Bit o’ Honey ~ the little things that please

I’ve finished soldering the canopy and have moved onto the lower half of the window.  Since I sadly had to abandon the delicous gold-pink glass that I’d planned to use in the “sky” I needed to find an alternative.    I frantically searched through my stock of blues but they were jewel-tones, too dark for the window.  It was too late to order more glass, so I absolutely had to find some way of using something from my inventory.  After much digging, I found two fractured pieces of the palest blue glass I hadn’t used in years.  I managed to alter the design to fit the odd shapes I had to work with, just enough to do the trick!  

 It always surprises me how the addition of the simplest lines create expression.  

Before soldering, I added these copper foil overlays.  I felt the larger pieces of sky and ground needed some simple embellishment.  Overlays allow me to add lines without cutting the glass. The beauty of overlays is that they’re easily removed if I don’t like the results.

R. offered to fire my name on the glass, so it’s there for good.  I carried the piece sandwiched in cardboard to and from my house on the bus to get to the studio where R. helped let me use her paints.  That I made it home without breaking it is a small miracle.

Thankfully, my parents valued good penmanship.  

The window just fits my work table.  Thanks again to my dad who made the table sturdy enough so that I could crawl around on top to reach the center of the panel more easily.  

And stand on top to take pictures . . .

All that’s left is my nameplate.  

It’s nearly 11 p.m.  I spent most of the day holed up in the studio to complete assembly, giving up a night of salsa dancing (sigh) to be sure I make the August 29 deadline.  It was worth it — I’ll sleep well tonight!

I’m making good progress on the window, but it hasn’t come without glitches.  The gold-pink glass, though lovely and vibrant, simply overwhelmed the rest of the glass. I had concerns about ordering glass I’d never used before.  Each sheet is so unique and so difficult to assess from a catalog photo.  It wasn’t until I began cutting the glass that I realized it just wouldn’t work.  The color competed with the bright greens in the leaves.  In a fit of panic, I contacted the art consultant, who made a last-minute visit to the studio.  She agreed that the glass wasn’t right, then said the words I’ve been wanting to hear through the whole process: “Just do what you need to do to make it work.”

It was a disappointment not the use this glass – I spent $200 on this single sheet – but now I have an exquisite piece of glass to experiment with for future projects.

Here’s a peek at my progress so far:

 I redrew the entire image to fit the new dimensions.  Using a pencil allows me to adjust the design as I go.   

I deliberately left gaps between pieces to create a more interesting solder line.

I added a few pink leaves to break up the green.

I’ve laid out the entire canopy and have begun soldering.  I wanted to see how this looked before I moved on to the earth and stream.   At the last minute I found a pale blue for the sky below the canopy in place of the goldpink, which would have overpowered it all.   

I should have the front of the window soldered by the weekend, then comes the task of flipping the whole thing over!  Here, my father’s carpentry comes in handy.  He built the work table with a hinged top that opens up vertically for just this kind of challenge.  Thanks, Daddy!

The glass has arrived!

Like Christmas in August!

It’s The Streakies!

Goldpink will become the Hopeful Sun.

Turquoise Streaky will become the Stream.  

And Green Streaky will become the Ground.

Nothing gets me geared up for work like unwrapping new glass!

All I need now to begin cutting are the final dimensions.   I’ll mull over the glass for a few days to get a sense of what details each sheet offers and how I might use them.  Then it’s me alone in the studio to meld the ideas from so many meetings with the best of my aesthetic and skill.  How it will all come together is still unclear, but I’m more confident now that I have the glass.