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!