Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Glass is tough to photograph!

But that didn't stop me from trying. I took a stained glass course a couple of months ago, and today I realized I never got any photos of my projects. We did two projects in class-- one in copper foil (the method Tiffany used), and one in lead came. Both were pretty simple, as stained glass projects go, but it was a wonderful introduction to both techniques.

We did the copper foil project first. I have to say that choosing the colors was the hardest part. It felt like such a huge decision, probably because most people take a class like this, and then never do another project again. I didn't know if I would or wouldn't do any more stained glass. It really depended on how much I enjoyed it. (Turns out, I LOVE it!)



The lead came project was a geometric piece, which is the easiest thing to do with lead came.



After the class ended, I decided to buy a glass grinder and try something a little more intricate. It's not quite finished, but I'm quite pleased with what I've done so far. I still need to finish the outside edge-- I need to do that in the garage and will have to wait until the weather warms up a bit. Once the outside edge is done, I'll be able to add the patina and enjoy my creation.



It's hard to see in the picture, but the clear glass actually has a raindrop pattern on it. I thought it was a nice choice for the spring floral theme. If I had it to do again, I wouldn't have chosen such an irregularly shaped piece as my second project. Other than that, it really wasn't too difficult. There were quite a few pieces, some of them tiny, and more intricate soldering, but overall, I really enjoyed putting this one together. I haven't decided what I'll do next, but I've been steadily building a stained glass "stash" for future projects. ;)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. Now that's stunning. I have to say, my favorite piece is the top one, the red flower surrounded my milky white. That is lovely!

lynda said...

Your glass pieces are beautiful Juanita!

Sharon said...

They are gorgeous! I really like the top one.

Nancy in IL said...

The stained is just lovely, Juanita! The top one is my favorite too, though I'm looking at my colors in the bottom one. Now if you get around to making your own lamps, I want to buy one from you, LOL!

Anonymous said...

Wow, those are just gorgeous! I'm jealous that you know how to do stained glass now. :) Beautiful work!