Sapphire Road Stained Glass

Another Custom Stained Glass Transom

2010-05-26T15:53:00.006-05:00

Day 2; Today went somewhat better. I really wanted to have all the leads in place before leaving today. One thing I've learned... when I start struggling to get the pieces to fit right, it's time to walk away and pick it up tomorrow. It is coming together nicely though.

DAY 1
5/27/2010; Today I started on a transom panel for a Nashville couple. This panel is an original design, measures approximately 15" x 33" and will be installed in an interior doorway open transom. The center circle will be a 2" amber faceted jewel.
I was making really good time… notice the word "WAS". I pulled the red glass I had ordered for this piece and realized it was the wrong glass. I double checked the invoice to see if I had ordered the wrong glass. I had not. The company sent me 152W rather than the 151W I had ordered. I am very disappointed in Delphi. I have ordered from them several times in the last 6 months and there has been something wrong with each order. This is pretty much the proverbial straw… I won't be ordering from them again. Luckily, Armstrong in Georgia had some 151W and is shipping it to me today. I always get their shipments the next day, Chris and Mike are awesome!
Then I discovered that the light amber glass I was using for this panel was a shade off, actually the medium amber. Grrr. I think I have the correct glass at home, I hope I have the correct glass at home! What is it with my glass being a shade off today?
So… I cut the clear rough rolled, measured and cut my zinc to size, set up the layout and leaded what I could until the rest of the glass gets here tomorrow.

Berkheimer Transom Complete

2010-05-20T14:05:00.003-05:00

Wow... got that one banged out pretty fast! And I felt like I was really taking my time on it. It turned out beautifully! I had alot of passers-by comment on how much they liked the color combination. It is a very striking combination... also happens to be my old high school colors. Go Salthawks!!

The homeowner's for this piece are actually in Pennsylvania. Needless to say, I will not be installing this one. Hopefully Mrs. Berkeimer will send me some pictures after it is installed.

Custom Stained Glass Transom

2010-05-18T16:58:00.003-05:00

I forget just how much I enjoy leading glass. Aside from a few little adjustments here and there, all the pieces slid into their respective channels perfectly. All in all it was a really good glass day.

Tomorrow I'll be able to finish leading the remaining pieces and soldering it all together. I might be able to putty it tomorrow as well, we'll just have to see. Might have to wait until Thursday to do that.

Berkheimer Transom; Custom Stained Glass

2010-05-15T16:46:00.003-05:00

Now that I've finished with the Burvis cabinet doors, it's time to move on to the Berkheimer transom. I'm not planning on setting a true deadline for this piece, I think I can get it done in a few days... let's see how that works out! All kidding aside, I'd like to be done with it by Wednesday and I plan to work on it everyday until it is done. I'll be leaving for Kansas on Friday to help my grandfather celebrate his 90th birthday, so I'd like it to be done in plenty of time for me to take my trip.

This piece is going to be leaded, which is a different construction method than the last project. I find that leaded pieces tend to go together faster for some reason. The glass is a mixture of Spectrum Artique, Spectrum Rough Rolled and Wissmach English Muffle with a 1.5" clear faceted jewel in the center of each column. Awesome color combination chosen by the client.

I'll finish cutting tomorrow and then start leading on Monday.

Burvis; panels complete!

2010-05-15T09:54:00.003-05:00

Success! That deadline I set for myself to have these pieces completed was Friday, May 14th. Guess what day I finished them? FRIDAY, MAY 14TH! I will never again post a deadline. If I ever hope to keep it anyway!

Waiting to hear from the Burvis' on when we can get these installed. There is a question on prepping the existing cabinet doors... more specifically, how to get the plate glass that is glued to to wood out before these can be installed. Once we get those details figured out, I will post final installed pictures on my website. www.sapphireroad.com

Nearing the finish line...

2010-05-13T17:42:00.003-05:00

Two of the four panels were soldered, patina'd and polished today! Yay! I really wanted to have all four done today, but got a little side tracked yesterday afternoon and this morning. No biggie, I'm still ahead of the schedule I set for myself and didn't share here. Maybe Karma does work!

This isn't the best of pictures, but the camera batteries died right after this one was taken! Final pictures coming soon...

Burvis Custom Cabinet Doors

2010-05-11T16:58:00.002-05:00

It's been 7 days since I started this set of four cabinet doors. I feel really good about my progress! Panels one through three are cut and foiled, panel four is about 40% cut and the remaining 60% is going to be fast and easy! I lost my lovely assistant for the week I'm afraid… the boyfriend came home from college. I don't think I'm going to be seeing much of her for awhile.

The first panel (on the bottom of the picture) has been tack soldered, so it is all in place. The other two are ready to be tacked and a few of the pieces have been bumped out of place, they will be perfectly in line once they are tacked. Only a few more days to go!

Looking good!

2010-05-07T16:54:00.002-05:00

A little bit of progress today... about what I expected. About 40% of the third panel cut. Actually, a little bit more given the fact that when I arrived at The Factory today, we had no electricity. Not sure what was going on there, but we were in the dark until about 11:15 or so (not 100% sure, I didn't check my watch).

Quite a few people stopped in and admired the design and glass choices.

Now... the drive home, a glass of wine and a nice relaxing evening.

Burvis cabinets; Day 3

2010-05-06T17:21:00.003-05:00

The second panel is cut. The first panel is foiled and tacked. Wow! This project is progressing nicely.

I expect there won't be as much progress tomorrow and Saturday. Traffic through The Factory is usually heavier on Friday and Saturday. But we'll just see... you never know.

A dangerous craft...

2010-05-05T20:24:00.003-05:00

One full panel cut today and my lovely assistant, Jenna, began foiling. She's awesome. One panel foiled today!

As you can see from the picture, I found the red glass. This piece came off a score and landed on the table this way!! Thank goodness it wasn't my arm or my foot!!

Jenna seemed unphazed by flying glass stabbing into the table. That's my girl!

The Burvis Cabinets are under way!

2010-05-04T16:57:00.002-05:00

Finally started cutting on the Burvis Cabinets today. It felt great working in my newly spacious studio!

All the light green pieces are cut and just a few of the dark green, white and amber border pieces. I'm not happy with the red glass that came in for these panels. It was supposed to be red with a hint of amber and it came in amber with a hint of red! I'll need to replace that and have a few ideas on how I'm going to accomplish that.

I've set a goal for myself on these panels, but I'm not sharing that here. Everytime I do… something happens to push that date back. So I'm going to play with karma here and see if I keep my deadline to myself if I can keep it!! Wish me luck!

Barbee; continued...

2010-04-15T16:45:00.002-05:00

No pictures today... progress looks pretty much the same as previous pictures posted. Today was a slow progress day, but progress was made.

I accidentally got a portion of the pattern wet and you know wet paper, it magically changes shape, never to return to its former flatness. So I had to splice and re-invent the wheel. Then I mismeasured the first two cuts made... not a good start to the beginning of the next window. But I finally got it together and managed to get about 75% of one panel done. Mind you... this did not take me all day, just about 3 hours. Ugh. Finally decided to call it quits for the day when those last few pieces just wouldn't fit into leads properly.

Tomorrow WILL be a better, smoother, perfect glass cutting and leading day!

Barbee; Days 3-5

2010-04-13T11:21:00.002-05:00

One side is leaded and soldered and today will be puttied. This picture was taken before soldering, but really doesn't look any different now that it has been soldered. I'll start the second side as soon as this side is puttied.

I like this repeating motif pattern, it's very subtle and elegant.

Barbee; Day 2

2010-04-08T16:54:00.002-05:00

Progress is slow, but steady. I set a small goal for myself today… knowing I had about three hundred other things to accomplish! I met all my goals and then a tiny bit more. YAY! The left side of one window is cut and leaded. Very happy that all my measurements have been spot on so far!! (Knock on wood) My goal for tomorrow is to get the right side done. Wish me luck! My deadline for these windows is April 15^th. Not sure if I'm going to make that… but I'm sure gonna give it a try!

Barbee Windows; Day 1

2010-04-07T16:43:00.007-05:00

Today was the official start of two leaded bathroom windows. Each window will have 6 panes with an identical motif in the center of each pane, for a total of 12 panes. This is an original design that was developed with elements of the bathroom in mind. The motif is representative of window treatment finials. Below I've posted a picture of the first panel leaded along with the mock-up design image.

Empathic Reactions

2010-01-19T15:56:00.002-06:00

Nothing compares to the reaction of a satisfied client when they see their completed piece for the first time. I have been fortunate to have never experienced a bad reaction… I'm pretty sure it has more to do with the captivating nature of the glass itself rather than my artistic ability or craftsmanship. I know glass of all types captivates me on a daily basis!

The Long's stopped by today on their daily walk to check on the progress of their window. I felt horrible… I had taken the piece home to frame and it wasn't here for them to see. Then I remembered I had my camera and had taken a picture before I loaded it in the car. Mrs. Long's reaction to the 2" image was emphatic! I cannot wait to see how she reacts to seeing the full size actual window. It truly did turn out beautiful. The colors go together very well and I am anxious to see how they look in their bathroom.

I found another recent reaction to my work humbling. I was visiting a client who is now having another window done. I was tickled when she asked me if I wanted to see the window I had previously done. She was so comfortable and excited showing the window off that she even wanted to show it off to me! She shared with me the reactions of visitors to her home and how the piece has changed the whole personality of the room. To think that something I created with my own two hands could have such an impact on someone else is very humbling and I do believe it has more to do with the glass than with me.

Now it's on to the next project. A pair of lunette windows for a bathroom, one over the tub and the other over the door leading out to the patio. The windows will be done in the same elegant pattern using all clear glasses, but in different sizes.

Let the foiling begin!

2010-01-13T16:51:00.003-06:00

All the pieces are cut and ready to be foiled. The colors in this window have really come together to make a stunning piece. It was a little touch and go on Wednesday... I couldn't take an accurate measurement on the border pieces to save my life! I took my own advice that I give to my glass students, I walked away from it and picked it up the next day. Glad I did! Measuring was much smoother (and accurate!) on Thursday.

Next up... the Long's bathroom window

2010-01-09T13:18:00.005-06:00

On the table now is the Long's master bathroom window commission. This is an original design using an art nouveau inspired flower and simple blocking. The colors were pulled from fabric choices used in the bath and bedroom.

Kerr Commission; Completed and installed

2010-01-09T13:09:00.003-06:00

The Kerr's transom and sidelight were installed this morning. They look beautiful! For more pictures, visit my website at http://www.sapphireroad.com/ I have to say, this was the smoothest installation we've done to date. Everything fit in its spot perfectly and cooperated nicely! A very successful commission!

Kerr Stained Glass Commission; Getting ever closer!

2009-12-22T20:36:00.000-06:00

These foiled pieces make up one of the two sidelights! It's funny to see them stacked up and compact like this, like a little package! The second sidelight is cut, ground and about 75% foiled. I'll finish up the foiling tomorrow and then begin soldering. I probably won't get them finished tomorrow, but they'll be very, very close! More and more people are stopping by to look at them and comment on how beautiful the colors are together with the clear texture. I think the Kerr's are going to be very happy.

Stained Glass Commission; Kerr update

2009-12-17T13:06:00.002-06:00

The transom is complete! It's all framed, polished and awaiting the completion of its sidelight sisters! The bevel cluster in the center of this transom is stunning! Very beautiful… I can't wait to see it installed. This photo really does not do it justice.

The sidelights are coming along smoothly. I got derailed yesterday with a horrific sinus headache that had my head pounding, teeth hurting and hands shaking. Not a good combination when it comes to cutting glass. (Ok… you don't really "cut" glass, you score it and break it. It's just easier to say cut.) Not only is cutting glass when you don't feel good dangerous, it also is very evident in the quality of the work. So with a cocktail of Tylenol Sinus, Excederin, 7-up, hot tea and some quality couch time the sinuses are cooperating today. The left side (of the sidelights, not my sinuses) is 65% "cut" and all pieces should be cut by the end of the day. I'm heading up to see Sam and Butch tomorrow to pick up the y-zinc that will be used to frame and install the sidelights. The y-lead that I ordered just isn't going to work (I'll have to figure out something else to do with it).

You'll notice the big question mark on the top/center piece. That's my way of reminding myself that piece isn't fitting exactly the way I want. It never does any good to fuss around with a single piece without all the surrounding pieces being cut. So, once all pieces are ready to be "final fit", I'll fuss around with that piece until it meets my expectations.

I would so love to say these will be done by Monday or Tuesday and installed before Christmas… but as soon as I say it, karma will kick me in the pants with another sinus attack. I might have to hire my daughter to help me foil so I can get the right side cut and then solder them both at the same time. Keep your fingers and toes crossed that the Kerr's can have a colorful stained glass Christmas!!

Stained Glass Commission; Kerr Day 3

2009-12-10T16:31:00.002-06:00

All the transom pieces are cut and foiled. Was able to solder half of one side today. Expect to have transom completed by the end of the day tomorrow... then on to the sidelights!

Kerr Commission; Off and running!

2009-12-09T10:30:00.003-06:00

Yesterday construction started on the Kerr commission transom and sidelights. I'm starting with the transom. The piece measures approximately 8" x 58" and incorporates an elegant bevel cluster along with red, gold and clear texture glasses.

Plans are under way for Jingle & Mingle ’09!

2009-10-16T11:13:00.000-05:00

Jingle & Mingle ’09 is a holiday Open House on Friday, November 27th from 1:00pm – 4:00pm hosted by myself and my Factory Studio-mate, Emily Martinez. This is our first holiday season sharing studio space at the Factory and we want everyone to come out and celebrate with us!

In addition to showcasing our art and special holiday themed pieces we’ve created for the season, we’ll be offering hot chocolate, cookies, and drawings for a free class and artwork. Black Friday can be a frantic and exhausting day of shopping… plan to come in, relax and enjoy the artful ambiance that is The Factory.

Watch for the Wine Down Main Street 9 and A Williamson Christmas Shopping Guide (special supplements to the Williamson Herald) for coupons that can be used exclusively in our studio!

Installation is complete!

2009-09-27T20:25:00.004-05:00

Rain has been relentless in middle Tennessee for the past week. But the sun finally peeked through the clouds and allowed us to install these sunroom windows on Saturday afternoon! The installation went fairly smooth. The left side fit like a glove, the left side caught at the top so Jeff shaved the wood trim a little and the panel slid in.

So much of my time over the past 6 weeks has been spent working on these windows. They became so much a part of my daily life, I feel a little lost now that I won't have them there waiting for me tomorrow!

On to the next project... a bathroom window!

Closer yet...

2009-09-14T20:28:00.000-05:00

I should have taken a moment to consider which pieces were being cut and in what order. It's down to the wire and the last two pieces I cut today were the worst two pieces out of the 285!! They are not bad pieces per say, just very detailed and curvaceous! My plan was to finish cutting, grinding and foiling before I left for the day so I could start soldering on Wednesday. Pieces 196 and 199 had something else in mind entirely! (196 and 199 are located between the two purple flowers in the upper right corner.) After 45 minutes and 4 attempts on #199, they are done, they fit and they are glorious! I had to stop there for the day and left the remaining 13 pieces (which are easy peasy pieces) for Wednesday. I am now really looking forward to Wednesday... the cutting will be complete!

A special thank you to Jordan Westall for his help foiling these windows. Thanks to his work, I believe these will be done by the weekend.

I guess I didn't post the left side once it was cut and foiled. Here it is...

Getting closer!

2009-09-11T22:35:00.001-05:00

Well, the camera batteries went dead on me today so I wasn't able to get a picture today. This picture is from Wednesday... I now have half of the undone pieces on this picture done. I figure there are about 35 more pieces to go before I can solder! I'm STOKED!! I love to solder. It's my favorite part of the process.

We changed the color of the sunflower leaves and it was a wise decision. This color looks awesome with the light coming from behind it and it really makes the sunflower pop!

Now... if I can just remember to get some new camera batteries tomorrow!

Days 4, 5 and 6

2009-08-24T20:23:00.001-05:00

I had a blog all ready to post Saturday... no internet wi-fi at The Factory and home internet on the fritz. I love technology... when it works. There is something about losing your internet connections to make you feel completely disconnected from the world. Machines have taken over our lives... we rely too much on the convenience they provide us.

Each day as the piece comes together, more and more people stop to take a look. The windows are coming along nicely. Although not nearly as quickly as I had thought they would. There are a total of 284 pieces of glass in these windows, I'm averaging about 16 pieces a day. And that's just cutting them... then they have to be foiled. Foiling can be done anywhere anytime, which is a good thing. I think I'll start bringing home some pieces to foil in the evening.

Day 3; The Prescott Windows

2009-08-20T19:19:00.000-05:00

Today was a much better day! I stopped by Target on my way into the studio and picked up an adjustable arm desk lamp to put on my work table. The added light really helped me keep my cutter on the right side of the line.

I was able to get several blue and green pieces cut. The green glass was being a little persnickety. Not breaking where I scored it. Some glass is like that. Hopefully it was just that sheet and the rest of the green I bought will behave. I only had to re-cut one piece. There are a lot of little blue pieces that fit in between the flower petals. Those little pieces take just as much time as the big pieces but don’t show as much progress. I feel really good about what I was able to accomplish today.

Tomorrow is Friday, so I don’t have to work at the rec center at all (yea!)… plan on heading in early and getting a good jump start. I do need to work on a repair for another customer… we’ve been waiting on a custom bevel piece to come in from California. It’s finally arrived, so I need to bang that out. Shouldn’t take too long.

The Prescott Windows; Day 2

2009-08-19T20:40:00.000-05:00

I’m sure my students will secretly delight in the fact that my glass cutting skills today were off kilter! For some odd reason, I could not hit the mark and spent far more time at the grinder than I prefer. (Those in the glass crafting know, who know me, know I HATE grinding!) A few of the pieces still need a little tweaking but they will fit in just fine. If not, I’ll recut them. This lack of cutting prowess made my progress today less than desired. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully a little wine and a good night sleep will restore my normally accurate cutting abilities.

You’ll notice that I’m still avoiding cutting anything around the hummingbird. I'll get to him soon enough. I cut some of the green and blue toward the center (right side of the left panel), the other coneflower in this panel and the petals of the yellow daisy. I am loving all the colors in this project! They are showing up pretty vibrant in the pictures, laying flat against a white piece of paper makes them more two dimensional and darker than they will actually look with air and light behind them.

The Prescott Windows - Day 1

2009-08-17T21:26:00.000-05:00

Construction began today on the left side of the Prescott windows. I’m sure the Prescott’s are getting anxious to see them complete, as am I. The design and glass choices took about 30 days, which is pretty good considering the pattern is an original design and was drawn out by hand. The Prescott’s have been great to work with… I hope I can exceed their expectations!

The pattern preparation took an hour and half. I checked and double checked the measurements. One of my biggest fears is to attempt an installation and the piece not fit into the opening! Pattern preparation is kind of like painting a room… the prep work is tedious but necessary! There are two patterns, one to use for transferring the individual pattern pieces to the glass and the second to lay out the cut pieces.

The rest of the afternoon was spent cutting glass. There was, of course, the occasional potty break and the 3:15 walk down to Frisky Berry for a cup of coffee to keep me going! I didn’t get as much cut as I had hoped. Wednesday should be a good, productive day.

For some reason, I cannot get a handle on the color of the hummingbird. I asked Chris at Armstrong Glass his opinion and the bird you see in the picture were the colors he suggested. I’m going to cut it again with the color I had been thinking of previously. I’ll let the Prescott’s take a look at it before it is soldered together and let them decide which color combo to go with. We’ll see how it looks when all the other colors are around it. It can always be changed. I love the colors as they are now, just not sure how they’ll look with the blue background and green leaves.

Boring studio news

2009-08-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

The studio is finally coming together. The first big order from Art Glass House came in last Thursday and it was like Christmas! Lots of glass and supplies! The pony case of Kokomo glass was a welcome surprise... there were no more than 2 pieces of the same glass and they were all beautiful. There were even a few pieces I'm not sure I want to part with!

A new marketing tool

2009-08-08T16:47:00.000-05:00

I was told recently that to successfully market your business, you need to be spending 50% of the time you have marketing. That seems a little excessive, but did get me to thinking that I need to spend more time getting the word out there about Sapphire Road Stained Glass.