Forever Flight

One of the last things my Grandmother said to me was to make every moment count and always use the gifts God has granted us. This was the true inspiration behind this piece. I dedicate this to you and your beautiful life, entitled "Forever Flight".

"Forever Flight"

Maiden Of The Sea

When I took my very first stained glass class 17 years ago I was super excited. I didn't know a thing about it and had not idea what was in-store for me. All I knew is that I wanted to create.....Create something I could be proud of and call my own. Little did I know that I would fall in love with the entire craft. 

At our first meeting the number one item on the adgenda was to choose a pattern. Now, I had a lot to choose from and had a hard time deciding on what type of statement to make on my first piece. Amongst the many to choose from, I ran across this exquisite pattern of a mermaid. Now for those who know me know I absolutely love mermaids: the colors, the shapes, the stories behind each one. I was hooked! The down side was that it was a challenging piece and not a very good pick for a beginner. But I purchased it anyway and promised myself that when I got to be a pro I would create my masterpiece. 

I proudly call this piece "Maiden Of The Sea"

Well, with years of practice behind me and a knack for color and design, I finally said "Go For It!!" 

I am so proud of My Maiden. No other piece can compare. I now can say I truly feel accomplished as an artist and can't wait to continue my love for stained glass art.

Piecing Together Our Most Chilly Season

Well, the weather here in Portland, Oregon has been anything but a Winter Wonderland. It's been cold, grey and very, very wet. But that hasn't stopped me from getting into the spirit of the season. I've found a few special projects that have kept me pretty busy while still remembering what winter is all about.      

I decided to experiment with bevels. This snowflake, entitled "Winter Imprint", is made up of 18 1 1/2'' glass diamonds and 6 small gem nuggets. The center, circular bit was cut from frost-like textured glass I had leftover from projects I did for the show. This piece certainly took patience. I decided, because of the crevices that would occur, I decided to put a thin layer of solder over each piece before putting it together. Otherwise I would have had a lot of hard-to-reach places to work with. (And I'm so glad I did!!) Yes, my fingers did get awfully warm and the flux made it messy. And it was difficult handling the hot iron with such small gems but it was well worth the process. I would recommend using protection gloves like I did.         

I named this one "Winter Imprint"

I then used a handful horseshoe nails to ensure the placement of each connection was just right. After that I had to carefully unite each piece with a small dot of solder trying to keep everything in it's place. Once that had cooled, I finished with soldering the channels twice. First for the initial contact, and then a more polished, complete line. Remember, it's very important to allow the project to completely cool in between each step.

Not only was I inspired by our most chilly season but I ended up with a fabulous piece of art to give to my loving Mother-In-Law!!!