeDC67zMlLDT3LQYkZQN4fmv8t-v9cN25Sl1qfLXc4mp4r4IqoNxq7VVblcnVQfI/s320/IMG_6370.JPG" /></a>
I'm thankful I had the opportunity to find some lovely loves today. Tomorrow the weather will change to rain/sleet/snow. Here's hoping the first spring was joyous for you as well.
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To celebrate the arrival of the new season, I've decided to have a sale in my <b>Etsy shop<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LivingGlassArt"></a></b>. All items have been discounted 10%, no coupon code needed. The sale runs through March 24.livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-79240301243759057722013-03-08T18:34:00.002-08:002013-03-08T18:34:41.537-08:00Stained glass tulips in red and yellow<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCkJpSOXWxBicdUX3VaV0fGk6Uw0SAmvUONYjkhuZybROdKNLOUcwrAuIWpu0jqxkeDv-VPDLASlur-a4ktCGppUkRHQaNjvnyvlt1BlFmyFMTIEtlMWLgRF4ABPpJqwXrzQgF6ZBkcI/s1600/IMG_6150.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCkJpSOXWxBicdUX3VaV0fGk6Uw0SAmvUONYjkhuZybROdKNLOUcwrAuIWpu0jqxkeDv-VPDLASlur-a4ktCGppUkRHQaNjvnyvlt1BlFmyFMTIEtlMWLgRF4ABPpJqwXrzQgF6ZBkcI/s320/IMG_6150.JPG" /></a>
Spring is in the air so it just seemed natural to come up with a new design featuring one of my favorite spring time flowers. The idea for this piece actually started with the diamond shaped bevel that is in the center. Its been sitting in my supply cabinet for a few years, it was finally time to build something with it. The result is a combination of two of my favorite things--geometry with nature.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRNya72q6Ky4aMWf2jf3Wbly41uoUaCreuaHbRsGSuXDNV1sGMc1csAVTXwYZuMZL0gH4WNG8daExe96CH3d4CFbABeBR1roaN6KQj-yxTB-jTxi-LGNFeEkYYz-xAxhQd2sS8KNU6TU/s1600/IMG_6172.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRNya72q6Ky4aMWf2jf3Wbly41uoUaCreuaHbRsGSuXDNV1sGMc1csAVTXwYZuMZL0gH4WNG8daExe96CH3d4CFbABeBR1roaN6KQj-yxTB-jTxi-LGNFeEkYYz-xAxhQd2sS8KNU6TU/s320/IMG_6172.JPG" /></a>
I began playing with some ideas and scribbling in my little notebook. Lately some designs have started as tiny little sketches. Sometimes when I draw them at a large working size they don't look quite as good to me as the did in a tiny size. For the tulip plan the design elements came together really well at a large size.
When I was thinking about colors for the tulip suncatcher my original idea was to use violet purple for the flowers. But I really didn't want all four of them to be the same color and I couldn't figure out a good complimentary color if I chose to split them up. After searching my stock I decided red and yellow would work better, and since the flowers are two different colors I decided to make the leaves both hunter and emerald green.
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Lacking soom sophisticated tools I've learned to improvise with everyday objects. For outlining circles I use covers from the kitchen~~here the cover from the slow cooker is a perfect 10 inch round while the retired frying pan makes a 12 inch circle.
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Since the center of the design is a glass bevel I thought adding additional bevels to the border would be a nice touch. The problem was that the 1 inch bevels I planned to use are square but the border is curved. By grinding the inner and outer edge a bit I was able to make them fit. So glad I went this route.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dsUXTTSvbrJwDoz099PElVNtXZn1suU7tLiFe9s9BuEQtTL9GJU9JVxMjoVeL0SKGJeaDQeWTidZ7VfuYt-mIm6TB4AGzh71S0U-m7efjIBnc8PJvPJEPOQea_1osYM4eB0aRDXtD-o/s1600/IMG_6068.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dsUXTTSvbrJwDoz099PElVNtXZn1suU7tLiFe9s9BuEQtTL9GJU9JVxMjoVeL0SKGJeaDQeWTidZ7VfuYt-mIm6TB4AGzh71S0U-m7efjIBnc8PJvPJEPOQea_1osYM4eB0aRDXtD-o/s320/IMG_6068.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4dHi6zIgZPvyWIbpWy6gm5PNH-ko-6jc_kSqoBSMCUuz7I2sgmy46-H3q3Fe5SMUfVLySQKxq8y5KVZJnlDoWCJtsqxc4VW4pxmHWDR_TkKHs4WbDg3mPndg1uQscINpKHzRYKJ3p9U/s1600/IMG_6069.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4dHi6zIgZPvyWIbpWy6gm5PNH-ko-6jc_kSqoBSMCUuz7I2sgmy46-H3q3Fe5SMUfVLySQKxq8y5KVZJnlDoWCJtsqxc4VW4pxmHWDR_TkKHs4WbDg3mPndg1uQscINpKHzRYKJ3p9U/s320/IMG_6069.JPG" /></a>
All cutting and grinding of the pieces moved smoothly and I was able to work on the piece rather quickly. Of course I was very excited to see how everything blended together. Here is the first look off the paper pattern with one side soldered.
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Yesterday was the day to photograph it and list it in my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LivingGlassArt"><b>Etsy shop</b></a>. The skies were sunny which was ideal to get the best views of the suncatcher. It looks best in a window with good sun behind it, the colors of the piece really pop and the bevels sparkle and shine their prismatic beauty.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckaB_YlSR5nLJ3xdNXa7Guiileqow4t4wQmuNO2AKwyqJ4qs9rcIu5RyhQOuRVfv_IOpCOFRB4KmO9D7Z6IJGYIWhdA54mc4nB2j8ifOT1e2CWB2fLqQG7eDETWPdFg2J6Dawe0MJEJk/s1600/IMG_6089.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckaB_YlSR5nLJ3xdNXa7Guiileqow4t4wQmuNO2AKwyqJ4qs9rcIu5RyhQOuRVfv_IOpCOFRB4KmO9D7Z6IJGYIWhdA54mc4nB2j8ifOT1e2CWB2fLqQG7eDETWPdFg2J6Dawe0MJEJk/s320/IMG_6089.JPG" /></a>
Currently available, this <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/125774867/stained-glass-red-and-yellow-tulips?"><b>tulip </b><b>suncatcher</b></a> measures 14 1/4 inches diameter, just over 36 cm. As always, chain will be included for hanging.livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-4906049805497631152012-04-01T07:57:00.000-07:002012-04-01T07:57:47.596-07:00Cicada wings and blooming things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5CI9glo-N1NIG7Tj_db4z-CjP7dC8mRbLozMzqTXKjJB9Xr1KXqtY8gAE_0TR31j-JAL4bgrZ8gfJxHiIYcj_qwVfPN5vHgAXQFH_KuBsaqMLui11_5CPJOpDIp7Q-VhZUWhSZkiiGs/s1600/IMG_7009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5CI9glo-N1NIG7Tj_db4z-CjP7dC8mRbLozMzqTXKjJB9Xr1KXqtY8gAE_0TR31j-JAL4bgrZ8gfJxHiIYcj_qwVfPN5vHgAXQFH_KuBsaqMLui11_5CPJOpDIp7Q-VhZUWhSZkiiGs/s400/IMG_7009.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Every year we are blessed with the emergence of one type of cicada or another. They spend most of their lives underground feeding on tree roots, once they emerge and break from their nymphal skins their adult life is relatively short. Their large size makes them easy to spot as they cling on to plant life or other things and I've even found them on the ground attempting to fly but their wings are so weak that all they can do is spin just a little bit. <br />
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The above is a photo of last year's Periodical Cicada coming out of its skin.<br />
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After looking at their wings closely I thought it would be an interesting fun project to create one in glass. The structure of the wing is really quite lovely.<br />
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For the first one I had made I had taken a wing that had fallen off of a cicada and simply scanned it and blew it up to a larger size to create a pattern.<br />
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For the first two wings I had created I has used textured iridescent glass. For the one I created yesterday I chose to use lightly textured sea green glass~~its fun to try things in different colors plus I've got a boat load of sea green glass that I need to find a use for.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R233VUIreRVKKBqdqPcabtKWtTs9kmwLSe-qrr4l5FBIgpEATBuLszO1HPielKWIBzDH_ZT9Hqx-UvtYnCQtLSIvHO64rtEiZUVaVhsoX65bHeB2Z4ieJphmFe6-hWb99WU-wyq7g3I/s1600/IMG_6989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="358" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R233VUIreRVKKBqdqPcabtKWtTs9kmwLSe-qrr4l5FBIgpEATBuLszO1HPielKWIBzDH_ZT9Hqx-UvtYnCQtLSIvHO64rtEiZUVaVhsoX65bHeB2Z4ieJphmFe6-hWb99WU-wyq7g3I/s400/IMG_6989.JPG" /></a></div><br />
For the previous two wings I had only added a single loop to the base of the wing, for this new one I've added a loop at a second location along one size as to allow the wing to be hung both vertically and horizontally.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCbfMUCPvrB-7XCxXSgrm4YdHRJ1CM7vdMaxqXTocmhlaqXIJk90oolyhHb0cPH856ArRXMJVV1nkzM8VJaqV0kEvz0j6YioPED0pIk3zb-8zrtaTxASA9EYMvam_bsoDiuqVAuWfnPE/s1600/IMG_6990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCbfMUCPvrB-7XCxXSgrm4YdHRJ1CM7vdMaxqXTocmhlaqXIJk90oolyhHb0cPH856ArRXMJVV1nkzM8VJaqV0kEvz0j6YioPED0pIk3zb-8zrtaTxASA9EYMvam_bsoDiuqVAuWfnPE/s400/IMG_6990.JPG" /></a></div><br />
I'm not quite sure if I like the location of the second loop, perhaps it should be placed further down towards the end of the wing.<br />
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Assembled using glass, copper foil and solder, the entire outer edge has been wrapped with a type of lead channel to give it strength. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/96575999/stained-glass-insect-wing-cicada">Cicada wing suncatcher</a> is available for sale now in my Etsy shop.<br />
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Spring has come on in a really strong way here this year. Our winter was really mild so everything had awoken quite early. Most of the trees are in full leaf already, which doesn't usually happen for another month.<br />
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A few days ago I had noticed some lovely wild azaleas growing on a hillside just down the road from me. There are quite a few of these shrubs, I had picked the easiest to climb to to get some photos.<br />
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The flowers are really lovely growing in clusters, bright white trumpets with a heavenly scent. Members of the rhododendron family, I'm not quite sure which species these are--wild, mountain or other.<br />
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This is a view of the shrub I had picked to photo, tucked among various other trees the whiteness really stands out looking for attention.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fZZybwS-8qR29i-ge1kFyKBx8ceHPXaUVYULQ5bqw1IbASAcKYpBaEc6T0hm2QTpXGyottqHN_4aXKTF2hnssyP043mGPpDjz_007_lyfY7OvrKJDtxXYjYQ2hBhCDZOQ-W0BYQooIo/s1600/IMG_6964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fZZybwS-8qR29i-ge1kFyKBx8ceHPXaUVYULQ5bqw1IbASAcKYpBaEc6T0hm2QTpXGyottqHN_4aXKTF2hnssyP043mGPpDjz_007_lyfY7OvrKJDtxXYjYQ2hBhCDZOQ-W0BYQooIo/s400/IMG_6964.JPG" /></a></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-22320996465854571622012-01-11T20:28:00.000-08:002012-01-11T20:28:08.687-08:00Golden amber leaves in stained glass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3m7fdPxY9fvsjM7OyEDhGPBQqxsk5ZeSMcW0vzaMVOBja1aZpMpH-3VjvvkYXd_XklDd6ZvDC7P5uLoQNJ-dGzUV_RjWQyuW2VV9hC-Ly7W6mFkq1TJOiSmqbYCqmiP-nlAkNR0a8k4o/s1600/IMG_5128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3m7fdPxY9fvsjM7OyEDhGPBQqxsk5ZeSMcW0vzaMVOBja1aZpMpH-3VjvvkYXd_XklDd6ZvDC7P5uLoQNJ-dGzUV_RjWQyuW2VV9hC-Ly7W6mFkq1TJOiSmqbYCqmiP-nlAkNR0a8k4o/s400/IMG_5128.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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A few days ago I got started on a suncatcher project for my Etsy shop in between some custom orders that I've been working on. This was a piece that I had done once before and loved it so much that I decided to create another.<br />
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Some months ago I had come across a fantastic deal on a lot of glass that someone was basically giving away. He had retired from the business and needed to get it moved off his property since the property was sold. Not having the heart to destroy all this glass, out of the blue he called me and asked if I might be interested. I simply could not resist. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLP88L-UBXZ68Wqs-H43ZatNB5MAuEZ7smAW1vBcNYf0vq75TxwYOKPsFv4sPFit3vM7NP0tfd54_xVk186eSZzjmRpwLlMJKcuBmVEJksEiQw_DlWCst5URT4W23wuYB1hEuh7Nya0c/s1600/IMG_1190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLP88L-UBXZ68Wqs-H43ZatNB5MAuEZ7smAW1vBcNYf0vq75TxwYOKPsFv4sPFit3vM7NP0tfd54_xVk186eSZzjmRpwLlMJKcuBmVEJksEiQw_DlWCst5URT4W23wuYB1hEuh7Nya0c/s400/IMG_1190.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Within this collection were some beautiful pieces that I'd never used before. One was this gorgeous dark amber glue chip glass. Glue chip is created when a layer of glue is spread over the sheet of glass, as it dries it pulls up parts of the surface in a random manner leaving behind an appearance of ferns perhaps, or a frosty look. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe21w39dDLHmHxXb_se1JeYUdAYBgyOgSecm7hOIvM4CpLl2DGeu4YePJZwmU26sWXzgv2fsVK08VOjwxUnvr6UjvEQbSr3yG4wWECQR6oUTyy0mwnrpMccVOACfQRN5LfADXqeXwzsnA/s1600/IMG_1502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="305" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe21w39dDLHmHxXb_se1JeYUdAYBgyOgSecm7hOIvM4CpLl2DGeu4YePJZwmU26sWXzgv2fsVK08VOjwxUnvr6UjvEQbSr3yG4wWECQR6oUTyy0mwnrpMccVOACfQRN5LfADXqeXwzsnA/s400/IMG_1502.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Another interesting piece was this deep dark brown glass with a granite texture that so reminded me of tree trunk. A color so rich and brown like the woods used in old German cuckoo clocks. These two colors paired with lighter amber I though would make an interesting combination.<br />
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For the center leaves I choose a medium and a pale amber colored glass, both in wavy Waterglass texture from the Spectrum Glass Company. Waterglass in all colors is probably my favorite glass to use. The colors are bold and true, the delicate texture lends itself well to so many different applications. Still photos don't do the glass justice as there is so much light play and a feeling of movement to it.<br />
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Reversing the textures of both the glue chip glass and the dark brown granite glass gives the piece additional interest once the sun goes down. Interior artificial light gently plays on the surfaces of these areas catching your eye as you walk past it.<br />
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This amber leaves <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/80890949/stained-glass-golden-amber-leaves-round"><b>suncatcher</b></a> is now available in my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/LivingGlassArt"><b>Etsy</b></a> shop. Measuring 13 3/4 inches diameter, 35cm. The design can easily be customized to colors of your choice.livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-88596090723002048902012-01-08T18:35:00.000-08:002012-01-08T19:20:05.173-08:00Black Vulture~up close and personal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhajs7GWiezfL0MGBelRDxT4MnjlY7zqG300FVkZgAb_N8kT_M5mZgRYgwlXmR4m05DRSPrWupKz9Ujc9hhTEvYIbJ3ac5BihwwisuXeQJR_SudsrM1G8_pEQmv-NvbGNB88GWoDYjHgU/s1600/IMG_5049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="376" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhajs7GWiezfL0MGBelRDxT4MnjlY7zqG300FVkZgAb_N8kT_M5mZgRYgwlXmR4m05DRSPrWupKz9Ujc9hhTEvYIbJ3ac5BihwwisuXeQJR_SudsrM1G8_pEQmv-NvbGNB88GWoDYjHgU/s400/IMG_5049.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Quite an exciting event a few days ago in that I got to get close to a Black Vulture and it didn't seem to mind having its photo taken.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7EIkJWAsg4P-PMeTzK0s7GeTV4DigMgOlauteesnrsIUrg12LYsFihVI2GMaluapbKWod3UtHfQi5TQa3WMjVOBHiji6UFQXUUhfX2eW_V80JYp0hhlUaV6AH4MEY6NYeoSMujJx9pGw/s1600/IMG_4331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="288" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7EIkJWAsg4P-PMeTzK0s7GeTV4DigMgOlauteesnrsIUrg12LYsFihVI2GMaluapbKWod3UtHfQi5TQa3WMjVOBHiji6UFQXUUhfX2eW_V80JYp0hhlUaV6AH4MEY6NYeoSMujJx9pGw/s400/IMG_4331.JPG" /></a></div><br />
The vulture population has always been strong in the neighborhood I live in. This area sits high on a hill top overlooking the Tennessee River. The topographic features attract vultures year round due to the thermal currents that form naturally. Vultures enjoy riding these thermal currents and can soar effortlessly for hours. The above photo was taken a few weeks ago in the early morning hours when I followed them to a clearing where they were already in action. <br />
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The trees directly across the street from my house have been a favored roosting area as well. Hundreds of them will settle down for the night in the tall trees there. Occasionally, I'll walk over to take photos of them or to simply observe their behavior. They are not vocal birds, but do make grunts and hissing sounds. The loudest sounds that come from them are when they are spooks and whole flocks leave the trees~I suppose its the motion of air beneath their long wings.<br />
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Lately, I've noticed that they are starting to come closer to my house. A few days ago I noticed a few sitting in tall trees behind my house and along with making themselves comfortable on my neighbor's roof. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5acjGn_VZ7zdmhAh51bDWIVFNIXM3pni1K29SwZ4Ftezds9WebEjuiSHujWIkfUL9VYE-eZ5IbZOaNpF6Mny2VSmFa7vJA6H6bMJ_u5JjLh8XrfyriomH7HJG8aZ69-WB8xfjbkSakDo/s1600/IMG_5038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="372" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5acjGn_VZ7zdmhAh51bDWIVFNIXM3pni1K29SwZ4Ftezds9WebEjuiSHujWIkfUL9VYE-eZ5IbZOaNpF6Mny2VSmFa7vJA6H6bMJ_u5JjLh8XrfyriomH7HJG8aZ69-WB8xfjbkSakDo/s400/IMG_5038.JPG" /></a></div><br />
I had stepped outside to take care of something or other when I noticed a Black Vulture sitting on my neighbor's back deck. What a great opportunity this would be, I thought...I'll just sneak quietly alongside their house and snap off a shot or two...all the while thinking that the bird will probably leave once it hears me approaching. I got lucky and it didn't.<br />
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So, I thought I might try sneaking around the other side of the house to their back yard and get some more shots. The bird did not seem to mind at all as I slowly crept up the stairs to the deck and stood about 5 feet from it for these photos. Its a much handsomer bird than I would have imagined~~never seeing them this close before, only through illustrations and photos in field guilds and such. Its feathers were clean and glossy and somewhat fluffy on its head. I enjoyed my time with it and left quietly leaving it alone to enjoy the sunny afternoon. It was a wonderful experience, I'll have to keep my eye out for it again...perhaps it would like additional photos taken of it.<br />
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I've got a set on my flickr photostream for more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/livingglassart/sets/72157622654802489/">vulture photos</a> I've taken over the years:livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-77006668280078235082011-12-31T17:58:00.000-08:002011-12-31T17:58:24.130-08:002011~The year of the turtle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrmKZkOUbF68mBIHiJ1DETQOWmYeuF3NN6wgo09dU44KOF25NhrxV7dPQe1knYzSf6sbgK-g2MGTI9ANEMDWogD4PjckzR1p3Sg7Nd6lWVhPdLjnBeaV6narjX_Iff1q-HFSC7A-pyyOg/s1600/IMG_7040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="344" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrmKZkOUbF68mBIHiJ1DETQOWmYeuF3NN6wgo09dU44KOF25NhrxV7dPQe1knYzSf6sbgK-g2MGTI9ANEMDWogD4PjckzR1p3Sg7Nd6lWVhPdLjnBeaV6narjX_Iff1q-HFSC7A-pyyOg/s400/IMG_7040.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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According to the Chinese zodiac the official animal for 2011 was the rabbit~but for me it was the year of the turtle. It seemed everywhere I went I'd have an encounter with one or more. Red-eared Sliders were found both close to water where they like to be but also one made its way through my yard which was a mystery as my yard is high on a hilltop. Eastern Box Turtles were found both in my backyard safe from vehicles, but a handful needed to be rescued out of the highways as well. <br />
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Here are some of my favorite turtle photos of 2011, I couldn't list them all as there were so very many. I hope you enjoy this collection.<br />
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Wishing all a very happy and healthy 2012. I'm very excited to find out what my animal for the coming year will be.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJy6vhN2thGno0WPIdgVf-DGM3fvXBCIv0ZC0arwguvAbl0uMY_qNUQXMKkO65w0gNupyV5_llvFTgYr1yLFiJ9fJERi-dGJgGn8fgjaQ3s65xJiwkAj4cloaRV6yW4FmDK-zrE4sAxY/s1600/IMG_2685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJy6vhN2thGno0WPIdgVf-DGM3fvXBCIv0ZC0arwguvAbl0uMY_qNUQXMKkO65w0gNupyV5_llvFTgYr1yLFiJ9fJERi-dGJgGn8fgjaQ3s65xJiwkAj4cloaRV6yW4FmDK-zrE4sAxY/s400/IMG_2685.JPG" /></a></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-16700377254065476542011-11-05T20:18:00.000-07:002011-11-05T20:18:41.659-07:00The black cat and the moon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_e9s9gACCB-SQtk_x-XBuC4laqyid8M8k6o0hU-A7qZC-8aH2cFL34pRnksZUDcoupWWzIu0s9G2Lhu_sJKLKH8yFM8TnWqAy4y3cSgNlUxVuFN3StyF9PkoAoG4Ag0da8bUJSVLtaUU/s1600/IMG_3242-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_e9s9gACCB-SQtk_x-XBuC4laqyid8M8k6o0hU-A7qZC-8aH2cFL34pRnksZUDcoupWWzIu0s9G2Lhu_sJKLKH8yFM8TnWqAy4y3cSgNlUxVuFN3StyF9PkoAoG4Ag0da8bUJSVLtaUU/s320/IMG_3242-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Last week, I started working on a new panel to add to my<b><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/LivingGlassArt"> Etsy shop</a></b>. The idea for this piece came about as a lot of projects do and that's by doing some simple sketches, doodling really, with no real intent of creating anything but somehow things just start to fall into place. The original sketch for this was on scrap paper at about 3 inches tall. After some thought and erasing and adding and white out I finally came up with the plan that I wanted to use. Next came choosing the glass for it.<br />
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The glass I chose for the background sky is an interesting color~some of the time it looks purple, some of the time it looks blue~its always changing with any light behind it. At first I thought to do all of the parts besides the sky and the moon in black to appear as silhouettes. But, black is black and I was afraid that it would not be the look I wanted. I decided to use a dark amber streaky type glass for the trees and another type of dark amber for the ground, glass that is more dense than the tree glass. Of course, the kitty is black. One of my black kitties loves to sit in the big oak tree in the backyard~~maybe I was thinking of him when I starting doodling for this piece.<br />
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A few days into the project and all the pieces were cut, fit and foiled. Since its a rectangular piece I used rigid zinc channel to frame it.<br />
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Once all the parts were reassembled back onto the pattern, I measured and cut the zinc. The ends were cut using a hacksaw and a miter box. You can see the open channel on the second piece up for the glass to set into. <br />
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Once completed, this <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/85147771/black-cat-full-moon-stained-glass">Black Cat and Full Moon Panel</a> measures at 15 3/8 inches tall by 14 inches wide, 39cm by 35.5cm. I've had a chance to study this piece for a few days now since its currently hanging in my living room with good southern exposure lighting coming through it. Sometimes I'm not sure if I've chosen the right glass to use for a project and with this piece the ambers were questionable. But, now I'm glad that I've used them in that when the moon glows the brightest and whitest with strong light behind it is when the trees and the ground glow the brightest as well~similar to the way an actual full moon lights up the ground beneath it.livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-31688997757485672782011-10-26T13:47:00.000-07:002011-10-26T13:47:28.272-07:00I've brought the duck back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXChHK3ZZobgmBJq8JLVIga5Gm8b2CX116flA488_K88zFvYW_oUu8bqyRDvGUcvgEQQ0RlcZyXi8LrcHs0plE0BlfUMpvLLhaYvK16KXwQxUdivKxMjw8y61x0LjGe8IVJZPa6d6yhyo/s1600/IMG_3068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXChHK3ZZobgmBJq8JLVIga5Gm8b2CX116flA488_K88zFvYW_oUu8bqyRDvGUcvgEQQ0RlcZyXi8LrcHs0plE0BlfUMpvLLhaYvK16KXwQxUdivKxMjw8y61x0LjGe8IVJZPa6d6yhyo/s320/IMG_3068.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
A few weeks ago, I met a most interesting duck at a local state park. I watched him as he would wait for fishing boats to be offloaded and then he would follow the boaters around the gentle cove but never venture out for to the main river. Around the cove he would swim, he was pretty fast about it. Finally, he came over to where I was at and I got to take a good look at him.<br />
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He's really a beauty--all black with feathers that are iridescent in the sun. His bill reminded me of a Mallard Duck, so I'm not sure if he's part domestic duck, part Mallard or what. There is a duck called an American Black Duck--but they don't look anything like this.<br />
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This duck got me thinking about bringing out an old pattern that I had done of a duck a few years back. I knew I wanted to make some changes to it before doing another. I played with the pattern a bit--made the cattails larger, changed the position of some of the grass and made those parts larger as well. One thing I wanted to do with the new duck was to use brighter colors for some of the features. The last duck I had done had darker colors which made it difficult to photograph.<br />
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The pattern I had developed was on a regular sized piece of paper-I enlarged it and got to making my copy. I thought it would be interesting to do something different with the eye. For that I chose to use a black glass glob, a/k/a glass gem, half marble. They are a bit larger than needed---I grinded the glob on all sides to fit and took a bit off the bottom of it as well so it wouldn't stick up way higher then the glass.<br />
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It was really very fun choosing all of the different colors for this piece. I thought also to use denser glass on the main features with the thought that this might be an interesting piece to hang on a wall since not everyone has big windows for big suncatchers.<br />
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After days of glass choosing, cutting, grinding the pieces and foiling them I was finally ready to solder everything together. This is an exciting time because once I have one side soldered I'll finally be able to pick the piece up and see what everything looks like together. The reverse side is then soldered and lead channel wrapped all the way around the piece.<br />
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I hung the duck up inside and thought it looked pretty good this way. It was then that I realized that I was not completely done~~~I still needed to hand paint some features onto the duck.<br />
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A little nostril and some lines by his webbed feet are what I added. I never realized how important this nostril is until I spent time watching that black duck. He seemed to blow air out of it when he had his bill in the water--kind of what people do when they swim.<br />
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I'm very happy with the outcome of this new <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/84519755/stained-glass-mallard-duck-in-flight"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">Mallard Duck</span></b></a> design, available for sale in my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/LivingGlassArt"><b>Etsy shop</b></a>. This suncatcher panel measures 15 inches diameter, 38 cm.livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-78213656797797711862011-09-04T18:33:00.000-07:002011-09-04T18:33:41.123-07:00I've been visited by royalty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3j-ugwKmA90gv6BEsOSYFzGv9Sf5CMvNWRXH_aNo7l3qIISxkB53-D0VVnyM85fRDV8Oc2KwrtvrF_JjEVC9iYQxCxRgzqnjPA7eLkgTS3HWDvYE8QysxmxK-xu6FXI3lHhK_mY_0wEw/s1600/IMG_1631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3j-ugwKmA90gv6BEsOSYFzGv9Sf5CMvNWRXH_aNo7l3qIISxkB53-D0VVnyM85fRDV8Oc2KwrtvrF_JjEVC9iYQxCxRgzqnjPA7eLkgTS3HWDvYE8QysxmxK-xu6FXI3lHhK_mY_0wEw/s400/IMG_1631.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Royalty~~in the form of this fantastic Regal Moth caterpillar, Citheronia regalis (Fabricius). I've seen caterpillars that are stunning and some that are large--but I've never seen such a big beauty as this one. The outside cats had brought it to my attention~~well, not really, actually I check on them throughout the day to make sure that they are alright and haven't gotten themselves into any trouble. I peeked outside and could tell that they had something large, green and interesting. I was in for a real treat.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;"><i> </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIYAtKyH11inpwC__qEBaf5hABkOSFjyblI1Kwb6FuhSmkJhMLCJW4Xy72C_r2lnnxLCfiPbMKJH3O6V3aJ1aM_x8VUvutJuXgaRR-lBmK-q_QDpqkhEEqjKRjiivfIf_kDbKtNa-1Rg/s1600/IMG_1627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIYAtKyH11inpwC__qEBaf5hABkOSFjyblI1Kwb6FuhSmkJhMLCJW4Xy72C_r2lnnxLCfiPbMKJH3O6V3aJ1aM_x8VUvutJuXgaRR-lBmK-q_QDpqkhEEqjKRjiivfIf_kDbKtNa-1Rg/s400/IMG_1627.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></h3>I'm not one that usually grabs a glove when something like this presents itself~~I've been known to handle frogs, toads, lizards, snails and even a slug or two without a problem~~but I could tell that this caterpillar was going to be quite strong in its gripping abilities. Of we went together into the backyard, me and the caterpillar minus any cats, where I could study it closer and take lots and lots of photos of it. I was truly amazed by its beauty--from the thorny horns on its head to the lovely marking on the sides of its body and everything in between.<br />
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This caterpillar is also known as the Hickory Horned Devil~~one of its host plants in the hickory tree. Oaks along with various hickories make up the backbone of the woodlands in this area. After nearly 12 years of living in these woods I'm surprised that this is my very first encounter with one. More great information about this caterpillar and the moths that they become is located <a href="http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/regal_moth.htm"><b> here</b></a>. <br />
I knew I had a great moth caterpillar in my hand but was unsure which specie it was, I set it down for a minute and ran inside to get the field guide along with a ruler to measure it. By the time I had made it back the caterpillar had wondered off to isolate itself from this entire ordeal that it had been put through. Sad to see it go, I was thankful for the opportunity to have seen it firsthand.<br />
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The field guide that I own was able to show me exactly what type of caterpillar I had just encountered and also the moth that it will eventually become. Since I enjoy posting my photos to Flickr I thought that I would take a look and see what other photos of the moth I would find there. I was really delighted to find a wonderful photo of the moth. With permission from the photographer,<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dt47/">Myeyeongaia</a></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;"> </span>I've posted two wonderful photos of this winged beauty. The above a lovely female and below a couple in the midst of continuing the cycle of life.<br />
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livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-59487794876462801662011-08-13T15:28:00.000-07:002011-08-13T15:28:16.977-07:00Stained Glass Rainbow Butterfly~~new and improved version<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_czqkX4-zsylFS4r7_6m_AnrIPYSdrGZTMzH-5GP31vDQKMezIYxgSqynedk-MaD-HcZajv4dM3vP7n1udJh2rBh2MpgUBw16UkvrZC3-h8JxuVd9AJnM8N72KIEV-mav56WoyI6KPM/s1600/IMG_1059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_czqkX4-zsylFS4r7_6m_AnrIPYSdrGZTMzH-5GP31vDQKMezIYxgSqynedk-MaD-HcZajv4dM3vP7n1udJh2rBh2MpgUBw16UkvrZC3-h8JxuVd9AJnM8N72KIEV-mav56WoyI6KPM/s400/IMG_1059.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Last week I had begun working on a new version of a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/79605493/stained-glass-rainbow-butterfly-oval">Rainbow Butterfly</a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span">in stained glass</span>. I had come up with the original idea a couple of years ago and have done a few versions of it. For this new design I changed things up a bit by adding a lot more detail in the wings of the butterfly and also adding swirls and curves to the background--to give the piece more of a feeling of movement.<br />
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As in the previous butterflies I chose to use a textured glass made by the Spectrum Glass Company called Rough Rolled. It has a sparkly texture that really shimmers with sunlight or even objects behind it that reflect light. For the background pieces I was able to piroot through my leftover scrap box searching for odd parts to use~~as it turned out I was able to use seven different textures to surround the butterfly.<br />
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This was the very last rainbow butterfly that I had done before making the changes that I did. When working on the one above the thought came to me that I really wanted the colors to flow from the center outward--the only way to get that to work was to add more pieces to the project--which of course involves a lot more cuts and a lot of small pieces to wrap with foil. Also, even though I love the deep purple that I used its such a difficult color for me to photograph that I figured that I shouldn't use it again for a butterfly.<br />
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Shown here with all of the pieces for the project cut and about half way through the process of foiling. Even though some of the pieces were/are tiny this step seemed to move relatively quickly.<br />
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Here it was ready to be soldered together. When doing a piece like this with tiny parts its real easy to get globby and sloppy with the solder. Remember to bring your patience to the soldering party.<br />
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Completed this butterfly measures 12 inches wide by 10 1/2 inches tall, about 30.5cm by 26.5cm. Available for sale in my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/livingglassart"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Etsy</span></b></a> shop.livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-29465147699797530492011-08-10T20:04:00.000-07:002011-08-10T20:04:07.420-07:00A little bit of time for some exploration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fhcmr_6Lq3qfgzJbN3rIwf3CHyohTakMVAu200uANptN0QS9j65yKph7fuk7eWP4Dh40uESc1YGVy_1CXSycFRgQ66Lzer4u8YWGHCTkVrhCoqhNt7E9yTBMNpOXDwy1LCPITdXOWaM/s1600/IMG_0881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fhcmr_6Lq3qfgzJbN3rIwf3CHyohTakMVAu200uANptN0QS9j65yKph7fuk7eWP4Dh40uESc1YGVy_1CXSycFRgQ66Lzer4u8YWGHCTkVrhCoqhNt7E9yTBMNpOXDwy1LCPITdXOWaM/s320/IMG_0881.JPG" width="303" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>With the record heat this summer, its sad to say but I have not had much desire to go out exploring. Sure, I think about it and that's as far as it gets. I know I have missed so many wonderful happenings out in nature. When I knocked off working this afternoon I was just itching to get out, even just for a few minutes. That's about all the time I got, soon after arriving at a local county park thunder was heard in the distance and rain started heading our way.<br />
There were lots of lovely water lilies close to the shore. I was glad to see them--they have been doing an extensive 'clean up' of the brushy areas in the park--the places that I love to explore. Good to know they didn't touch the lotus.<br />
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I just can't help but think of ET whenever I see one of these seed heads from the American Lotus. From the looks of broken off stems, somebody must like them and have picked them to take home.<br />
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Lots and lots of dragonflies flying about this afternoon. These two stop to take a break and seem to be sizing each other up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_OBZavrQdgm19jcHQjx33t4Di0szEFVg76afsvBKdyJgIoVUlil6HnoNFFP7M8FrfBCJSq7FgzDvjl9uoygG2ii4oSNBUklVfFkGFZ3znErIwyeS9Y_nZQXtPXaKU-wWflqGE_RQmE0/s1600/IMG_0893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_OBZavrQdgm19jcHQjx33t4Di0szEFVg76afsvBKdyJgIoVUlil6HnoNFFP7M8FrfBCJSq7FgzDvjl9uoygG2ii4oSNBUklVfFkGFZ3znErIwyeS9Y_nZQXtPXaKU-wWflqGE_RQmE0/s320/IMG_0893.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Butterflies and more butterflies. This Spicebush Butterfly has definitely seen better days. Huge chunks of its wings were missing, but it didn't seem to have a problem flying from one buttonbush bloom to the next.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4ohM20YBAUR8W7eyK2IcuKBEYSjc56qd0oKWZpIuFCpEhybKUtD-VZU9JDQHbIG1zStT6cwKK44-wPEMTYxSrF1zbSyRlf9wCv6H83yWWwoTeEhk7XMaBA37yfEYl_mclL1WVeYozpI/s1600/IMG_0902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4ohM20YBAUR8W7eyK2IcuKBEYSjc56qd0oKWZpIuFCpEhybKUtD-VZU9JDQHbIG1zStT6cwKK44-wPEMTYxSrF1zbSyRlf9wCv6H83yWWwoTeEhk7XMaBA37yfEYl_mclL1WVeYozpI/s320/IMG_0902.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Last year, they had cut back these lovely buttonbush plants to the ground. Thankfully, they had let them grow back for this year~~the butterflies were all over them. Here a Tiger Swallowtail feeds alone...not for long.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2guat-kNXolO3TGdid8LVVWVG1eSldZky5YUmE1YCScMD6rL7sxmD199fkrimXCTc-DCZUQ1HLUnqoKo0qAHIpzFTfAE_yzz08halwiOOiPeW1AguszRi75pZ1HmdBeWXvoICQdK5Ls/s1600/IMG_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2guat-kNXolO3TGdid8LVVWVG1eSldZky5YUmE1YCScMD6rL7sxmD199fkrimXCTc-DCZUQ1HLUnqoKo0qAHIpzFTfAE_yzz08halwiOOiPeW1AguszRi75pZ1HmdBeWXvoICQdK5Ls/s320/IMG_0901.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This second one thought that the first one had an extra special flower and wanted a taste of it as well.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNQlt0kxnh9K1cGraQh9b1lSVwOQ0x8A8XieBs0i4d19Q40V3e_8A6tvwwwSTafgbDuHuXr_ObenWYA5KuRpsM8-WMkpdcMrr7JvgBN0gFq4x5q2SkjP9Dwr9zUZ-lxk1kgXnUrCIwmw/s1600/IMG_0905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNQlt0kxnh9K1cGraQh9b1lSVwOQ0x8A8XieBs0i4d19Q40V3e_8A6tvwwwSTafgbDuHuXr_ObenWYA5KuRpsM8-WMkpdcMrr7JvgBN0gFq4x5q2SkjP9Dwr9zUZ-lxk1kgXnUrCIwmw/s320/IMG_0905.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Such a short visit today~as it was time to head out I spotted this Great Blue Heron feeding close to shore in the shallows--looking for a tasty meal~~~maybe a small fish, maybe a frog. It stayed in place for a while--but not long enough while I fumbled with the settings on the camera. Just as I was about to take a shot at it, it decided to take off--it ended up being a pretty cool shot anyway.<br />
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livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-70934206783147892022011-08-09T17:48:00.000-07:002011-08-09T17:48:32.745-07:00Something a bit different~Abstract Blue and White Suncatcher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFd63KLXqHSdXjQsdW5AHqoEFuIvJiN2RerExHOMzpHWjtpZZx1OyFkyWckgqKCObedmHaE7AxbZMibu8peS_trfpzbGAPJriePKJvYurpZUpEStnboYsC68JZr9W3MsxRlrbb0Jsw9C8/s1600/IMG_0818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFd63KLXqHSdXjQsdW5AHqoEFuIvJiN2RerExHOMzpHWjtpZZx1OyFkyWckgqKCObedmHaE7AxbZMibu8peS_trfpzbGAPJriePKJvYurpZUpEStnboYsC68JZr9W3MsxRlrbb0Jsw9C8/s320/IMG_0818.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I've had the thought of trying this idea for a while--design something without the use of a pattern. Finally, I've gotten around to doing just that. I started this piece off by simply drawing a circle on a sheet of paper and then filling in the circle with various pieces of glass, mostly scrap pieces that were sitting in boxes. It was a bit harder then I thought it would be--but very fun anyway. Some of the pieces were just a touch short~~that's when I had the idea of putting a couple of glass globs in to fill in the voids.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNXtc0DLGP3y2ZRSWCKX63kCf4IB7ENrF14qk7aaf8QS107ICpHv2kzlqJzPOrdfhAqy4369PxDRaS5Q2AZgEDkFUhySQnEiWxqaE3Gd49nJN_qi7H92acYCzU-JlxQ0ts42qSP5Mouo/s1600/IMG_0820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNXtc0DLGP3y2ZRSWCKX63kCf4IB7ENrF14qk7aaf8QS107ICpHv2kzlqJzPOrdfhAqy4369PxDRaS5Q2AZgEDkFUhySQnEiWxqaE3Gd49nJN_qi7H92acYCzU-JlxQ0ts42qSP5Mouo/s320/IMG_0820.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
One I had all the pieces foiled and started the solder process, I thought to pull an old trick out of my hat by adding this solder effect. When the solder is hot, a wet sponge is smashed onto the solder lines creating this crinkly effect.<br />
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Two shades of blue along with white glass, a dark blue gem, two light blue gems and one clear gem all together in this <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/79456844/stained-glass-suncatcher-or-wall-hanging"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>abstract suncatcher</b></span></a>~~available for sale in my<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/livingglassart"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> Etsy</span></b></a> shop.<br />
This one of a kind piece measures 8 3/4 inches diameter, just over 22cm. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDv16eNuA2WlJmFRpHP8vjFXyU-HYl9G0L3ECYsh9iffPUyLxETxEwTtM8_BvvXN2_jWR02fNEs5r3H1C9i_uh4ii_P8VogESBSYJagkgttaU0-fo9JCPrH__zF7U_yR7z88zUOFwRM0/s1600/IMG_0836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDv16eNuA2WlJmFRpHP8vjFXyU-HYl9G0L3ECYsh9iffPUyLxETxEwTtM8_BvvXN2_jWR02fNEs5r3H1C9i_uh4ii_P8VogESBSYJagkgttaU0-fo9JCPrH__zF7U_yR7z88zUOFwRM0/s320/IMG_0836.JPG" width="319" /></a></div><br />
Looks interesting hanging on a wall as well. <br />
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livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-40932285872647553332011-08-01T20:33:00.000-07:002011-08-01T20:33:13.621-07:00Why did the turtle cross the road?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2_6KMHI3-Pl-RZdQgDZN_Hl4wyHC8w6zArkGxl2mBOdMhJvqyYwLKWg0VGV34wv_WkZzXhXTCa3YZbK6OxeuDznfUL-9WssopJi4A0gZpimty3rh52LKwtrg_uBl7likY7bYlhvC4XU/s1600/IMG_0624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2_6KMHI3-Pl-RZdQgDZN_Hl4wyHC8w6zArkGxl2mBOdMhJvqyYwLKWg0VGV34wv_WkZzXhXTCa3YZbK6OxeuDznfUL-9WssopJi4A0gZpimty3rh52LKwtrg_uBl7likY7bYlhvC4XU/s400/IMG_0624.JPG" width="376" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I would have to think he did because he wanted me to write about him. The other day I was leaving to run to town to take care of some errands and I've learned that its best to bring a camera along. This Eastern Box Turtle was starting to make its way across the road~~of course I had to pull over and take a look. It really did put a smile on my face when I realized it was so close to the speed limit sign. This will probably qualify as a turtle rescue--there have been a few this year--pulling turtles off of busy highways. And although its posted at 20 MPH not many people pay attention. Even the school bus driver thinks he's trying to qualify for a NASCAR race when he comes through.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">The shells of these turtles are just so beautiful. Such wonderful color and design. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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When I first took an interest in the workings of nature and bought loads of books to learn about the wonderful creatures around me, one of them was a book on reptiles and amphibians, their life histories and such. Unlike mammals and most birds, reptiles show little outward signs of their gender. With box turtles, eye color can sometimes be a determining factor along with the shape of the upper shell. If the tail is visible, the male's are usually longer and wider than the females--although it would be difficult to compare without multiple samples. Here's a way to distiguish the two sexes. The underside of the shell, known as the planstron will be concave in males and flat in females. So--this one looks to be a boy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOANdAAty8k8_LjJahgyAAtpN7zdvNU5hFk75DMUJQYvCj-FUyU7b5VaB23OYD036Jw0h-4ZiqZheVvqInl3jlqsXCVqJmDZolFwCIu_XteRSAtBjI4tS9K7xzAgFaMqJYqYtzeHnlsL4/s1600/IMG_0629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOANdAAty8k8_LjJahgyAAtpN7zdvNU5hFk75DMUJQYvCj-FUyU7b5VaB23OYD036Jw0h-4ZiqZheVvqInl3jlqsXCVqJmDZolFwCIu_XteRSAtBjI4tS9K7xzAgFaMqJYqYtzeHnlsL4/s400/IMG_0629.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
These turtles have another wonderful design and that they can completely close themselves into their shells in case of danger--the planstrom is hinged to allow this.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaL4y-fQW6TLQbb0NwTP3trs8Njo88bbMDjQLZKXaFrXHJ0na_JHIYQ9-Gurtp6iX6roIGrQ9cUPioqjnx55U_qpDluaWkKrwakp4GAwHVob1wSggidh9CXKvULx8hXakXACx0knlSw6s/s1600/IMG_0630-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaL4y-fQW6TLQbb0NwTP3trs8Njo88bbMDjQLZKXaFrXHJ0na_JHIYQ9-Gurtp6iX6roIGrQ9cUPioqjnx55U_qpDluaWkKrwakp4GAwHVob1wSggidh9CXKvULx8hXakXACx0knlSw6s/s400/IMG_0630-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Time to let him go. After a few minutes I moved him over to the other side for some peace and quiet. When moving turtles out of harms way--most likely a roadway, its important to move them in the direction that they were travelling--not back where they were since they will set out again. There's a reason they were heading the way they were.livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-88836856017355968432011-07-22T11:20:00.000-07:002011-07-22T13:10:00.651-07:00Stained Glass Oak Leaves Project~a woodland celebration<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JfmpZXeDkKsTzhU1LKtx6qfvB7jbHcXccBUBl5vEIsR7bjySOKk_jM39XI7TQWcPd2pkp9wZDZgh8zkpxPqIdAGT41EhCcaN7WbhHU0QrSF6UPHqwuGkShM44Ivjk7F3WfL0cBQtrbc/s1600/IMG_0310.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 396px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JfmpZXeDkKsTzhU1LKtx6qfvB7jbHcXccBUBl5vEIsR7bjySOKk_jM39XI7TQWcPd2pkp9wZDZgh8zkpxPqIdAGT41EhCcaN7WbhHU0QrSF6UPHqwuGkShM44Ivjk7F3WfL0cBQtrbc/s400/IMG_0310.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244721511780786" /></a>The <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/78292187/oak-leaves-stained-glass-round-window"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" >Stained Glass Oak Leaves</span></b></a> project that I've been working on has finally been completed. I'm absolutely delighted with the outcome, especially considering that I did not know how the three shades of green glass that I used would 'work' together--they really did and I would use them together on other projects. Looks fantastic hanging in my workshop window, the leaves are very lively and seem to move due to the Waterglass that I used for them.<div><br /></div><div>After the lead came frame was added, this piece measured at 13 3/4 inches diameter, right around 35cm. </div><div><br /></div><div>I last posted about this piece a few days ago while I was half way through the process of foiling the pieces. Let's take a look at the remaining steps for this project.<br /><div> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlw_vvVf4W-aQqwJ6YrpxLk45V9piS3QScT3QWFmj8NXKeswW4zQLT0BGtf5gC8eobrecsp44cdXBXxPmnORZRpXKjIY8xsfi4zHq20ad8OJeOolUkR0zBwZWmTOBwtcu19lPi2Dz6_0/s1600/IMG_0245.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlw_vvVf4W-aQqwJ6YrpxLk45V9piS3QScT3QWFmj8NXKeswW4zQLT0BGtf5gC8eobrecsp44cdXBXxPmnORZRpXKjIY8xsfi4zHq20ad8OJeOolUkR0zBwZWmTOBwtcu19lPi2Dz6_0/s320/IMG_0245.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244425630917618" /></a>All the pieces have been wrapped with copper foil, except for the outside edge which will be lead came framing a few steps from now. At this stage I'll pin the piece down with thumbtacks to keep it in place while the pieces are soldered together. I noticed that one piece of this puzzle was taking up a little bit more space then it was intended to have--it was taken out and a little bit of the glass removed so that it would fit better against the neighboring pieces. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJo_d7emivWbIUYgRMMW3ARwypUJrE-OkUW7djL9D9T3k4HnyIkysnTEYxV9U1deVf_3Y-pR5OxxeKVwLxpmV2ChgtvxjoJL1akhknaEMc6hEO4m2B-sLwTfRlNIatQHRlLyTPxRpk_n0/s1600/IMG_0263.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJo_d7emivWbIUYgRMMW3ARwypUJrE-OkUW7djL9D9T3k4HnyIkysnTEYxV9U1deVf_3Y-pR5OxxeKVwLxpmV2ChgtvxjoJL1akhknaEMc6hEO4m2B-sLwTfRlNIatQHRlLyTPxRpk_n0/s320/IMG_0263.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244414468771266" /></a>Time to glue the puzzle together, or in this case its solder. A liquid chemical acid (left) will be brushed onto all the copper foiled edges. A lead/tin solder (right) will be what binds the pieces together and creates the joints.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuclqX9MZpBwCgbYniMmoXUJj4S7I2FSdz_Nsy8Na93ADAVJjOZONFWKQBBB-Vs4qXTFK7tFvJsjaYNEAgG1YLPoFA-_E9C3mVed0xLQsm99Lsb5eQ2iiuzlK7SGPRgXD7_s_LyOibjQ/s1600/IMG_0264.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuclqX9MZpBwCgbYniMmoXUJj4S7I2FSdz_Nsy8Na93ADAVJjOZONFWKQBBB-Vs4qXTFK7tFvJsjaYNEAgG1YLPoFA-_E9C3mVed0xLQsm99Lsb5eQ2iiuzlK7SGPRgXD7_s_LyOibjQ/s320/IMG_0264.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244411433858626" /></a>Using a hot solder iron (right) that melts the solder to a high temperature, a bead is run over the copper foil joints that have been treated with the acid flux--by chemical reaction the solder is attracted only to the foil and the parts are then bound together.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRilsbulNxxdQkN4qqrxn42xCPs1tbzR4wlvm5JF4zglAa8bT_Fcw0ZkEWqP5o5oeT4I6ZwU5JUMNKFOlKPix1LEQk0K3fwQYQnLCFccAIaHp_qemiw_MRInTeM1XfdHeBtM6Xq13QDM/s1600/IMG_0269.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRilsbulNxxdQkN4qqrxn42xCPs1tbzR4wlvm5JF4zglAa8bT_Fcw0ZkEWqP5o5oeT4I6ZwU5JUMNKFOlKPix1LEQk0K3fwQYQnLCFccAIaHp_qemiw_MRInTeM1XfdHeBtM6Xq13QDM/s320/IMG_0269.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244407315420930" /></a>Its important to keep the solder and the iron moving slowly yet continuously over the pieces as to avoid globs of solder which can occur easily especially where several pieces join together.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIXkyiihf8PTfDqCaJIICu3yw3Ior6HKQ96ls9xzMFQ-vcufLqLDfdJSyJme5kFYAxByiuJbJ4xrpZ34VT4LLJj0wnZA9rDii6ZvpYsX2aPh_0hCGMoPVso8xTltQ8p3pELEWaoGvpG0/s1600/IMG_0271.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIXkyiihf8PTfDqCaJIICu3yw3Ior6HKQ96ls9xzMFQ-vcufLqLDfdJSyJme5kFYAxByiuJbJ4xrpZ34VT4LLJj0wnZA9rDii6ZvpYsX2aPh_0hCGMoPVso8xTltQ8p3pELEWaoGvpG0/s320/IMG_0271.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244402421237890" /></a>One side soldered completely. Lots and lots of crud left over from the solder process--this will be cleaned off thoroughly later, although a gentle wiping away of some of the gunk is in order. Now, the piece will be turned over and the back side will be completely soldered as well. BUT---this is the fun part~~~the piece can finally be picked up and looked at.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGyH2caB_XRLIXSwtJRtEQKGj8UOf9k30T9Nq4Aa6O-7Jb5ZhTjTrCO2OZqgSgMamH8Rml0hCWg3jijZK30KY_Ncgx04dWpStp6zg6Tj9zKUgVkxnSs8J335bFlZmqnyi4HCWLiB_XmM/s1600/IMG_0273.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGyH2caB_XRLIXSwtJRtEQKGj8UOf9k30T9Nq4Aa6O-7Jb5ZhTjTrCO2OZqgSgMamH8Rml0hCWg3jijZK30KY_Ncgx04dWpStp6zg6Tj9zKUgVkxnSs8J335bFlZmqnyi4HCWLiB_XmM/s320/IMG_0273.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244071338177010" /></a>This will be the first time and I've seen what all of the hours of work have come to. Very very happy with things so far! </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-IUe66ZBObm6SYlCWj2PBkpoA-dkl3g5GBUifgSZSyqbEXIJFDj_wpzAnxqQYCABYTNf7Bx-FV9ylIB8OckSyRinEmu2Cz8CyjTsx1cZa9vbP1eOULD-qNlZ5p4-PZ0JI_6wVcA5x2w/s1600/IMG_0279.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-IUe66ZBObm6SYlCWj2PBkpoA-dkl3g5GBUifgSZSyqbEXIJFDj_wpzAnxqQYCABYTNf7Bx-FV9ylIB8OckSyRinEmu2Cz8CyjTsx1cZa9vbP1eOULD-qNlZ5p4-PZ0JI_6wVcA5x2w/s320/IMG_0279.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244074050124162" /></a>Back side soldered, the piece can now be cleaned thoroughly for the first time. Here, I'm using a powder called whiting, which is calcium carbonate. Brushed into the solder joints, it helps to absorb and residue leftover from the soldering process. It also cleans the glass as well.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2CUijAEHv5L5cBKzBk6PM_9W5uTi8hRwgw1NXeB05FBsI_c84SUQAAR3n-H0CkkVMclJgX7AZ2q2s_Rx3kt562fvjo17PAoSBLtgd4CJfTeTaGsIQlqTamFc6_M2FJYdIW-u9yRxeZsA/s1600/IMG_0280.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2CUijAEHv5L5cBKzBk6PM_9W5uTi8hRwgw1NXeB05FBsI_c84SUQAAR3n-H0CkkVMclJgX7AZ2q2s_Rx3kt562fvjo17PAoSBLtgd4CJfTeTaGsIQlqTamFc6_M2FJYdIW-u9yRxeZsA/s320/IMG_0280.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244069147585218" /></a>Time to wrap it up. For the outer ring, I'm using what's called lead came--this is U shaped came as it resembles the letter "U". There's also "H" came that is used in leaded glass work--I don't use this in anything I do. There are a couple of different ways to purchase came, I've gone with the most economical method sold rolled onto a spool.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUd6X5pLiZkQPUgSnYtALxr5eOmC6XqNYzKnunolme1h_R1bKAptqfPBwjWHn9XfgHvCQf5CvBhTwxiQGV358eQQf1eoAbDor26LMxb8-S1lLqoidgYZzSFbC4U-eKlPHs8F6D07-DSs/s1600/IMG_0284.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUd6X5pLiZkQPUgSnYtALxr5eOmC6XqNYzKnunolme1h_R1bKAptqfPBwjWHn9XfgHvCQf5CvBhTwxiQGV358eQQf1eoAbDor26LMxb8-S1lLqoidgYZzSFbC4U-eKlPHs8F6D07-DSs/s320/IMG_0284.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244064440083746" /></a>A measurement is taken of the circumference of the piece~~here right around 43 inches (just under 109cm) will be enough to wrap the outside. A length is cut off the roll of lead, laid out smooth and flat and cleaned off to remove any oxidation that might have formed.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqJ0El006jYF8GsmbNNz3brp1CN_tw7KdJZWftZxvD3DwmWb-kf0AmaDpUrQnIeuugckqJh9V5h9qHssIZtjxuWHvI2AuWOmMbr_c7zg36QRF2G21i7dIdVdC0cl8cIITs2ZNYn_JBb8/s1600/IMG_0286.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqJ0El006jYF8GsmbNNz3brp1CN_tw7KdJZWftZxvD3DwmWb-kf0AmaDpUrQnIeuugckqJh9V5h9qHssIZtjxuWHvI2AuWOmMbr_c7zg36QRF2G21i7dIdVdC0cl8cIITs2ZNYn_JBb8/s320/IMG_0286.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632244060699240098" /></a>There's a couple of different ways to approach wrapping the piece with the came. Mine is to face the U channel of the lead in an upward position and then to gently roll the center glass into the channel. Here, its been rolled and tacked down to a board using horse shoe nails to hold all in place for the next step.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQlOFGal24j_HYNeWGTyCtBeDgHU8NOlCZyLWSXevFYu-38bMuTJJNMDs73PdKXjunzJsM3Ac2IJjEcoB1HiQmP9x53DZIw_8xIf85l8-gp22Fgmrilda77ImsCnsthNPl_TZAwbwwhY/s1600/IMG_0287.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQlOFGal24j_HYNeWGTyCtBeDgHU8NOlCZyLWSXevFYu-38bMuTJJNMDs73PdKXjunzJsM3Ac2IJjEcoB1HiQmP9x53DZIw_8xIf85l8-gp22Fgmrilda77ImsCnsthNPl_TZAwbwwhY/s320/IMG_0287.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632243685926667314" /></a>Where the copper foiled joints of the glass meet the lead came outer ring I connect the two with solder to connect the ring and keep it in place. All of the joints are soldered this way on the backside only. On the front facing side I only solder the ring where the two ends have met and also where the rings that hold the piece will be put in place.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMJCfFC_m7JT1l0Jyoflss-fYX1_-q-sh-2VAKT-DdcqXISc14w_nONVySwh7I5wWnD6E_FypZGJuL23nTcdz2TkkVmdO89qgPJwSM5AF6buna8qjOkNU5Bk7pRdKKWjnrYKTWEFfGWI/s1600/IMG_0289.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMJCfFC_m7JT1l0Jyoflss-fYX1_-q-sh-2VAKT-DdcqXISc14w_nONVySwh7I5wWnD6E_FypZGJuL23nTcdz2TkkVmdO89qgPJwSM5AF6buna8qjOkNU5Bk7pRdKKWjnrYKTWEFfGWI/s320/IMG_0289.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632243671821373298" /></a>For smaller pieces its fine to attach a simple ring to for the purpose of hanging. For a larger and much heavier piece such as this I've created a ring with a 'tail'. The 'tail' end will be embedded with solder into the solder joint. This will create a hanging loop that is virtually impossible to remove short of cutting it off or reheating with an iron and removing.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTRUoAjmursrWRr8GFMQfnvy6aIGj469RUw9QkcESpsH3AtGFRz9nJV4YCG3QgU5DjXeawzHP5j5nJr0Z_ZppvhJbL8UITfWWuKJOXzFBy5ioZlNClJHbWDLNlilRg2l9qXA6qgB0yp4/s1600/IMG_0290.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTRUoAjmursrWRr8GFMQfnvy6aIGj469RUw9QkcESpsH3AtGFRz9nJV4YCG3QgU5DjXeawzHP5j5nJr0Z_ZppvhJbL8UITfWWuKJOXzFBy5ioZlNClJHbWDLNlilRg2l9qXA6qgB0yp4/s320/IMG_0290.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632243672531121570" /></a>Here the hanging loop his shown embedded into the solder joint.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GbE6pfs07oIqkWAt3E_YCVvSw6cuYbR7zoL36XGWTUlGlhDzCgThWJ04dI5WdtjtpsgjHzqPGzV56wrmrLUe_vuaXPM7ps8PuW63mLKJLsaLVsZBctZGI765dbEEuN1uf_nIDnfVx-o/s1600/IMG_0293.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GbE6pfs07oIqkWAt3E_YCVvSw6cuYbR7zoL36XGWTUlGlhDzCgThWJ04dI5WdtjtpsgjHzqPGzV56wrmrLUe_vuaXPM7ps8PuW63mLKJLsaLVsZBctZGI765dbEEuN1uf_nIDnfVx-o/s320/IMG_0293.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632243658302405298" /></a>To tone down the shiny silvery solder lines I've applied black patina to the metals. I've found that the easiest way to patina a piece is with a sponge dipped into the liquid patina then applied onto the solder lines and lead came. The excess is wiped away and the patina is allowed to set up for a short amount of time. To remove the residue from this step I'll wash the entire piece with soapy water, a sponge and a toothbrush run on all the solder joints paying special attention to heavily angled joints since this is where anything that doesn't belong tends to hide.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TFqYMPd9C0kyci-CkBhQtcsKmDZTYcY5hh9ts-ezwe7OUUMalrLEgdz2pJbV7Sd6uWd5j8RFZ2Se6UcQtBFbMkVakTyMeVRIild2Xhnqc-FXkz5KnQ_U_nJh-v-QXfhY1S5u5JwsRKA/s1600/IMG_0369.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TFqYMPd9C0kyci-CkBhQtcsKmDZTYcY5hh9ts-ezwe7OUUMalrLEgdz2pJbV7Sd6uWd5j8RFZ2Se6UcQtBFbMkVakTyMeVRIild2Xhnqc-FXkz5KnQ_U_nJh-v-QXfhY1S5u5JwsRKA/s320/IMG_0369.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632243653572681666" /></a>I let the cleaned patina'd piece set overnight, the next day I polished all the joints to protect them using a couple of different carnauba based waxes which also cleans and the glass and gives it a nice sparkle.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I've got another leaf based design that I'll be starting on tomorrow. The leaves are much simpler in form and the overall size will be a bit smaller. </div><div><br /></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-64403112176077937172011-07-19T14:44:00.000-07:002011-07-19T15:49:58.492-07:00My name is Critter<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/livingglassart/5952348111/" title="Critter gets in on the modelling action by livingglassart home of oddballs and oddities, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6016/5952348111_ea8369d59f.jpg" width="495" height="500" alt="Critter gets in on the modelling action" /></a><br /><br />I thought it might be fun to interview one of the new additions to the cat world. He's not really all that new, he came to us about a year ago now. Meet Critter, a handsome Tabby cat who likes to talk a lot. <div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/livingglassart/4895741086/" title="cardboard hangover by livingglassart home of oddballs and oddities, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4895741086_a6c1a37626.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="cardboard hangover" /></a><br /><br />Q. Hello Critter, nice to meet you, tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you come from?<br />A. Hi! My name is Critter, I know its a strange name. My human mom gave it to me. At first I didn't think I'd like it, but its really grown on me now. I was born a few houses away from here. I look a lot like my cat mom. She had a lot of boyfriends so I don't know what my cat dad looks like or anything about him. When I got older, the people where my cat mom lives tried to send me away to another house, but I didn't like it there. The man was real loud and smoked funny smelling cigars and the lady liked to clean the house all the time and chase me with the broom. I had to leave there but I didn't have anywhere to go. I thought I might go back to see my cat mom. While walking to my first home I saw a human sitting outside a friendly looking house--cat friendly, anyway, cause I saw a cat sitting in the window. She said something to me that sounded nice so I went to see her. She was really nice to me, she didn't yell or nothin and she patted me on my head. I was tired and she said I could take a nap if I wanted to. I kinda decided right away that I wanted to stay.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/livingglassart/5599011603/" title="I crown you king of the porch by livingglassart home of oddballs and oddities, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5067/5599011603_8688a023de.jpg" width="500" height="322" alt="I crown you king of the porch" /></a><br /><br />Q. What do you like most about where you live?<br />A. A lot! But, I have to say that I love cardboard! My human mom gave me a box when I first moved in and I just fell in love with it. It made me feel so cozy. I like hanging out on the front porch, too. Sometimes my human mom puts funny things on my head~~she does a lot of silly things. But, my human mom doesn't care if I sleep all day and I'm good with that. She calls me the 'shop supervisor' but I know she's just kidding.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/livingglassart/5278895110/" title="This was not a battle by livingglassart home of oddballs and oddities, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5278895110_1ed1a9bb40.jpg" width="500" height="499" alt="This was not a battle" /></a><br /><br />And I've got plenty of food to eat. I even have a couple of brothers that I can play with, too. At night, my human mom lets me stay in the place where she makes stuff so I'm safe and don't have to worry about any other critters getting me.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/livingglassart/5593754224/" title="Critter enjoys the day by livingglassart home of oddballs and oddities, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5028/5593754224_c99529d240.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Critter enjoys the day" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>It was nice getting to know a little bit about you, Critter. Its good to hear that you are happy with your home. I'm sure your human mom will be coming along shortly to give you big hugs and kisses. </div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-35076333671732950332011-07-17T19:25:00.000-07:002011-07-17T19:51:09.500-07:00Oak leaves project~~things are moving along<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xUOJdnieTYt-Mf8-ZFjkqtdiLDC1AYM8HCfk368BrQfCi59YYeqXN5fOGI3kePacrWfZ17L-Rh9_TyC3_saUkazqJHXXQqYJjVezSPgT69nBc-0bDDZM8sFRmN6ugUQOlo3fYw_cURk/s1600/IMG_0171.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 398px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xUOJdnieTYt-Mf8-ZFjkqtdiLDC1AYM8HCfk368BrQfCi59YYeqXN5fOGI3kePacrWfZ17L-Rh9_TyC3_saUkazqJHXXQqYJjVezSPgT69nBc-0bDDZM8sFRmN6ugUQOlo3fYw_cURk/s400/IMG_0171.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630513245522638482" /></a>A few days ago, I got started on my oak leaves project. As of today, here's how things are looking--about half way through the foiling process. Once I got started, all of the pieces for the project were cut out by hand~~and some of the heavily curved pieces needed their curves cut on the ring saw as well. It was an all day event to make all that happen...with as hot as its been here I've been moving a little bit slower. The upside to it all is that glass is a lot easier to work with in warm weather as compared to cold. In the winter I need to warm the glass up before cutting it~~cold glass tends to break not where you really wanted it to. <div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWeu9kQa0zxVx6ljr-xrKaSfq_kx-lo0YUHIIewoa050kvO4F7BUccs26Gmj1vGUNKkmQsisfwY0cXvGrpWJhaRWNofeCfFyL3eld4xcDj1oDghd7BxSTpLe7xhPIfKFCFWTy0o0FDQ4/s1600/IMG_0126.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 335px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWeu9kQa0zxVx6ljr-xrKaSfq_kx-lo0YUHIIewoa050kvO4F7BUccs26Gmj1vGUNKkmQsisfwY0cXvGrpWJhaRWNofeCfFyL3eld4xcDj1oDghd7BxSTpLe7xhPIfKFCFWTy0o0FDQ4/s400/IMG_0126.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630513244583619378" /></a>One by one, the pieces started being fit against the original pattern. I met someone the other day who starts their projects from the bottom up~~I'm the type that always starts in the center and moves out.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2yl_BPSLC1EA6nekDTVTZaZMI9QlAg6C2hG1z62w-7-qjaRj1FTihY7pYUBgjVf_PFTV4gi3A9L9MHlzVzNVWlRhCj8ZsQJGPTPZAHlByMm_Yw3LBEFuFPKx08za0iIg06R_0U8MtkE/s1600/IMG_0152.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 388px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2yl_BPSLC1EA6nekDTVTZaZMI9QlAg6C2hG1z62w-7-qjaRj1FTihY7pYUBgjVf_PFTV4gi3A9L9MHlzVzNVWlRhCj8ZsQJGPTPZAHlByMm_Yw3LBEFuFPKx08za0iIg06R_0U8MtkE/s400/IMG_0152.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630513242511435586" /></a>After the pieces are cut out and in order to get them to sit next to their neighbors nicely they all get their rough bumpy edges smoothed out with the glass grinder. I wish smoothing people out could be so easy. For this project I've had to use both my grinders. The above fitted with a 3/4 inch grinder head and another grinder that has a much smaller 1/4 bit on it to get into the heavy curves where the regular bit won't fit.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobkmwaJOwZWx90Ari84ZbwAJuclgOLlRFrbeId32BtOapCz9zzpq_cUakmodsZGJNFkGcx7JlOl18YKmH-zuYf8Q9CcCFm_UO-FACjeoJi1HOhvrYZVl-QCMJbQAnz6FcAEbAVXzcLnE/s1600/IMG_0166.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobkmwaJOwZWx90Ari84ZbwAJuclgOLlRFrbeId32BtOapCz9zzpq_cUakmodsZGJNFkGcx7JlOl18YKmH-zuYf8Q9CcCFm_UO-FACjeoJi1HOhvrYZVl-QCMJbQAnz6FcAEbAVXzcLnE/s400/IMG_0166.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630513239819903570" /></a>Since I've taken on some workshop helpers I've got to cover anything I'm working on well--above a board placed over the project. I'm afraid that the cats would rearrange the glass pieces and I'd be really confused the next day. Or worse, they might feel the need to toss the pieces on the floor. Its hard to explain to them that glass doesn't bounce all that well. This is Critter, a wonderful Tabby that decided to move in with us last year. Apparently, he's planning on guarding the project overnight for me.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAStYMnb1oa8sa_LcfWxourcrEFFRenfplEQjWGv-nrKoTq4k8Kv7PJFhQ-_uHRMVzcTImg_DppzJ1B0jvuzJHMXaFz5zF6mceI2rEOXqs9neoNT2uvh9ZspvVkFQLTqZwaAyCCY9TL7Y/s1600/IMG_0181.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 391px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAStYMnb1oa8sa_LcfWxourcrEFFRenfplEQjWGv-nrKoTq4k8Kv7PJFhQ-_uHRMVzcTImg_DppzJ1B0jvuzJHMXaFz5zF6mceI2rEOXqs9neoNT2uvh9ZspvVkFQLTqZwaAyCCY9TL7Y/s400/IMG_0181.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630513238696605250" /></a>An interesting visitor stopped in this afternoon. A beautiful moth with lovely patterned wings. Its about 2 1/2 inches long, about 6cm. I've yet to figure out what kind it is. Surprisingly, it stayed in place on the iris leaves while the cats played close by. Perhaps its good it didn't move, it might have been what saved it from attack. </div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-3064429334049111382011-07-13T14:08:00.000-07:002011-07-13T17:28:37.715-07:00Oak leaf project--finally underway<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihiiOTRZ6I_iaU-PwvQCgWGS_fvvqBzDWp06alGl-Sg3joxRtflKS0V5mQ0V8-Hpcf349_U-CtMK90J-4zCjRu7k8Kfk5ujGIS4AXLPzFHVmcGKAZjXrG91Zs8FnyghbgrM-7aXu6Kks/s1600/IMG_9561.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 391px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihiiOTRZ6I_iaU-PwvQCgWGS_fvvqBzDWp06alGl-Sg3joxRtflKS0V5mQ0V8-Hpcf349_U-CtMK90J-4zCjRu7k8Kfk5ujGIS4AXLPzFHVmcGKAZjXrG91Zs8FnyghbgrM-7aXu6Kks/s400/IMG_9561.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628947469650781186" /></a>A few weeks ago I came up with a new design that I'm finally getting started on. I've been a forest dweller for so long now, but I've not done much to celebrate the woodlands that I have come to love so much. Once completed, this will measure approximately 13 1/2 diameter, maybe a touch more.<div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0vEmtYKKP9mZflA8D8tJt8z_W3Sy7nweTqtE2qLFjPqLthSG7AoUGy0mrZqnaC0PHyLpyTSrSywNGSY_RqIBo4WaYqEZBTkQMxkBeqvnhB16mjanJT97Eq71BOOplpEBA0amyzpBKRI/s1600/IMG_9251.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 339px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0vEmtYKKP9mZflA8D8tJt8z_W3Sy7nweTqtE2qLFjPqLthSG7AoUGy0mrZqnaC0PHyLpyTSrSywNGSY_RqIBo4WaYqEZBTkQMxkBeqvnhB16mjanJT97Eq71BOOplpEBA0amyzpBKRI/s400/IMG_9251.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628947337069281378" /></a>The idea came to me while I was camping a few weeks ago. While taking lots and lots of photos I thought it would be interesting to arrange the leaves in an overlapping geometric fashion. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_Gu-dxC6w0Lfp2f-8b0sgg6gXTT2M7EwSUIYr0mDq8Pt08KiMnR1q6VuRHex9_XBedSvEHNZpYMOvzEg308IKgci1Z0wkPCpEVJQw8PoMuSw0sEbUaydS_X99XEcQOIjMctdzVDxsao/s1600/IMG_0051.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_Gu-dxC6w0Lfp2f-8b0sgg6gXTT2M7EwSUIYr0mDq8Pt08KiMnR1q6VuRHex9_XBedSvEHNZpYMOvzEg308IKgci1Z0wkPCpEVJQw8PoMuSw0sEbUaydS_X99XEcQOIjMctdzVDxsao/s400/IMG_0051.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628947326255141618" /></a>The colors that I've chosen for the leaves are from left to right: moss green, emerald green and hunter green. The leaves towards the center will be the lightest of the colors. I've never combined these colors, I'm really hoping that they harmonize even though they aren't shades within the same hue. The pieces towards the very center which make a star shape along with those at the very outer edge will be a lightly textured pale amber. I had debated if I should use a very pale blue~~to signify a blue sky, but my mind kept going back to the original thought of gold.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cujTs3j2zWz9JvuRplQ960yRs0A-1UbZALy8dLx1xqUP33goOVdc7tlem_-iRDIK1FqFsM9EcH11xgvatAEJ5hFMFlxQOt2X1KdO4Ac_-PNP6aH_qg73G5jbqsOkXZhOWPO7auEwIhs/s1600/IMG_0065.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cujTs3j2zWz9JvuRplQ960yRs0A-1UbZALy8dLx1xqUP33goOVdc7tlem_-iRDIK1FqFsM9EcH11xgvatAEJ5hFMFlxQOt2X1KdO4Ac_-PNP6aH_qg73G5jbqsOkXZhOWPO7auEwIhs/s400/IMG_0065.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628947329782860354" /></a>First day of actual production was today. All of the glass pieces~~all 128 of them~~have been cut by hand following the pattern. Each piece is numbered to correspond with the original plan. Tomorrow, Ill set about cutting most of these on a glass ring saw, then onto grinding them smooth and so forth.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLQtZMarNZSRalO-W7Wcey3SfCxQIy7WLJ90n72HKH49txw33Teg1YDrMfhOqdwf9zrzzncwrCnPo48Q2FwqHPql3PZe3SIkoXZP7qrS0StrcYvqyc_Anb3MNHB7xMYdhhiSEP_cEaA0/s1600/IMG_0057.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLQtZMarNZSRalO-W7Wcey3SfCxQIy7WLJ90n72HKH49txw33Teg1YDrMfhOqdwf9zrzzncwrCnPo48Q2FwqHPql3PZe3SIkoXZP7qrS0StrcYvqyc_Anb3MNHB7xMYdhhiSEP_cEaA0/s400/IMG_0057.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628947319315874482" /></a>Early in the day I glanced out the workshop windows and saw that one of the kitties was playing with something--what I could not tell. Being that we are surrounded by so much wilderness it could have been anything. So, being as curious as they are I had to find out what all the excitement was about. Mr Meatball cat had himself a 5-lined skink shown here with its tail gone. It did have a beautiful blue tail at one time, but nature gave them the ability to detach their tail if necessary to create a distraction~~~their fallen off tail wiggles and draws the attention of their predator, meanwhile the skink is able to make a getaway. Apparently, a little wiggling tail was not enough to captivate Meatball's attention. Luckily, I was able to take the skink away and found him a safe place in the backyard beneath firewood stacked on wooden pallets~a place the kitties won't be able to reach him.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnlhMgkBG-Y8fJKnIYHds1BLeoHj0oPdF1JKlqqGNUhZ-Y13gZQbAxJ-z5X4TLAO2VIe1CYlKFTEN9qeX35F3Cg0k4wTCBvpY19xTvsTanOdAJVrqrMOekSA1bQ9zkItcwjysnatlT1dw/s1600/IMG_0076.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 357px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnlhMgkBG-Y8fJKnIYHds1BLeoHj0oPdF1JKlqqGNUhZ-Y13gZQbAxJ-z5X4TLAO2VIe1CYlKFTEN9qeX35F3Cg0k4wTCBvpY19xTvsTanOdAJVrqrMOekSA1bQ9zkItcwjysnatlT1dw/s400/IMG_0076.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628947316786931874" /></a>This afternoon's interesting yard visitor was this lovely adult Southeastern Lubber grasshopper. The cats seemed to be having a good time with this visitor as well~~of course until I came along and took it away. After several photos of it I returned it to the back woods, hoping that they won't bother it again. Who knows what creatures will come by tomorrow.</div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-15787995304297827032011-06-12T13:43:00.000-07:002011-06-12T15:18:03.621-07:00Hot summer sun<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbc53qd7igHmMLnCPfj27pkGv7OiS-PbaVmOGHnbA0anhdgYdM6n7rgXxaBRI-Q70c73zxn4HYJha2VP6FW2ecAo6f3NvVmDUTUEocsMLhPrXGuvZI5m-vhGxnfukLBNVTBygWExxjFSg/s1600/IMG_8780.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 374px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbc53qd7igHmMLnCPfj27pkGv7OiS-PbaVmOGHnbA0anhdgYdM6n7rgXxaBRI-Q70c73zxn4HYJha2VP6FW2ecAo6f3NvVmDUTUEocsMLhPrXGuvZI5m-vhGxnfukLBNVTBygWExxjFSg/s400/IMG_8780.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617451104704367810" /></a>It sure has been hot! Spring started off on the cool side here, it warmed up a bit and then it cooled back off again. That is until a couple of weeks ago. We went from relatively mild temperatures to the high 90s overnight. No complaints though, this ares was spared from the damaging tornado outbursts and flooding was minimal compared to the Mississippi River valley. I thought it was a good time to bring the sun back out-perhaps if I paid it a tribute it might ease off a bit--no luck yet.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nVII7L-d3kuFNu4n0OxDH5kjvA3ArkhtXRCOxUdtXuZOuLXFSqWF1hRmI9TWdrRntLvcTRzq2mF0dSR0bEEo7yw2AV13Ys_-4tInO2WDDQelumQ9Tv0FCnwtdycLojxLNiZnmtqkqq4/s1600/IMG_8729.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nVII7L-d3kuFNu4n0OxDH5kjvA3ArkhtXRCOxUdtXuZOuLXFSqWF1hRmI9TWdrRntLvcTRzq2mF0dSR0bEEo7yw2AV13Ys_-4tInO2WDDQelumQ9Tv0FCnwtdycLojxLNiZnmtqkqq4/s320/IMG_8729.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617437006084898498" /></a>I've done this design a couple of times before, but the balance of the completed piece wasn't quite right so I made a small modification. By scanning it and creating a mirror of the side I liked better I was able to join the two halves together--that's why the numbering system of the pieces above looks a bit strange. I also increased the size as well. Completed, this one measures at 10 1/4 inches diameter, about 26cm.<div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSICz0xprgWwo3dBh0Hth-GBcaeGYQh2n9VMrqrXWLkqf29ZFK5SL2viZ-nibyiQYI0kPdjNUEsve3pG-GhVs-u5JXuid3elzovzMHYDQcIvJOBB4mPrOoW-6Ze3Ej3ZIguRzEO3JxLQ/s1600/IMG_8730.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSICz0xprgWwo3dBh0Hth-GBcaeGYQh2n9VMrqrXWLkqf29ZFK5SL2viZ-nibyiQYI0kPdjNUEsve3pG-GhVs-u5JXuid3elzovzMHYDQcIvJOBB4mPrOoW-6Ze3Ej3ZIguRzEO3JxLQ/s320/IMG_8730.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617436997448688850" /></a>I chose to use dense yellow glass for the center of the sun along with the smaller yellow rays. The orange glass is called 'wispy', its more translucent with a little bit of white streaked into it. For the background, I chose a textured teal green colored glass that's really pretty sparkly when the sun or any background light hits it. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAuz-pRp0Eyr7FJAMs6pWOFDMggsMeivB26jpXjODbbv6iqr0DUhkWjg4It16ltqmr6_RcS5pjlQ3cNkXwxW1ZHulfTmB9TfhlRczux6OvLdJM_Iz6uuVW20YlngMaNkMbTL0rSfxKds/s1600/IMG_8744.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAuz-pRp0Eyr7FJAMs6pWOFDMggsMeivB26jpXjODbbv6iqr0DUhkWjg4It16ltqmr6_RcS5pjlQ3cNkXwxW1ZHulfTmB9TfhlRczux6OvLdJM_Iz6uuVW20YlngMaNkMbTL0rSfxKds/s320/IMG_8744.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617436986834562994" /></a>With the copper foil, or Tiffany method of stained glass work, all the pieces are wrapped with foil--that is except for the outer edge. Where the foiled pieces butt up to each other a bead of solder will be used to bond them together. Once one side has been soldered completely, the piece is flipped and the backside is soldered as well.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ftW0EDfSY8zmFXIMuxHx5220nhyv3VC17RIokWO6M6q8Ro-DYftWsX2C0vSr7v16IM6rq7kbu2NOhDYXP1HRnyH8U9NUsrYnqjL_jhGgx3mUe2QqYSYfd9b4sDyTzuPkeXeOvprJ-ME/s1600/IMG_8745.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ftW0EDfSY8zmFXIMuxHx5220nhyv3VC17RIokWO6M6q8Ro-DYftWsX2C0vSr7v16IM6rq7kbu2NOhDYXP1HRnyH8U9NUsrYnqjL_jhGgx3mUe2QqYSYfd9b4sDyTzuPkeXeOvprJ-ME/s320/IMG_8745.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617436981985660466" /></a>How do you measure the sun? With a tape measure, of course. Here I was measuring how much lead came, a type of lead framing I would need to wrap around the piece.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLuFYFAoUVSF0KsvJNBqrDM9G1_4MMqmPEk2bjHTvh4Xe7u3oDdBSY7Qozo2JsVOjgVl6F7R_8ZthL0b0Xoh_MCOP7CZgShgffjwNBrcOnukiQaRcvrHM2osYCNmXB4o8I4MrQch8ONk/s1600/IMG_8883.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLuFYFAoUVSF0KsvJNBqrDM9G1_4MMqmPEk2bjHTvh4Xe7u3oDdBSY7Qozo2JsVOjgVl6F7R_8ZthL0b0Xoh_MCOP7CZgShgffjwNBrcOnukiQaRcvrHM2osYCNmXB4o8I4MrQch8ONk/s320/IMG_8883.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617436977955089394" /></a>I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to finish the piece. I knew I didn't want to leave it natural with silver solder showing. And black patina applied to the metals wasn't what I wanted, either. I compromised and used both copper and black patinas. The black was applied to the lead came that wraps around the suncatcher along with the solder lines closest to the outer edge. The solder around the sun and the rays was treated with copper for a warm glow.</div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-624292801780678252011-01-16T10:46:00.000-08:002011-01-16T12:01:35.399-08:00A wonderful day for some time away<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAM4pu0G5xMxONmzrK3rSPwtYIhj53BA5xZXX30xZXOk5FpeyVfcqv6cgnr1yXQ5LGvbGiehcvepucIMOnjlualbMKEmMIj2UZiySZ7yicThGls6aiLDG8QXVd2fUCwRNrLM_5bZ4vYeA/s1600/IMG_5334.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAM4pu0G5xMxONmzrK3rSPwtYIhj53BA5xZXX30xZXOk5FpeyVfcqv6cgnr1yXQ5LGvbGiehcvepucIMOnjlualbMKEmMIj2UZiySZ7yicThGls6aiLDG8QXVd2fUCwRNrLM_5bZ4vYeA/s320/IMG_5334.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562860517282692962" /></a>Yesterday was such a nice day to get outside for a little while and do some wintertime exploring. We've gotten lucky and have been blessed with some warmer weather (40 degrees!) and have been thawing out from our recent snow event in West Tennessee. I've gotten bored with checking out locations on my side of the Tennessee River and decided I need a change of scenery. I took a short journey of a few miles to the other side of the river to <span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://tennessee.gov/environment/parks/MousetailLanding/">Mousetail Landing State Park</a>, located on the banks of the Tennessee River.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk16vnM7q48fceO5ELSFT7AeieOuZ09lOiKTc060AKPqt5eyAfPqaF6UftT0aA1gmF0C8ovMFozPnLrjcnzYdttT_BtdeRuKlZ7Hqin4tB_012KOIGYXTD7P6QDJA9hmesOtr9KKoa73g/s1600/IMG_5331.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk16vnM7q48fceO5ELSFT7AeieOuZ09lOiKTc060AKPqt5eyAfPqaF6UftT0aA1gmF0C8ovMFozPnLrjcnzYdttT_BtdeRuKlZ7Hqin4tB_012KOIGYXTD7P6QDJA9hmesOtr9KKoa73g/s320/IMG_5331.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562860513491453394" /></a>As soon as we hopped out of the car we were treated to a wonderful natural phenomena. This is sun dog, formed by ice crystals that act like prisms and bend the light rays of the sun. It remained visible for quite some time, finally disappearing--time to start looking at other things.<div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr643gQ4ykhaDmk2acmZLW3lSmiJkzfMZxE0X-GeuSzXQdmqxPM-8tLN6gCXQIP9Vf5sh6R6DSe5Yj1H3LT8dwZpmdfcRl06LEN7kfbtUXpJa7zR2G7t-rdCX6dgA6soB_iLnc_GdTBxY/s1600/IMG_5337.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr643gQ4ykhaDmk2acmZLW3lSmiJkzfMZxE0X-GeuSzXQdmqxPM-8tLN6gCXQIP9Vf5sh6R6DSe5Yj1H3LT8dwZpmdfcRl06LEN7kfbtUXpJa7zR2G7t-rdCX6dgA6soB_iLnc_GdTBxY/s320/IMG_5337.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562860508757800738" /></a>We are gifted with so many different kinds of trees in this area. Above is a sweet gum tree with its seed pods hanging like holiday ornaments. The name for this tree originates from the resin like substance found under its bark which is scraped and gathered and in older times was used for its medicinal value as well as for a type of chewing gum.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_olldAdaRlcedQVo6NtQZ99mCVo_Akgo1xzRzu2-BZf9hb1EygkMV01ou1Spi_B5zITECyErCIHoodeFcrJB9fL3xrUPKNdbR6AwBs9ko-fg-Xpre2AKCacWvT6dvWgD-mtwnNHvd9XU/s1600/IMG_5339.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_olldAdaRlcedQVo6NtQZ99mCVo_Akgo1xzRzu2-BZf9hb1EygkMV01ou1Spi_B5zITECyErCIHoodeFcrJB9fL3xrUPKNdbR6AwBs9ko-fg-Xpre2AKCacWvT6dvWgD-mtwnNHvd9XU/s320/IMG_5339.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562860503880942002" /></a>A closer view of the sweet gum seed pods. Pretty little prickly things they are.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mH_Nh3gJlZHAyyDk9it1WsALqviyRCNrxzRj8qtQ7MygC2VvnzX6JOmo17Gf27e0KnMfFyHs6tQGt9VJ7Pc2yH0QJmJQsSfILTQJIf3W-AzV6kNc-ObwlW6L2j-lAH7wUD9ZhraNlnA/s1600/IMG_5343.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mH_Nh3gJlZHAyyDk9it1WsALqviyRCNrxzRj8qtQ7MygC2VvnzX6JOmo17Gf27e0KnMfFyHs6tQGt9VJ7Pc2yH0QJmJQsSfILTQJIf3W-AzV6kNc-ObwlW6L2j-lAH7wUD9ZhraNlnA/s320/IMG_5343.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562860493584264626" /></a>Another abundant tree found in this area is the sycamore. Its smooth light colored trunk makes it stand out among the hardwoods.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNMljkUGEG32alHoAlDsW0XV9svvr8Nj-1iK8ah8UQCM3Sry3HjJcTBfDE-W918USbKOd40cRC0_qN0V_iNdNqfDSNCLal-X6RvZpJ9QtqE565jv2nYOhWqkBkxm-P3yY2yhgMN8FlMg/s1600/IMG_5344.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNMljkUGEG32alHoAlDsW0XV9svvr8Nj-1iK8ah8UQCM3Sry3HjJcTBfDE-W918USbKOd40cRC0_qN0V_iNdNqfDSNCLal-X6RvZpJ9QtqE565jv2nYOhWqkBkxm-P3yY2yhgMN8FlMg/s320/IMG_5344.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562859664292366770" /></a>The fruit, or seed pod of the sycamore tree, another lovely ornament from nature.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijrl3bt2sXGpZR1LSYHYD3lGtXXLAJXBD-i8kWEGbXgi6RTxJa2qRKMzYCOtbv088CYk1H9xZEuug_EHba5Df5rLKdTKClzviJXwWScbNDg3_g5gdBUy7EDXFVzYCDM4rfbEbH4F5uxY/s1600/IMG_5350.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijrl3bt2sXGpZR1LSYHYD3lGtXXLAJXBD-i8kWEGbXgi6RTxJa2qRKMzYCOtbv088CYk1H9xZEuug_EHba5Df5rLKdTKClzviJXwWScbNDg3_g5gdBUy7EDXFVzYCDM4rfbEbH4F5uxY/s320/IMG_5350.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562859661880138642" /></a>Although quite and peaceful now, come summertime and this area will be bustling with activity. There's rustic campsites available here and these waters will be filled with all kind of watercraft from bass boats to floating party barge pontoons. Jet skiers can have fun out in the main channel of the Tennessee River, this area is a no wake zone.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1TThUlc-wYyIj30PJZAIzShGQjmpj_5DR1pBeuTCPm1DQ6h28T5P8n4AE4tI10_Aij_WebeyEvk_ChWyg9vcUKsp6vfnd_kFxZen5e4Kb-u8MG-JXHFI-ztByILNwfp_OD8JQJoUrf8/s1600/IMG_5353.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1TThUlc-wYyIj30PJZAIzShGQjmpj_5DR1pBeuTCPm1DQ6h28T5P8n4AE4tI10_Aij_WebeyEvk_ChWyg9vcUKsp6vfnd_kFxZen5e4Kb-u8MG-JXHFI-ztByILNwfp_OD8JQJoUrf8/s320/IMG_5353.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562859655708650162" /></a>The sky kept giving us wonderful clouds and the angle of the sun made the shore glow with color as well.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEggC9XkQsH0DqQUFRTXKR8qxErW2ya0oRB1Z1KVzGiJ2nqnlXPeKEPSrod82KIaa6GHoKUejsjbD1qnQEbKigZK5qHIvXZApOR3SUG5wlV2vLKkhrq8loLyLgpsYXsjB2R_myv3K9n4/s1600/IMG_5355.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEggC9XkQsH0DqQUFRTXKR8qxErW2ya0oRB1Z1KVzGiJ2nqnlXPeKEPSrod82KIaa6GHoKUejsjbD1qnQEbKigZK5qHIvXZApOR3SUG5wlV2vLKkhrq8loLyLgpsYXsjB2R_myv3K9n4/s320/IMG_5355.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562859653412122658" /></a>Like lightning bolts coming from above, these Hackberry branches still held some of their tasty berries. Also known as Sugarberry, I don't know how tasty they are...but they are a favorite of wintering birds. Mother Nature provides for its creatures.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5UKebSSJxTKW_9cEafPQOGL-Sr4xh7GKmU6kO_IkhTC4_bZgY5ZSKf-CDlR4i-uSVQ_P4QuwDAbu8bouAlPoykAOCMDEGSZiOc6I1tlhuLMyzxHeebbnmJISqCw7yHMoVE-UiBclMjwg/s1600/IMG_5360.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5UKebSSJxTKW_9cEafPQOGL-Sr4xh7GKmU6kO_IkhTC4_bZgY5ZSKf-CDlR4i-uSVQ_P4QuwDAbu8bouAlPoykAOCMDEGSZiOc6I1tlhuLMyzxHeebbnmJISqCw7yHMoVE-UiBclMjwg/s320/IMG_5360.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562859646960087362" /></a>Falling over due to shoreline erosion, come soon this tree will be in the water where it will provide cover for small fish and other aquatic creatures. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiPbq790S7WV1AYtJhMwqalzgapgNLCUdz77P4fXadvcFoWmDds3cs6DX6-BS8hw7a9XAT_n_LpwQqhk_zrkszhxqx7xzQaJlM2xhejZL5srJdwg_XxSmyxidjVPXySRo0958gfkZfpo/s1600/IMG_5364.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiPbq790S7WV1AYtJhMwqalzgapgNLCUdz77P4fXadvcFoWmDds3cs6DX6-BS8hw7a9XAT_n_LpwQqhk_zrkszhxqx7xzQaJlM2xhejZL5srJdwg_XxSmyxidjVPXySRo0958gfkZfpo/s320/IMG_5364.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562857795142375714" /></a>Here's a tree that if you bumped into it accidentally you would surely remember it. Its the thorny Honey Locust. I don't know if the thorns fall of the truck come spring but I know I've walked through this area a number of times in the summer and don't remember these being here. I'll have to check back in a few months and find out.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3zudk_cv7df9nVjG-1G9sGojCNEfLWhsj4b3jA80c-YOq-u6M4ekvouaNV9GGblDXnmxATPDFJCps99blN8S1AEj8vP0grtxAPgcW46TJ9byjNlMeLm8V-yV2lD8f8yxkC6SXbr15Ck/s1600/IMG_5367.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3zudk_cv7df9nVjG-1G9sGojCNEfLWhsj4b3jA80c-YOq-u6M4ekvouaNV9GGblDXnmxATPDFJCps99blN8S1AEj8vP0grtxAPgcW46TJ9byjNlMeLm8V-yV2lD8f8yxkC6SXbr15Ck/s320/IMG_5367.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562857785671333362" /></a>Looking like a squished black banana, this is the seed pod from the Honey Locust tree.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSL_hgYblKsqtc0fd7o8-SpmH80zw37H5LEAKree8PaK6Mz_yPJja4_XhPF8WD4zROm_1It2WvdQumgRAQ_-2BCO_FyHvCvjo0thiyYvsaZaTKesNreDFbJt2QJ6kM_8sjlBsm0d00o40/s1600/IMG_5369.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSL_hgYblKsqtc0fd7o8-SpmH80zw37H5LEAKree8PaK6Mz_yPJja4_XhPF8WD4zROm_1It2WvdQumgRAQ_-2BCO_FyHvCvjo0thiyYvsaZaTKesNreDFbJt2QJ6kM_8sjlBsm0d00o40/s320/IMG_5369.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562857774843521330" /></a>Standing out of the crowd with its wonderful green leaves is this American Holly. Providing winged creatures with cover during the cold months of winter makes this tree valuable in the natural landscape.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivv3ljXcFXhjIWM016xpMuvTFkvKFoaun1otDUjyeCYuPkjb5gexzwlX-0MmiT6HqA9pS6l7wyrmDbyb-cSpYD9P87CrdpZdW-R4ilPzMNO87OpNQyNZsyhg3StuK2ba_7JLd60gQjVCU/s1600/IMG_5370.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivv3ljXcFXhjIWM016xpMuvTFkvKFoaun1otDUjyeCYuPkjb5gexzwlX-0MmiT6HqA9pS6l7wyrmDbyb-cSpYD9P87CrdpZdW-R4ilPzMNO87OpNQyNZsyhg3StuK2ba_7JLd60gQjVCU/s320/IMG_5370.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562857775508635762" /></a>Lovely red berries from the holly had all fallen to the ground where they will still be consumed by wildlife.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjss_JplpxnDkUELirpSxFcTq7aQrCYRWTT1ilipbKptzMPyjFsZqFFlcuh00UoZ4VKVx-0QTN0NTfRDGCN6dvkgX8mfSWXo-9vRoZYHZVSf0OXCo8Pp39dUfT-_hZjAj8Zf_EP9_fxhBM/s1600/IMG_5372.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjss_JplpxnDkUELirpSxFcTq7aQrCYRWTT1ilipbKptzMPyjFsZqFFlcuh00UoZ4VKVx-0QTN0NTfRDGCN6dvkgX8mfSWXo-9vRoZYHZVSf0OXCo8Pp39dUfT-_hZjAj8Zf_EP9_fxhBM/s320/IMG_5372.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562857769782420226" /></a>We were just about ready to leave when I spotted this barge heading downriver in the main channel of the Tennessee. All of these sites made for a wonderful day out.<br /><br /></div></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-65363739053131500902010-03-22T18:29:00.000-07:002010-03-22T19:42:51.353-07:00Happy Springtime<div align="center"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43014630"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451641843654184594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoEg5q4A7EakX1SbT4oGJFUWvj41Kej3wh-_jhEp5A2ekdSCL1-2gytTVWiOYnta-FvcULlS6vJa9F9k3IdYHhC2zwlZ7MRq6gKLO_EPEu22XLFsP0giaHeQSZ_whjsaNEfCnSpfHQmvM/s320/IMG_9638.JPG" /></a> Yea, spring is officially here! The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and I even saw my first butterfly a week or so ago--a Mourning Cloak. It moved away much too quickly for me to get a picture of it, either that or I'm pretty rusty in the bug chasing department. Something I'll need to work on. </div><div align="center">So, of course I had to put a butterfly together. <br /></div><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_Gx2uUPs5oE5jF4mokhxPzm6-VfQMLFGSUXYRUcEiOPd-Bi18nvoSFv7ZPBQsl3zoxd1gyS1vGxK1KNzXsdrDCwgcoR0GlJv1aYvg1lX4qaTuEYpORMu7rDweDOMnLZZ0hAtwf8ntt4/s1600-h/IMG_9494.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451641836350870850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_Gx2uUPs5oE5jF4mokhxPzm6-VfQMLFGSUXYRUcEiOPd-Bi18nvoSFv7ZPBQsl3zoxd1gyS1vGxK1KNzXsdrDCwgcoR0GlJv1aYvg1lX4qaTuEYpORMu7rDweDOMnLZZ0hAtwf8ntt4/s320/IMG_9494.JPG" /></a>I was undecided on the colors that I wanted to use for this project. At first it was going to be a white/yellow daisy. I decided at the last minute to change the flower to more of a Black-eyed Susan type sunflower.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Mrp0p3sXMuYh5W-H7M6sRRy0qUM0NqWT4HMZIw3oprpPP2x7OLNcE2CQWqBgURwdbOA9lbf7_Gz5PCQbsLPO9YHTsYr9ljJMuAezgzQ5-wiizrBFoe_HAnjTA74yRDkLperpQZ33_0A/s1600-h/IMG_9574.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451641832179476626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Mrp0p3sXMuYh5W-H7M6sRRy0qUM0NqWT4HMZIw3oprpPP2x7OLNcE2CQWqBgURwdbOA9lbf7_Gz5PCQbsLPO9YHTsYr9ljJMuAezgzQ5-wiizrBFoe_HAnjTA74yRDkLperpQZ33_0A/s320/IMG_9574.JPG" /></a> Spread out--the process of wrapping all the glass pieces with copper foil. At this point I was unsure of the colors--separately they were all pretty bright with the exception of the pale purple background. I was afraid that the end result would end up looking like a bag of fruity candy.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiFLPg7iQRGaVTuAwLIRZ0gg91WDlbG8xy9QbJQ13ckAEcfRzDlTbJ0uB643cWN8mhd7g-14LDzA_dZUzrOdRJKZCoPpcQl-_tDDK7h6qUgmEwTQys4lcW_CrZCbGuHXNT-1bMEaWM8BU/s1600-h/IMG_9577.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451641822915928946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiFLPg7iQRGaVTuAwLIRZ0gg91WDlbG8xy9QbJQ13ckAEcfRzDlTbJ0uB643cWN8mhd7g-14LDzA_dZUzrOdRJKZCoPpcQl-_tDDK7h6qUgmEwTQys4lcW_CrZCbGuHXNT-1bMEaWM8BU/s320/IMG_9577.JPG" /></a> Pinned down and ready for solder. Once all the pieces have been handcut, grinded to fit, wrapped with foil the first side can be soldered together.</p><p align="center"><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGgwIXTp-xl9K-3vC7gHhcdvtzoSd1u9cDdZsL6zsKlmTEHgQKNWqRM4W46is8NW3Dxqt532aI-qLJhjqEFlDtdJ2tJr5Fu4jIcGHi1YBVhTE_InE3ADvRSLZ-3fn7Smsk-n6V-GexO4/s1600-h/IMG_9606.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451641812016199266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGgwIXTp-xl9K-3vC7gHhcdvtzoSd1u9cDdZsL6zsKlmTEHgQKNWqRM4W46is8NW3Dxqt532aI-qLJhjqEFlDtdJ2tJr5Fu4jIcGHi1YBVhTE_InE3ADvRSLZ-3fn7Smsk-n6V-GexO4/s320/IMG_9606.JPG" /> <p align="center"></a>Flip it over and solder the backside<br /><br /></p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6_4t7y_KgUc15YU3-2XHOZEN70cY-TywwqKgA3mYP0eFsKuQYP0EPwgLrsbwBOQrZsPMc12xVMLkw0Ksq-l1gYQsUxFY13hoIGSSODW9r_LP-MG5aYEPCY7sjrHt-OLYF0gzLfuO7hY/s1600-h/IMG_9627.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451638335386305090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6_4t7y_KgUc15YU3-2XHOZEN70cY-TywwqKgA3mYP0eFsKuQYP0EPwgLrsbwBOQrZsPMc12xVMLkw0Ksq-l1gYQsUxFY13hoIGSSODW9r_LP-MG5aYEPCY7sjrHt-OLYF0gzLfuO7hY/s320/IMG_9627.JPG" /></a> Black patina to change the bright shiny solder to a delicate calm dark grey<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23aNh68OI6IhyphenhyphenzfTwkOSq5bY8i6rNXCU6Ene1mAu-_RqdcH8l0d4QKJm5gzxj6MUWjR3Z3FaldQG2wTgX9PF6ZrVbUDyXFn1_9IedEX3WX4OSCkDD4Q-4_cLifyuAaZhIDJE8ZbjxEZw/s1600-h/IMG_9628.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451638327948600178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23aNh68OI6IhyphenhyphenzfTwkOSq5bY8i6rNXCU6Ene1mAu-_RqdcH8l0d4QKJm5gzxj6MUWjR3Z3FaldQG2wTgX9PF6ZrVbUDyXFn1_9IedEX3WX4OSCkDD4Q-4_cLifyuAaZhIDJE8ZbjxEZw/s320/IMG_9628.JPG" /></a>Soldered to the back is a single loop and a bit of chain for hanging. I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. If I were to do this again I would use a few different colors for the butterfly<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42885574"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 318px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451638317832441842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXZ7xHZytLnROCUBvaD8f0BhmTIXIp1fGwtg0dJEBXLt9DFreWWJ9MFZgXxSZQtLQcYsT7Oa4zy3fNHXQFgqWeDBIY3ln0GaV0riUwZk-6PXQ_RDJLkh63TPTl64U1opj1_5Xj8ComAs/s320/IMG_9713.JPG" /></a>I also been wanting to do a project using purple glass. After some thought I decided that I had better do it now, before the leaves come in on the trees. I have a terribly hard time photographing purples and reds in the summer due to the green leaves distorting the color of the glass-they usually turn to mucky murky browns.<br /><br />Even without leaves on the trees I've had a hard time getting pictures that I'm happy with of this new suncatcher. The center is a clear round faceted jewel surrounded by three shades of purple glass--all Waterglass from the Spectrum Glass Co. I've pulled the color samples right from their webside and posted them below.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioG48ksGI5XLQmRwoejLmHOutx5-aef05fWbGUdLBC6FqCH5a7W613zz6i4rDGgXtEzeDzkjp4drGKOoI6PkHh4ihLKVipdjW9Mb6CCPyh0ZMcjB2hsgON1vLnhFqPr6yZVzmfabvM6mY/s1600-h/My+Pictures3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 160px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451638314090394722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioG48ksGI5XLQmRwoejLmHOutx5-aef05fWbGUdLBC6FqCH5a7W613zz6i4rDGgXtEzeDzkjp4drGKOoI6PkHh4ihLKVipdjW9Mb6CCPyh0ZMcjB2hsgON1vLnhFqPr6yZVzmfabvM6mY/s320/My+Pictures3.jpg" /></a></div><div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /> </div><div></div></div><br /></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-5796805693544837972010-03-13T12:54:00.000-08:002010-03-13T14:52:03.565-08:00Its been an amazing week!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfrlyjBe62KvmPU34XqOFXC5XDAQb8_yLjO3m0HjGCCgmpyZBly66jqWE80fhEcws3iU01PhjogfU0AFurHGIjO4qgapGcTWmXfK9OVBSuapD_mUtP5MBjbjOublDqx_kI2ArIQpoHHA/s1600-h/IMG_9470.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448228136965085426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfrlyjBe62KvmPU34XqOFXC5XDAQb8_yLjO3m0HjGCCgmpyZBly66jqWE80fhEcws3iU01PhjogfU0AFurHGIjO4qgapGcTWmXfK9OVBSuapD_mUtP5MBjbjOublDqx_kI2ArIQpoHHA/s320/IMG_9470.JPG" /></a> Its been one of the best weeks ever! My good fortune started on the 4th, when I entered<br /><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenmaestre"><span style="color:#009900;">Jen Maestre's</span></a> 'guess how many pencils I've got' game on Etsy's Etc forum. I'm not normally a competitive person, but looking back at the thread I think I put in the most entries! The rules were to guess within 100 pencils, I guessed at 41,653 with the right number being 41,560. That's a serious amount of pencils!! I can't believe she counted them all~I think I would loose track at 28 and have to start over.<br />My winning prize is this wonderful leaf pendant made out of --what else--pencils!! Its fantastic and has now become my good luck charm.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidToGOrA6Sv9bQgSZQt4tZDgFEKt-v8GRG9ShTT2U1QXHge1p3qCY3vTb6wyMEsG6Etxnxp5XlqH5O-xAuFS2KmP2shjxIG8_rKe3hcyZZ53ZMZ6PF9_ia9eRm4IpzVlK21nmtIUXx7yA/s1600-h/IMG_9460.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 277px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448228129451639362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidToGOrA6Sv9bQgSZQt4tZDgFEKt-v8GRG9ShTT2U1QXHge1p3qCY3vTb6wyMEsG6Etxnxp5XlqH5O-xAuFS2KmP2shjxIG8_rKe3hcyZZ53ZMZ6PF9_ia9eRm4IpzVlK21nmtIUXx7yA/s320/IMG_9460.JPG" /></a><br />If you are not familiar with Jen's work, she makes amazing sculptures and jewelry out of pencils. Her art is so wonderful and unique. Click <a href="http://www.jennifermaestre.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">here</span></a> for a link to her personal website.<br />Jen also sent me a card featuring one of her pencil sculptures, 'Kraken', which will now join the 'Wall of Love' in my studio~kitty corner to the birthday card I won from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Celticcatphotos"><span style="color:#ff9900;">Celtic Cat</span></a> last year.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUVH6xUEAP8lCprcdlkOXlDaU3bikQeJy-y7zk85egLtMzkVhCCS-Gkj3Z9VpPzIl5M_1OV-HwxTihETe97rRcXlmys6-bFQaKQSSGNozWnbBQhsPnUUxmHBDFGmk-scpeDKuVAFjOxo/s1600-h/IMG_9467.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448228121829939634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUVH6xUEAP8lCprcdlkOXlDaU3bikQeJy-y7zk85egLtMzkVhCCS-Gkj3Z9VpPzIl5M_1OV-HwxTihETe97rRcXlmys6-bFQaKQSSGNozWnbBQhsPnUUxmHBDFGmk-scpeDKuVAFjOxo/s320/IMG_9467.JPG" /></a> All this excitement made my outside kitty friend, Junior, so happy he wanted the world to see his beautiful white belly as he enjoyed rolling around in the leaves.<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14145220"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448228122127412018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrq4Y4wq4TCIftVnGp4U7Vbs6G4P_svPAKxCNZkltsp5de12zrOeYaQV2f4O0iyxb32RkqtjcYoJUEybVJfZ0iX4D0mfR3aDGoFQnLmKnopitcZHHMtPPcwZjl1rm8x5Ii_c7PleLLfpw/s320/IMG_9180.JPG" /></a>My good fortune continued on the 9th when my Spring Pastels Window Panel was one of the featured items in <a href="http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/etsy-finds-spring-ahead-7361/"><span style="color:#ff99ff;">Etsy Finds: Spring Ahead</span></a>.<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-7EoS4CHkNII6YxVkdnnQW_efMdXPZHYSrYGtLy8G_Wn9QBzDy2_1T2NggDToMUM4RJyWnjjrucovDZqv5KUeCXn0AXKWNCxwov4iqdtRyW7CXdzu9nWixLDLBBH6Gyl-_7nZzTNip8/s1600-h/IMG_8752.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448228115565719266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-7EoS4CHkNII6YxVkdnnQW_efMdXPZHYSrYGtLy8G_Wn9QBzDy2_1T2NggDToMUM4RJyWnjjrucovDZqv5KUeCXn0AXKWNCxwov4iqdtRyW7CXdzu9nWixLDLBBH6Gyl-_7nZzTNip8/s320/IMG_8752.JPG" /></a> To round out this incredible week, on the 11th my hummingbird suncatcher was a featured item in the <a href="http://www.byhand.me/component/option,com_content/Itemid,70/id,16908/task,view/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">ByHand spotlight</span></a>.<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />I'm feeling so lucky from this past week's good fortune you had better believe that I bought a ticket for tonight's Powerball game! If I should disappear, please know that I'm having a wonderful time but I'll be back to have a give away of my entire shop.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-11495117733329809772010-03-09T14:03:00.000-08:002010-03-09T15:33:04.061-08:00Hello, Yellow!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSNL-DIHmAN6xsE7VbavsnEmuEY1eikd9e113JMdhZyepmpnvAcmGeq30Y74B1vsdTO_NtbKUWlYp6ygYMkzWQ1LFeR6FhQquNxE17OSmPhiGy7EKtAYebdYwXeMY9QPl4rctFcAAaMY/s1600-h/IMG_9394.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446760921116953362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSNL-DIHmAN6xsE7VbavsnEmuEY1eikd9e113JMdhZyepmpnvAcmGeq30Y74B1vsdTO_NtbKUWlYp6ygYMkzWQ1LFeR6FhQquNxE17OSmPhiGy7EKtAYebdYwXeMY9QPl4rctFcAAaMY/s320/IMG_9394.JPG" /></a> They are popping now! After a few days of warmer that what we've had <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">temperatures</span>, the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">daffs</span> in my yard are opening up like crazy. Such a welcome sign~~spring might finally be here. Last year, we had snow in March~~~this year we'll probably have snow in April.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPsNv8Oyg5z8jtbP7m38tx3P1mpXyYCEyv04zKpt7JawRGLHf2I4oM4ysgxKJgjlFd9kGOSVIiqWZU2lgZqLEPgHu20bRlAIxBGu4PUCwCvBaFKnZGPDTLLKLP0d_dcWfcTp_9GKxtGg/s1600-h/IMG_9386.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446760914663820770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPsNv8Oyg5z8jtbP7m38tx3P1mpXyYCEyv04zKpt7JawRGLHf2I4oM4ysgxKJgjlFd9kGOSVIiqWZU2lgZqLEPgHu20bRlAIxBGu4PUCwCvBaFKnZGPDTLLKLP0d_dcWfcTp_9GKxtGg/s320/IMG_9386.JPG" /></a> This is probably my favorite clump. These are actually in my neighbor's paved driveway. They come up every year and they seem to say that there's just no stopping the beauty of nature.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_mTOL7EgZW4KZzDzJqiaoaKsBffLd_VyuhMpY8RP4XEDwnOkG0rA7z35eIv8xPhztdFa3wTcmjitpehWom2BXDxKcQobPyrA5VNusvYMk7WDpKmqkCkGxPdpuUpCFbVYs4qswR_3tYo/s1600-h/IMG_9350.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446760908404794914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_mTOL7EgZW4KZzDzJqiaoaKsBffLd_VyuhMpY8RP4XEDwnOkG0rA7z35eIv8xPhztdFa3wTcmjitpehWom2BXDxKcQobPyrA5VNusvYMk7WDpKmqkCkGxPdpuUpCFbVYs4qswR_3tYo/s320/IMG_9350.JPG" /></a> This large clump is in my backyard~in a spot that gets a lot of sunshine. Its wonderful to look out my kitchen window and see all these bright happy faces outside.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVDg9OWHNLKN9p9rhIL-lUKESKjyvvPVPJUBPT8GDAXY7cWQ1mNQRIMBu_JVQM3N2jS3iHyV6siPmIHLHae2XwJYT_dTMt2gUBjwsxncnAG-DNuz5LgJxNC4c3hVBXP43wdqO1LMzRQ8/s1600-h/IMG_9352.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446760906469534130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVDg9OWHNLKN9p9rhIL-lUKESKjyvvPVPJUBPT8GDAXY7cWQ1mNQRIMBu_JVQM3N2jS3iHyV6siPmIHLHae2XwJYT_dTMt2gUBjwsxncnAG-DNuz5LgJxNC4c3hVBXP43wdqO1LMzRQ8/s320/IMG_9352.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwudPrpsAn9IYi45hN5R4BtCs79UKeyqSdeXbXOFJMqL85WxkQPNiFl5eEHy0Vx5hH891yrs838Rc91Krcm5ZaUVqBte87utIl9rcanIePF_1v3jVPqaZHU97MZ4GSMawf1wOl49qR0rw/s1600-h/IMG_9351.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446760899078064178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwudPrpsAn9IYi45hN5R4BtCs79UKeyqSdeXbXOFJMqL85WxkQPNiFl5eEHy0Vx5hH891yrs838Rc91Krcm5ZaUVqBte87utIl9rcanIePF_1v3jVPqaZHU97MZ4GSMawf1wOl49qR0rw/s320/IMG_9351.JPG" /></a> There's few things that bring me more joy then witnessing the reawakening of Mother Earth.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-61812756076125619672010-03-07T16:07:00.000-08:002010-03-07T17:44:38.922-08:00New glass for this week--How about some red<a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42103530"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446052431608026546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CZtaS6Jx7YeDwDEmm3k7Rn-pfA5bxod3Q6ZCVq-kny4WV0m21mPnCPZfXEmlLBgTYAsLDHXfj_QX9uNNChJqCyMltjGaEOZ8C0yCS5-rt_nP-u_byeUb8fAb2e4tE3ws9qT4-TmJZ44/s320/IMG_9279.JPG" /></a> I've been wanting to build something red for some time now, but I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do--if I wanted to recreate something I've already done or something brand new. Since I've got square geometric panels in my shop already I figured it would fun to put together something round. <br />This is a brand <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42103530"><span style="color:#ff0000;">new design</span></a> for my Etsy shop-- it started out as most of my creations do--scribbling and doodling, erasing and scribbling some more in a very small size and then recreating a pattern in a larger size. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42103530"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446052431001496658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8quotgdEFaULZRFmKJPH72S_76gXUq7lPGA-fA_hmOILY49XRhj8nvi1E7_KaHQbu1zjCm_9n9A3jLsefwsF9RXu5bgCBPieF8gOHSjfdB7dSFofOqSPGbZY-zqHHRqiS9uAD4QBsyzo/s320/IMG_9248.JPG" /></a> Late last year, I ordered some beautiful glass teardrop jewels from the great folks over at<br /><a href="http://www.harmonyglass.com/SGJ/"><span style="color:#330099;">Harmony Glass</span></a>. I've dealt with them for a few years now and they are just fantastic--super fast shipping and excellent customer service. So, the idea was to use the jewels and alternate them with bigger pieces of glass in the same shape as the jewels.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNojX8I21EioiudnVd3H5HJDgKsw8KxSzXuGOE9MQmRb1oOpdNbssoamP8wjmsnrHrW0vvMED6OBUlUDV-Gzt53YVmPHenbkNZaFGkvQzjXQ_NuA9xsrpvq1bViKCuGLvLDIJUdoUXpZ0/s1600-h/IMG_9164.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446050370737168082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNojX8I21EioiudnVd3H5HJDgKsw8KxSzXuGOE9MQmRb1oOpdNbssoamP8wjmsnrHrW0vvMED6OBUlUDV-Gzt53YVmPHenbkNZaFGkvQzjXQ_NuA9xsrpvq1bViKCuGLvLDIJUdoUXpZ0/s320/IMG_9164.JPG" /></a> The center is a smooth round glass jewel surrounded by textured cherry red glass--textured side facing forward. I like this effect-it gives the finished piece some added interest when its hanging up, especially at night once the sun goes down and there's no light coming through it. <br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMBu3Zl_4NFhqsY0FjRL9hxgAgPETQWVPyL_hj8_4xhNrFh-4mKLM56qUKMx84m3ZhmCFkqmvy9FCB0MHUyvAnVrv45sgHP2vomd6FIIaRWcdY2N1wkdwqD2VJljt_-iQXMRpSyMvnvA/s1600-h/IMG_9194.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446050364775129794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMBu3Zl_4NFhqsY0FjRL9hxgAgPETQWVPyL_hj8_4xhNrFh-4mKLM56qUKMx84m3ZhmCFkqmvy9FCB0MHUyvAnVrv45sgHP2vomd6FIIaRWcdY2N1wkdwqD2VJljt_-iQXMRpSyMvnvA/s320/IMG_9194.JPG" /></a> The alternating red glass pieces are wavy Waterglass with a gentle texture resembling slow moving water. I've also included 3 different textures of clear glass for this piece.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKGq5hJ-J-ynlnKKEmjVI_LiaFrRR_OqFQhHXhIZYSSrWsXxEXLU04wQaHSDFT7urW6qhq_epj0tXgfczUEH-6gnnvpWHTS57xkOjnAW1wNMslzv29Db3iDXlsPI0g71SrhHgqFHNWGw/s1600-h/IMG_9199.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446050357209726258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKGq5hJ-J-ynlnKKEmjVI_LiaFrRR_OqFQhHXhIZYSSrWsXxEXLU04wQaHSDFT7urW6qhq_epj0tXgfczUEH-6gnnvpWHTS57xkOjnAW1wNMslzv29Db3iDXlsPI0g71SrhHgqFHNWGw/s320/IMG_9199.JPG" /></a> I've used the same textured side up effect on the border for the red glass, I've left the clear accents textured side down.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_zNeesmomJ6TkSSyWOz4QqX0qpKMI1w-l158BaZ_2OJZ86J-r2VFpMwPK1Y3T7KRKJjtavvnA3TcYE5CaC_b82teDd53_iDLpv-3OEVeWqLY0ow2nr84Sitp0PzJsXbN8SVjpMA3kn8/s1600-h/IMG_9218.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446050350138426402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_zNeesmomJ6TkSSyWOz4QqX0qpKMI1w-l158BaZ_2OJZ86J-r2VFpMwPK1Y3T7KRKJjtavvnA3TcYE5CaC_b82teDd53_iDLpv-3OEVeWqLY0ow2nr84Sitp0PzJsXbN8SVjpMA3kn8/s320/IMG_9218.JPG" /></a> 41 inches of lead? Even though this piece measures 13 1/4 inches diameter that's what it took to wrap this piece up. Once it was wrapped up with lead, I soldered two loops to the backside of the lead--one at 10 o'clock and one at 2 o'clock for the chain to attach to.<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42158965"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446050342487393250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyKfPBi5_13hf0jvzOgPcX-8xSIfE8pd9k9-YGxglkNZ1Ye6d5a3D1JHHONlVZo5upE_aR5KjLlITl1Qihw0pL2bAr7iuaYHPE3KeY151nYw-EkXinm_vtmypPsHjKJND64yeO9pPY4s/s320/IMG_9340.JPG" /></a>While I had the red glass out I thought I would put together another diamond shaped beveled panel. These glass bevels are so lively, when you walk past this piece the bevels just shimmer and shine. The center is a 2 inch bevel surrounded by 1 inch bevels and cherry red glass cut to 1x2 inches. For the outer border I've used 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch bevels in the corners along with 4 x 1 1/2 bevels. I had this piece hanging inside my house for day and it was fun when the sun hit it just right--I had little rainbows all over the floor from the prismatic effect of the bevels.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="center">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </div><div align="center">Spring is slowly starting to make its way here. Its been such a long cold winter but today we were finally able to open the house up for just a little while. Actually, just one window. Then it got too chilly and we had to light the woodstove back up! But, the kitties were very happy to fight over the window to get a sniff of the outdoors.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Wherever you are, have a safe and happy week. My daffodils are popping so I'll be taking some pics of them soon.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div></div></div></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239179324284114.post-65733846580690178262010-03-01T14:42:00.000-08:002010-03-01T15:18:20.285-08:00Sunny Yellow Daffodils~finally<a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41360548"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443802153789159826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjfngunpEkp2qk992TiXmYKaaNrbO5_6NIchDhfh0UK14F3Zm8ZOwhjBZH8EqCEePnJ1j8KeL2q0JbrZ7U31Y_JJ4DDW-QSRRcVSqcj7WAMM9BB9c2N6d3RrXaWWJODYE-kb3ibK12rM/s320/IMG_9066.JPG" /></a> I hate to admit that I have done no gardening at this house in the three years that we've lived here. I'm super thankful that someone at sometime in the past planted loads and loads of daffodils all over. Finally, they are starting to open up.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NDMHvABr_Kii-QHR5FHNmnmXrBSyPPhx3mUVmXgmjsxtnab2n2KLxisW_zJN_Q-RYQ0Z0PVgFTEC1ld_Slzyn71V9GDQvtT_A6t718H7UoLO-n1r8euEPppEaIJsPsOEGONkYu1GEjc/s1600-h/IMG_8946.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443802144634329682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NDMHvABr_Kii-QHR5FHNmnmXrBSyPPhx3mUVmXgmjsxtnab2n2KLxisW_zJN_Q-RYQ0Z0PVgFTEC1ld_Slzyn71V9GDQvtT_A6t718H7UoLO-n1r8euEPppEaIJsPsOEGONkYu1GEjc/s320/IMG_8946.JPG" /></a> I looked at last years pictures and they were all in full bloom by the middle of February. I guess this year's colder than normal temperatures have slowed them down a bit. There's only a few flowers so far that have bloomed.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGG6uwZnmxEpgASPi4ZuoDVJXBaGqm-8qjsYvnh29N__5uIQ042rONdYCxzq1ZqaKBEjgZ6L8wqfIJsztbWXx13b5uL3A3xIiVob1wtwhWjzl0agquXRvKkJp0HF8JU7nj6sfykzQm6A/s1600-h/IMG_9064.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443802139622795778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGG6uwZnmxEpgASPi4ZuoDVJXBaGqm-8qjsYvnh29N__5uIQ042rONdYCxzq1ZqaKBEjgZ6L8wqfIJsztbWXx13b5uL3A3xIiVob1wtwhWjzl0agquXRvKkJp0HF8JU7nj6sfykzQm6A/s320/IMG_9064.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PURLi_1t8BqTd5Mf5gVcZKDmyeIMaBtJYDUa4bRk0qvXjmNIAPkc2zpanTMmK1j8O5fTkGhJ6osJFcLbiAG301I91Ey06FGcezZJB8bcZh506mbiGnZpIdZJ9scDOnn9pmxhrAEwDlo/s1600-h/IMG_9061.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443802136291575730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PURLi_1t8BqTd5Mf5gVcZKDmyeIMaBtJYDUa4bRk0qvXjmNIAPkc2zpanTMmK1j8O5fTkGhJ6osJFcLbiAG301I91Ey06FGcezZJB8bcZh506mbiGnZpIdZJ9scDOnn9pmxhrAEwDlo/s320/IMG_9061.JPG" /></a> But, there are lots and lots of buds all over waiting for the right time to pop and show their bright smiling faces to the world. I can't say that I blame them for waiting. I'm keeping my winter coat on for a bit longer, too.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>livingglassarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912321099720772299noreply@blogger.com3