Great Fun with Stained Glass

I posted a Youtube video and recently re-posted it with higher resolution and I did the anti-shake option so it's easier to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSRkmtQUPcs

This year has been one of great success so far. We finished "The Dance Of Life" and did some panels for a designer in Salt Lake.

Here is a view of those windows from inside her design studio. They are very big, we had Glass Doctor in Springville install them. Candace says the only problem with them is that they get so much attention that her clients can't take their eyes off of them to look at items in the design studio!

Then, Candace had us build a Grand Entry for a home north of the capital in Salt Lake City. Never one to make things easy for us, we had to have it built and installed in a month!

It turned out great!

We are currently frantically finishing up 6 more smaller projects so we can build Christmas gift type items.

We have nearly finished teaching the Living Social Star classes we had scheduled and the Amazon local ones will expire in November so that constant barrage of classes will come to an end.!

We couldn't be happier with the way things are going!

Studio Tour

Jeanne and I have been improving and cleaning and spiffying up our studio in preparation of the Utah Valley Artist Guild coming to visit. That was last night and it was great fun  meeting with the artists and discussing their work and ours.

Here I hang a second panel for display on the new staircase treatment we just finished.

Here, Jeanne stands proudly in front of our new "gallery" space. There's room for four 18" wide panels and we feel sure that we'll change it up often.

Below we have pictures from the studio tour.

 

We're losing a window but gaining a door.

New header in place, window is gone. Lots of light cause there's a big hole in the wall.

How come the AC is working very well? Cooling all of Provo isn't working! Man it's been hot!

 Here are the latest pictures I have posted on the student pages on our website. It's another milestone, so far we've taught exactly 100 students this year, not counting students who haven't finished their projects so they aren't on the student pages website. This is a pretty big number and Jeanne gets worn out by the end of the day sometimes. They say we should post this kind of notice on our blog as well as the web because folks don't see the website as often.

We hope you're having a wonderful summer! The 4th is coming, I'll bet there will be many stories to read on facebook.

What does painting the shed have to do with stained glass?

Here's the before picture where you see the bad paint on the shed. Landon and I are setting up to paint the side of the shed in the neighbors back yard.

But what does this have to do with art?

Landon is  proud of the improved look of this section of the shed.

But that still isn't art.

 Here Landon is reaching for the tip of the rafter. He's painting the roof edge as well as the shed walls.

Art? Stained Glass? We think that artists need to surround themselves with beauty. And painting the shed does add some beauty to our surroundings.

Jeanne gets into the act by trimming and pruning the fence line between the two houses.

I have my ball cap backwards just like we do for safety when grinding (this is as a sun shade)

It makes a difference, one side of the shed is starting to look new and the other side looks weathered.


So..the shed is a nicer looking structure and the neighbors don't have to look at that eyesore. We have made our little part of the world a bit better. And that's what we do when we create art.

A Woodworking Project

I have to do many things before I can do a woodworking project. I have to finish most of the projects I'm working on and clean up all the tools used of the project, toss out the un-needed pattern pieces, put the scraps in the bins and shift the tables back to their normal position.

I'm tired already! Then to do this project, I had to go to Home Depot twice and move glass out of my way. The window box is made of cedar, they didn't sell a 48" one. So I made my own and Jeanne found a great deal on flowers today.

Tommorrow, I'll probably finish the sidelight that I soldered on today and then I can foil the next one that I finished cutting out today..then I'll think about more work on my walkway cover!

YouTube Video Newsletter

I've posted several video newsletter items recently

This first is the one that I think everyone will be interested in  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBotlilMKTA "Dance Of Life Stained Glass Install Celebration"

 is a video 3:40 long of the five separate installs that took over seven months to complete. It inspires me!

Next, all who do stained glass may find this useful at some time

 http://youtu.be/WMWFPa6e950 "Handling Big Stained Glass Panels" is a video that chronicles our path of learning how to deal with these particularly large panels that we've been building in the last two years.

I put up a lesson that Jeanne teaches on signing stained glass work  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsZrDBct1A  "Signing Your Stained Glass Work"

a 4:16 long discussion that may be of interest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE4MqCU4Gxg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8ebbxym9yo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PplCe-_MQY

These three videos take you through the steps outlined at a workshop on marketing stained glass.

You can find the pdf of notes on the workshop at http://www.utahcountyartgallery.com/classes/2013workshop/Utah%20County%20Arts%20Gallery%20Presents%20Workshop.pdf

We hope this finds you well and enjoying your summer.

Feel free to pass these links along to others that will enjoy them.

-David and Jeanne at Gomm Stained Glass

Dance Of Life Stained Glass Install Celebration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBotlilMKTA&feature=youtu.be
Lynde Mott suggested that the Firebird music by Stravinsky by played during our final install of the "Dance Of Life" stained glass project. We started building it in the middle of the summer and 7 months later, in the winter, it was complete.

Jeanne filmed all of the clips used in this video and designed several variations for this window. As the project continued, the customer made suggestions and was never afraid of color.

Christopher, our son, was instrumental in helping this install go well and Dane, our other son, helped a great deal as I built the panels.

This is the kind of project we dream about. One where the client wants beauty and is unafraid of the concept, in fact pushes us for more color and comes up with stories that push the design even further. Cost was never an issue, we hope you enjoy this presentation of our work.

First Install North Of Capital Went Well

 So we all get in the act, David, Christopher and Landon up 20 feet in the air installing 2 of the five panels.

It surprised me that it took closer to two hours to put the five panels in place. I had estimated 1 hour. But oh, doesn't it look nice?

 We asked our stained glass students to help raise the wall for our walkway the other day.

As you can see, it's coming along fine and by the end of summer, we should have a fine exterior entryway into our stained glass studio.

Our artist friend, Lynde Mott helped Jeanne come up with a landscaping plan this year. This week we laid down a layer of newspaper on the grass and added potting soil and garden soil on the newspaper. Then we layered on steer manure to create a wonderful planting bed.

Here Jeanne is sweeping out John truck. John is our home teacher who brought us a load of wood chips.

Here you see the large pile of organic material.

Here the bark mulch is laid down and Jeanne is planting our plant starts.

And here it is all planted. What does this have to do with stained glass? We make garden stakes out of glass and gardening gets you in touch with the creator and all life!

New Star Students

Sadie and Eli came to a couples star class last night. They were extremely friendly and capable, easy to complete the stars they made.

Jeanne wondered why class went on for three hours since they were so good at building. It must have been that we were all having a good time (I wasn't there much..working on computer)

Eli says he'll help build a better logo for us, all we have to do is register at www.elance.com and look for gimme logos.
We've said it often, the reason we love teaching classes is because we get to meet such nice people.

Today, Dane came with me to help make patterns for a huge entryway. Dane doesn't get out often due to his injuries, but he has great upper body strength and is very good with heights. So this was perfect since we had to do 17 tracings of panels..up off of the ground.

The paper patterns took nearly an hour and it took an hour each way to get there, but that was a well spent three hours. Dane insisted that Jeanne needed to go with us and it turned out that she was able to cut patterns to size as we fit them. She and I moved the scaffold several times, taking Dane for a ride. It was a pretty good adventure..we still don't have an approval on the design that we're working on but it looks like a pretty sure thing that we'll get this job. Now if they didn't need it completed by the end of June!

The pattern was drawn using AutoCAD and as we put the pieces in place most were right on, but several were off by a considerable margin. This is why we do it on paper before doing it in glass.

We have several grinders on our wet workbench. Today, I had to clean off an area. If you look closely at the clean grinder, you can see a splatter ring on the wall behind it. Earlier today that ring was over an inch thick with powdered glass that had been slung by the grinder. When I went to take a picture of it, it fell off the wall. But, having noticed it, I had to clean up. The wall didn't take too much effort, even though there was some buildup that didn't come of and I couldn't sand it away without scratching the Formica on the wall. Before I started, both grinders looked equally bad. I just had to spend two hours of scrubbing, filing, sandblasting and sanding to get the one on the right looking new. I'll get to the other one on a day where I have another two hours. There's a message here, keep things clean as you go along or spend a long time getting them clean later. Our Spring cleaning keeps on and on, but the shop is looking great!

Learning To Live With Disappointment

So..here's the cute little panel Jeanne created to see if she could use the kiln to come up with a logo design for a client.

She followed a design that they have printed on their business card.

The little vines took quite awhile to cut out.

She probably spent 2 or 3 days working on the panel.

There is a piece of moonstone glass under the colored stripes to give the panel some thickness. I fired this to 1350 last night.

And here it is, a mess!

You can see that the moonstone broke beneath the colored strips, moved everything about and even began running off the kiln shelf.

What went wrong? I probably ramped the temperature up too fast.

Back to the drawing board...They say that fused artists learn to live with disappointment.

Spring Cleaning

BEFORE

It happens every year, when Spring starts to arrive Jeanne and I both get an urge to clean out the cobwebs, finish old projects and put a fresh look on our studio. This year, things got started early because the weather warmed up and Jeanne visited another artists studio and got inspired.

AFTER

Shop tables are a little cluttered in this photo, but just because we're building a new woman of faith panel.

Now the shelves are painted, so is the scrap glass rack, and we added black bins for storage and a new filing cabinet to replace some that were breaking up. I finally covered the electric outlets that were just bare bulbs with new lamp shades that work well. The studio has a clean, warm feel to it. (Not shown is the drywall repair to a ceiling area that leaked before the new shingles went on and the painted underside of ceiling storage racks that really makes things look finished).

Project Is Complete!

When we started, the project was called "Reach" but as it evolved and the symbolism was explored and expanded, Jeanne renamed it. It's now "Dance Of Life."

We went last Tuesday and put the two corner panels in place. You cane see all the panels as Christopher and I install molding around each of the panels.

This is new for us, we've never installed molding before. Usually the client who may need molding has a carpenter on site, but in this case, Fred depended on us for the entire installation. I picked up 1-1/2" x 3/4" wood strips at Home Depot and stained them several days before the install. There was one place where one of the panels had slid down from their original placement before the caulking dried, so we added an extra strip of molding to fully cover the gap and it looked just like we wanted it, perfect!

We started building the stained glass back in June, so total time on the project was 9 months, but we did have to take time in between panels to complete other work.

New Focus

Jeanne has found a new type of stained glass that we really think is exceptional. She started by hand drawing a design which she says is a mixture between the Frank Lloyd Wright style and the work of Gustav Klimt, the artist who shows people with impossible neck positions. Klimt puts some very unique patterns in the fabrics that he draws and that inspires Jeanne to create something similar in the kiln. She then puts those pieces with antique glass dishes and comes up with a unique piece that makes me smile. There's just something about this glass that makes the person viewing it happy. This is so true that the manger of the Covey Center For The Arts offered to let us keep the pieces we have on display for "as long as we like" and asked if we wanted to add two more pieces. Another fellow who works as a tech at the Center said his mother saw the pieces at Christmas time and fell in love with them! This is high praise since so many folks just walk by the art without a glance.

The "Reach" project continues

Here's a large photo of the first installed panel. I plan to finish soldering the front side of the second panel this weekend and get the second side done by labor day.

We made some errors in judgement on this second panel. We wanted to reuse the pattern pieces, which was okay, but we reused the paper pattern by turning it over. By doing that, we didn't have clean exact lines to build to.

This lead to some confusion where some pieces were laid out in the wrong place and we had to re-cut them when we discovered the problem.

Next time we want to save pattern pieces on a reversed pattern, we'll print a new paper pattern, so we can build to the lines. Maybe even number the pattern prior to printing.

This project is a constant source of joy. It's so fun to work on! Unfortunately, when we install it I'm going to have to stop for a week while we prepare the new pattern on the big table and we have a door panel to rebuild. Both activities require the long table to get them done.

It's great and the weather is cooling off occasionally so the studio is more pleasant.

First Of Five Panels Installed

Christopher was kind enough to come help with the install of the first of five panels in a Provo home. The project is a total of 85 square feet of glass and now that the first is in place, we're confident that we'll be able to complete the rest.

It's a big project. It took a month to build this first one, I'm hoping to cut that time down now that we have all the materials on hand.

Marriot Grand Opening

We set up a display with a multitude of other artists the other day at a show at the Draper Marriot Springhill Suites. The event was well attended an we got a chance to meet some of our artist friends and socialize with the community members about our art work.

It really wasn't the kind of crowd who are folks that are interested in art, but it was good exposure and quite fun to talk to folks from many walks of life.

The live jazz ensemble was very good. When we arrived, they had scheduled us to be placed outside on the patio, but we were concerned that a gust of wind might blow over an easel and stained glass falling on concrete is not recommended. Fortunately, a friend who is a photographer suggested that we set up next to him since he was having to close windows to keep the bright light off of his work.

We placed "The Woman At The Well" on our led lit box and set it in a dark corner. The light was perfect and we're looking forward to getting more boxes because they show the stained glass so well.

Bejeweled-Jeannes new work

Jeanne is working from a photo of our daughter, Katherine to create a new stained glass entitled "Bejeweled." So far the pattern has been a challenge which she has enjoyed creating. She's hoping that the subject and treatment of it will be different enough to get it in the Springville Art Muesum Spring Salon.

It's Fun To Finish A project

We finished an arch window made to resemble the panels at the LDS temple in Sacramento, California.

It's a good looking piece. We'll be using a video of the install on a training video that we plan to offer to sell sometime this year.

All About Glass (Tiffany made wonderful pieces)

Louis Comfort Tiffany was a great glass artist. One of our stained glass students found dishes that they used to eat ice cream from when she was a kid.

Very nice glass. You can't tell how great the finish is  in the photo, but it was a real treat to see it!

Couples Stained Glass Workshop

We are hosting a couples workshop on Friday the 10th from 7 to 9 pm. This is a great date where each couple gets to make two different projects, a stained glass heart suncatcher and a heart blasted into red stained glass. We've hosted this type of event a few times in the past and it's been great fun. Light refreshments will be served at the $35 workshop. It's fun and out of the ordinary!

The Gallery Stroll was great!

Last Friday was the downtown gallery stroll. I was blown away by the metal sculpture on display at the Covey Center. Tim Little has done some wonderful, imaginative pieces. If you get a chance stop by this month, you won't be dissapointed.

Also, the skateboard art at the Terra Nova Gallery has been held over for another month. Jeanne put another piece in the show. "Gliding on Glass," is a glass skate board that is quite nice. It's just great to be part of Provo's art community.

Art is All Around

We are excited about the First Friday Gallery Stroll in Downtown Provo. We are experiencing a large amount of work in our stained glass business..Usually Jan and Feb are our slow times. So with our focus on these two large projects, it's important to spend some time experiencing the arts.

The Byu Illustrators group are featured at the Health and Justice Building. Some very good pieces will thrill your imagination. See you out there!

New Shows

I got to have a piece in the skateboard show at the Terra Nova Gallery last month. It was so well received that they are extending the show an additional month. Some of the boards are very impressive. Mine is decarated with glass. Joe Flores has a Pinochio .uppet coming out of a board. There are quite a few good ones, all good examples of entertaining art. Since you've got another month to see them, you ought to stop by.

Installing A Church Window

   My plan is to use the video I shot at the install of the Saint Francis Of Assisi catholic church in Orem, in a video we're preparing about installs. We've filmed several segments about different installs. They are amateur videos because Jeanne and I shot them on location, but I think they will prove to be very good instruction.

The stained glass is big and was very delicate until it was put in the frame, which is always the case.

Getting Ready For Show Two

   We made it through the Thanksgiving holidays intact, and we're putting the finishing touches on the show at the Covey Center for the Arts. The show, "Illumination" features lit works. Quite a few "Fan Lamps" are the focal point of the show. We're going to set up on the second floor and we'll be the first show in that space.

There are also a couple of panels that are backlit so they'll show well in the space. I think it'll be a pretty nice display, although much smaller (so easier to put together) than the past four shows we've put together.

Jeanne and I will be shuttling back and forth between the two shows on the Downtown Gallery Stroll. The Covey Center show is usually the heaviest attended during the stroll. The Health and Justice building vies for the first and second heavily attended event during stroll.

Hope to see you at one of the shows!

Getting Ready For Show One

   We were caught a little short when we learned that we had to have our entries for the "His, Hers And Ours" show at the Utah County Health and Justice in on November the 19th. The opening reception for the show is scheduled for December 2. Part of the regular downtown art stroll, the reception will last from 7 to 9

The Utah County Art Board

This was a meeting a year ago and now, only three in the photo work with the Utah County Art Board. The Art Board is a group of artists and volunteers that schedule and plan the art shows at The Utah County Health And Justice Building each month. They organize the shows, hang the art work and host the First Friday receptions as part of the Downtown Provo Gallery strolls.

     This evening, Naomi White has resigned as the president of UCAB. She has worked with the board 6 1/2 years and been president for the last 5years. Her resignation is effective the end of December. She will be missed by all those who worked with her.

     As artists who make our living working with the arts, Jeanne and I feel it's very important to be part of our community and especially part of the art community. There is always a constant flow, a changing of the guard in volunteer organizations. We feel that we can volunteer in a leadership role for a year as Jeanne just did working with the gallery stroll for a year and then we must step down and allow someone else to  take over. This is especially true in volunteer organizations because we don't all have that much time to volunteer. We've got jobs and families to support, we've got weddings and family responsibilities. We're busy!

     We want to take a moment to thank all those who volunteer. Especially to Naomi at this time. Thank you!