Spring Has Sprung

   One of the hazards of Spring is gardening, specifically shoveling. I dug trenches for asparagus plants and really pulled my back. What does this have to do with glass, you say?  Leaning over the work table at an angle is really hard. And it's making me crazy to wait. The borders are repetative and the field glass is my favorite part. Still, I was able to put in a few hours yesterday. I can still work on the
panel, I just have to pace myself.

More Borders

    Yesterday I got the border pieces cut, but little else.  We've been trying to clean the clutter out of the barn, so I give an hour or two to that, then succumb to the call of the glass. Today I was able to cut out some of the Easter dawn glass in the tomb panel. It looks very dark down on the work table, but is really dramatic in the light. The two glass selections that make up the sky for the three panels in this window are beautiful glass.  But sometimes the final result is unexpected. I chose Wissmach 35L and Wissmach 257L for the sky.

A Happy Easter Circumstance

   It was not an event of deliberate timing as much as happy circumstance that I began laying out the pattern for the Risen Cross panels on Easter afternoon.

     The concept drawing is a little weak, both in color and detail. At first I wanted to stick to stark desert background, heavy on browns and ambers. I wanted a beautiful sunrise behind the brown hills. But it was too barren. It needed hope. So I decided to lighten up the hills with greener glass, and create a forefront with lilies in bloom.












   The challenge is to figure out which color to put where. I write down what I think will work, then I change my mind at least three times.















   I found some lily pictures that I liked and started tracing. I think it will greatly enhance the finished design.


















     Then I printed out the pattern to finished size, traced the first panel, which will be the open tomb,  and placed it in the blocking square. Then I made some modifications to the hills
and sky.
   Tomorrow, the schedule is already full, but Tuesday I can start cutting glass.

Road Trip

     Tomorrow morning Ed and I will drive up to Redmond, WA to Northwest Art Glass for the second big load of glass. Twenty nine full sheets of glass, thirty pounds of solder, and various other supplies will be making the trip home with us.
     It's always overwhelming going into that store because it is an entire warehouse full of glass-candy. Row after row, with racks of deliciousness.  Every color, every texture imaginable is just waiting to be taken home.  I want it all. A very special thank you to Debbie Patana at Inspirations Glass in Chinook for making this purchase possible.

It's All Greek To Me

  I have 3/4 of the Omega panel soldered, and will finish it today or tomorrow.

    As winter fades and spring approaches, there are more and more outside projects calling me. The garden needs to go in. The strawberry bed needs to be reworked. We need to finish fencing the pasture. I try to work outside on the dry days and inside on the wet ones. Still...I would like to finish all of the windows in a timely manner. 

       I know that Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the ancient Greek alphabet, but I still think Omega should somehow begin with an "O". 

    I wanted to see them all together so I cut and pasted the photos. This is the halfway point and it's very exciting. The three panels of the  Alpha and Omega window took 107 hours. It seemed longer than that, and in fact, the center panel seemed to take forever. 

     In a week or so I'll make another trip up to the glass warehouse to pick up glass for the last two windows. 

Fresh Is Best

     Thursday I finished cutting out the pieces for Omega. Today I foiled them and added the Strong Line for support.  Tomorrow will be soldering day. I probably could have soldered part of it today, but the chemical fumes are harsh, and it's best done when I'm fresh. I spent the rest of the afternoon printing out the pattern for the next window and taping it together.

A Background Check

    The border, sky and most of the background glass is cut for the Omega panel. Just two more pieces of background to go, but the blue letters have to go in first. That will be Thursday.