The black cat and the moon

Last week, I started working on a new panel to add to my Etsy shop.  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.

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.

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.

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.  

Once completed, this Black Cat and Full Moon Panel 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.

Something a bit different~Abstract Blue and White Suncatcher

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.

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.

Two shades of blue along with white glass, a dark blue gem, two light blue gems and one clear gem all together in this abstract suncatcher~~available for sale in my Etsy shop.
This one of a kind piece measures 8 3/4 inches diameter, just over 22cm.

Looks interesting hanging on a wall as well.

Hot summer sun

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

From the sky to the water with a detour to the polar ice cap

I finally completed my biplane project and soon it will be flying off to the buyer. I added some hand painted features near the propeller to give a feeling of 'movement' to the piece, not always easy to do when working with glass.

After working on a couple of small projects I felt it was time to recreate one of my favorite projects~a Koi in a water setting with lily pads and lily flowers. I've been dragging this one out it seems like. I started on it last Saturday, March 29. It took me two days to select the glass, a couple of days to cut all the pieces and now a week later I'm at the stage where I can start wrapping all of the pieces in copper foil to prepare for solder.

But....in the meantime, I got side tracked with another project. Its a stylized emperor penguin with its chick. This one came to me the way some projects do, doodling while waiting for pictures to upload. I'm not quite sure how it will turn out, my chick looks more like a chickadee! Live and learn, I say, the next time I'll be able to make some necessary changes to the design, but it will still be a cute.

A peek at what I've been working on

Last week, I started a special order for one of my best customers. Its a stained glass panel with a red biplane flying through the clouds.

The plane is made using a bright red glass along with black, gray and amber for the wheel and the engine and propeller. For the clouds I've used a textured streaky white glass and for the sky I've used two different textures of a pale blue glass. One of the textures of blue, called Artique is transparent with slight squigly lines throughout. The second blue is a type of glass called Baroque which is just a beautifully textured glass with randoms squirls. I've used the Baroque following the path of the plane to create a feeling of movement.

The picture shows all of the glass pieces cut and made to fit along with some of the pieces wrapped with copper foil. Once the entire piece is soldered I'll tack solder skinny copper rods from the top wing to the bottom wing to look like supports. I'll also hand paint features near the propeller to give an appearance that it is also in motion. Overall, this piece will measure 16" tall by wide.

Once the piece is complete I'll be sure to post a picture of it here.

How was work today?

Work was fun today!

I got started on a couple of more owls. I was so happy with the way the first one turned out I just had to make a couple more.

This guy was supposed to be my snowy owl...Haha! he might be some kind of schmoo instead, I really won't know until I get him done. He does look a bit like a penguin if I tweek it a bit...hmmm. I guess I know what I'll be doing next.

The glass for the wings and the top of the head is so dark here. Its a streaky gold/dark brown glass.

I like the markings in this glass. Its a combination of medium amber with some white swirled into it. Its a very warm glass with some sun behind it, it'll be a golden owl.

I hope to have them done in the next few days.

The cat that inspired me to create

Colder then normal temperatures have kept me from doing much in my shop this week, its difficult to warm the room up to a comfortable level with a little space heater. I'm still working on some new cat face ornaments and since today may be a bit warmer than the last few days I should be able to get a few of them soldered.


I got inspired to start creating these little stained glass cat faces by a stray cat in my neighborhood. A neighbor had 4 cats that I would feed outside on his back porch while he was away at the hospital. Along with the 4 cats another kitty started hanging around to get a free meal. He's beautiful Siamese mix cat with stunning blue eyes.

About this same time while I was poking around in my back yard I came across a bunch of different colored glass globs. From the debris trail it appeared that someone had a jar full of these globs that for some reason they became disgusted with. Maybe it was a drug crazed guy that used to think that there were monkeys in trees out to get him. He's now gone along with the trash he left behind. It doesn't matter, I found a gold mine of supplies delivered to my back yard!

The neighbor moved and took his four kitties with him. I would continue to go over and feed the Siamese stray cat. One day while looking at this beautiful cat and his stunning blue eyes it hit me to go back home and create a cat face using the glass globs that I had found. The first stained glass cat face ornament was born!

Since that first kitty last year I've changed the pattern a few times and have used different colors of glass to create different color kitties. The Siamese stray still hangs out and I still feed him. Attempts to capture him to get him to the vet have failed. He's a tough old kitty that doesn't want to be messed with!

Spring is in the air-new item to celebrate nature

Its happening! Spring is in the air! Its always my favorite time of the year-flowers begin to bloom, birds start singing and nature starts another life giving cycle.

To celebrate spring and its glory I've recently completed this stained glass suncatcher of three yellow and orange daffodils. I love using bright bold colors! This piece measures 13 1/2" diameter (34.5cm). The type of glass that I used for the blooms and foliage has a light ripply texture and the colors are strong enough to brighten even the grayest of days.

You can find this item in my Etsy shop. Mention that you saw this item on my blog and take $25.00 off the cost of the item. Simply key in 'blog' on the message to seller line and I will send a revised invoice with the corrected price. Or, if you have already checked out I will send a refund for the overage.

This is what I'm working on this week

I started working on a new piece a few days ago. Its a stained glass suncatcher with three yellow and orange daffodils. The pattern has been changed around a bit and the new design will be approximately 13 3/4" diameter when complete, similar in composition to the oval piece I completed last year.

I'm excited to complete this piece. The colors are bright and bold, sure to brighten up even the grayest days of winter.

New weekend projects--Its all about rainbows, man..

Someone posted on an Etsy forum that they like rainbows. I guess that's all it took to get me going on making a couple of new rainbow themed items.

The first I hope to get done is a stained glass rainbow peace sign. Once completed it will measure out at less then 11 inches diameter. I've done peace signs in glass before but not in this design. I'm excited about this piece and hope it looks great when its done (its a toss up sometimes). All of the colored and clear glass pieces are Waterglass, which has a light wavy texture to it and all of these pieces will be 'flowing' in the same direction. I hope to have the peace sign completed Jan 24 or 25.

The second is a stained glass rainbow hot air balloon. I've done several of these in the past and thought it would be a good time to add another to my shop. This piece like the peace sign is all Waterglass (except the basket) with the direction of the glass pieces positioned to give the appearance that the balloon is full and ready for launch. This piece should be completed in the next few days.

New items in my shop inspired by spring

This year winter came on hard and fast, it got cold quick and it stayed cold. I've been spoiled for the past 10 years in Tennessee where winters are usually mild. We don't get snow much on this side of the state but usually get some good ice storms. Even with the colder then usual temperatures our daffodils are starting to sprout all over the yard.

I get inspired a lot of the time by what is happening outside my window and figured it was time to create another daffodil. I've never done a white and orange daffodil and thought the color combination with the aqua blue might be interesting. It is definitely bold and bright.

Another piece I recently added to my shop is a single purple tulip. The glass I choose for the flower is a combination of violet and pale purple and the two leaves are a sea green and olive green mix. I'm still working on trying to get better pictures of the tulip.

New projects in the works

Welcome 2009. Yes, I'm a bit late but better late then never.

Lots of new projects are on the way for this new year. I've recently completed a fun rainbow colored stained glass butterfly. This is a shrunk down version of a much larger more complex panel that I'm hoping I can start in a few months. In this smaller version I've used various colors of Waterglass. Its a transparent glass manufactured by Spectrum Glass with a slight texture to it. Its one of my favorite types of glass to use since I love the sharp bright colors and the texture can be placed in such a way to give a good deal of 'movement' to a project.

The next item I hope to have done in a few days is a stained glass daffodil. I'm using white and orange wispy glass for the bloom along with light green for the stem and aqua blue for the background. Another piece that is nearly complete is a single tulip in streaky violet purple. Other projects that have been started include a large yellow orange daffodil suncatcher, a rainbow hot air balloon, a piece sign and three new cat face ornaments.

Wow, this blog has a layer of dust on it an inch thick...

All I can say is that I'm really quite embarrassed that I've let this blog fall to the wayside. The time has come to pick it back up and blow the dust off of it.

Let's see, where did we leave off? Oh, the stained glass quilt panel. There's a few more steps involved in order to get it done. It really turned out to be one of my favorite pieces, the colors are really gentle and compliment each other nicely.

I'll dig up the pictures and get the rest of the steps listed soon.