Chipmunk Stained Glass

My current commission is a small adorable chipmunk panel, a personalized house-warming gift from my customer to his friend.  We worked together to come up with this very unique gift.

His initial idea was to have two chipmunks holding a scroll with the personalization on the scroll.  Since he requested the piece to be small, about 7-1/2" x 6", we had to cut back to one chipmunk ..Two would have made the glass pieces too tiny.  But this one chipmunk has a lot of personality! 

Here's where we started .. This is the original chipmunk pattern as drawn by Canadian artist Chantal Pare, whose designs I've used often.

I then flipped the chipmunk to face the left and added the scroll. It was my customer's request to add the little red beret.  This is what makes my work so much fun! Here's the full-color computer rendition of what the finished piece will look like:

As soon as this design got the "thumbs up", I ordered a wrought iron display stand for the piece.  I had to wait for the stand to arrive so that I could precisely measure the opening and make the panel the correct size. My software enables me to size stained glass panels to within a fraction of an inch.

Here is the pattern after I traced it onto a manila folder.  My software not only generates the pattern in exact dimensions but it numbers each piece as well.  This panel has 41 pieces of glass. I cut out each pattern piece, traced each one onto the glass, cut each piece of glass, and laid them on the paper pattern. 

Some of the pieces are very small .. What could be smaller than a chipmunk's nose?  So, I used some glass from my "shards" drawer, a collection of many kinds, colors, and textures of glass.

Notice that this panel has several curvy cuts .. Here's a quick illustration of how to cut an inside curve of glass.  It has to be scored in arcs, bit by bit, and the glass broken out carefully with grozier pliers. You can see the scores I've made beneath the curve, below.  (Click on any photo to enlarge). 

And here he is, with the glass all cut.  I call this the "ugly duckling" phase.  Without the light shining through, you won't see the true colors of the piece, but I know it will be beautiful when its taken off the work surface. When making stained glass renditions of animals, its always a good idea to use cathedral (clear colored) glass for the eyes, as I've done here.  It will give the chipmunk that spark of life.

The next step will be to add copper foil to the edges of each piece of glass.  Then I'll solder the piece, clean it, and frame it with metal channel.  My husband Eric will prepare a personalized clear decal, in my customer's font of choice, which will fit on the scroll.  Stay tuned for these steps .. This little guy will be completed soon.

To see more of my work, visit Boehm Stained Glass Studio website by clicking here.   Thank you!

Parakeet Stained Glass

My next project is a commission for a gift which features an adorable chipmunk.  I'll be back soon with the beginnings of the chipmunk's design and pattern making process.  But in the meantime, I'll post a small project I completed in January, a 10-1/2" x 13" stained glass rendition of our little parakeet, BeeBee.  Here he is. (Click on any photo to enlarge).

BeeBee came to us a year ago April after the passing of my dear Uncle Arthur at age 95. BeeBee has had a chronic respiratory ailment for nearly a full year, despite us bringing him to 2 vets, 2 visits each, and subjecting him to 3 different medications.  He's beaten all the odds and we love the little guy dearly.

Here is the original pattern by my favorite pattern maker, Chantal Pare, a Canadian stained glass artist.

I wanted to focus on one bird, so I modified the pattern as shown below.  I also wanted to "lighten" up the feet, so I modified them as well.

Here is the pattern making process, showing simple carbon paper pinned to the homasote work surface, and then traced onto a manila folder which is then cut into pattern pieces to mark and number the glass for cutting.

 
Below is the glass, all cut and ready for foiling.  The blue glass chosen for the bird's breast and the earthy tan for the branch and beak were given to me by a friend who has not done stained glass for 30 years.  I love the idea of using old glass mixed in with new.
I also love the glass for the wing, a wispy white and blue which I cut to show a pattern similar to his real feathers.  When doing pet portraits in glass, its all about realism, particularly with textures and colors.
Notice that the glass is held in place by a metal fence, or "jig".

And below is the piece after copper foil has been wrapped around the edges of each piece of glass.  I used two different widths of foil on this piece since many of the pieces were small.  Its a better idea to use thinner foil on small pieces so that the solder does not overwhelm the design.

The piece was soldered .. and then lightly scrubbed with Comet and a brush, and rinsed off, as seen below.

Below, see the patina process which is simply brushing the chemical onto the clean and dry solder lines.  Black is traditional and my preference for this panel, but silver, copper and brass patinas are also available.

And here is the finished tribute to our little feathered buddy, BeeBee.  I etched his name in the upper left .. and my name and the date at the bottom.  It now hangs in our kitchen where BeeBee spends his day watching the outdoor flock who come to feed outside the window. He also has a squirrel visitor who comes up to sit on the window sill near his cage.

Pet portraits make unique, lovely gifts and are available in any size.  With virtually unlimited colors and textures of glass, I can make your pet look realistic and one-of-a-kind, even from an existing pattern such as I used here.  I can also work with photographs of pets .. Call us to discuss pricing and options, 201-600-1616 and click here to visit my website to see other animal and bird-themed windows.  Thank you!

Entryway window note of thanks ..

A lovely note from the owners of the Tudor home ..

"We are so excited to have our new window!  Kathy and Eric were such a pleasure to work with from start to finish.  Kathy was extremely helpful in having us come up with an idea for the window and then she guided us in the right direction for the design and colors.   We absolutely love how the window looks installed.  We know it was a new creation, but it looks like it was there for years! Now we look forward to many years having it as our greeting for visitors as they approach our home.  We can't thank Kathy and Eric enough for such a beautiful outcome!" - Cyndi and Dan

Entryway window installed

This past Friday morning the 30th, my husband Eric installed the window in the door of the Tudor home.  What a beauty this one is, small and very charming.  It adds lots of character to the door and to their home. Here's the installation. (Click on any photo for a closer look).

Eric has removed the old window and is scraping the old putty off the frame.

Here, he's checking the frame for fit.

Instead of putty which gets brittle over time, Eric is using clear silicone window caulk to secure the window.  Here he's applying it to the frame's interior.

More caulk is added after the new window is in place.  Notice the blue tape which was positioned to prevent it from shifting.

Eric tightening the screws to secure the window, as seen from the inside of the home.

What a beauty!  Here it is as seen from the inside of the home with the sunlight behind it.  Now you can see the beautiful colors and textures that the homeowner and I chose together. Its a mix of glue chip (clear outer), rough rolled (blue, purple and yellow), artique (clear inner), wispy (pink) and clear cathedral (red).

Now their home is truly their own, with a distinctive entryway window that they chose themselves, from the design itself to the color and texture of glass.

This was a wonderful little project .. Thank you Cyndi and Dan .. You were a joy to work with!

***
To visit our FaceBook page, please click here and "like" us .. and to see more of our projects at the Boehm Stained Glass Studio website, please click here.

Entryway window glass soldered, framed and ready for installation

After a day or so off to celebrate Christmas, I went back to working on this lovely little window.  Since this window will be in a front door, I wanted it to be extra strong.  See below that I snaked some flat braided reinforcement tape randomly throughout the window.  (Note that there is a brand called Strong Line Internal Steel Reinforcement which I do not recommend for a small window.  Its not bendable). See below (You may have to click on the photo to enlarge for a better look).

The next step isn't pretty, but its necessary .. tack soldering the piece.  This entails brushing flux (soldering liquid) to all of the copper foil. Once that's been done, tack solder together the pieces at the joints and randomly along longer lines.  Tack soldering needs to be done to the front side only. (See below).

Now its time to release the window from the jig.  Take out the push pins, remove the metal "jig" (fence), and slide out the "cartoon" (paper pattern) underneath.  Then proceed with the "real" soldering, first the front side, then turn it over carefully and solder the back.  Since this window will be viewed from both sides, extra care was taken to neatly solder both sides.

Next, the window gets washed with powdered cleanser (Comet), rubber gloves and an old dish brush set aside for this purpose. Now you can see the window's beautiful colors.

Last night my husband Eric measured and cut some thin channel (metal frame) for the window.  After the frame was cut, he put it back in the jig to prepare it for me to solder this morning.

I soldered the corners of the frame, and then soldered the lead lines from the window onto the frame, for added strength.  The next step, applying the patina, is shown below.  Black is the traditional patina and that is what we decided to use on this window. I use Novacan Black Patina for Solder.  Fill the bottle cap with a small amount and simply brush it on for instant results.

Then bring the window back to the sink, rinse it off with cool water, let dry, and apply Clarify Stained Glass Finishing Compound to wax and protect both sides of the window.  Since this window will be exposed to the elements, we will advise the homeowner to wax the window at least once a year when the weather is mild.  For an indoor window, re-waxing may be done far less frequently, if at all.

And now for the "big reveal"!  Here was the computer rendition created on December 10.

And here is the finished window as seen against this afternoon's overcast sky.  The texture of all the glass can't truly be seen in this light, but the colors certainly are brighter now.  We made some minor tweaks to the design to accommodate the door, and I'm very pleased with the results!

 

The next blog update will show Eric installing the window.  Stay tuned ..

To visit our FaceBook page, please click here and "like" us .. and to see more of our projects at the Boehm Stained Glass Studio website, please click here.

Entryway window glass foiled

The next step for the window in the entryway door has been completed.  Black-backed copper foil has been applied to the outer edge of each piece of glass.  Black-backed foil was used on this window because the cathedral glass is somewhat transparent and the inside of the foil may show through the glass.  Since we will be patina-ing the solder in black, the inside of the foil will blend in with the patina when the window is completed.

Below is a photo of the application of the self-adhesive copper foil onto the center of the edge of the glass. (Click on photo to enlarge).

After each piece is foiled, it is smoothed onto the glass with a "fid" or plastic wand, as shown.  The razor knife is used to trim any excess foil at the overlap points.

And here is the window, foiled and ready to be fluxed and soldered. Notice that it is still in the "jig" to maintain its proportions and to be sure the glass doesn't shift.  It will stay there until it is tack soldered.

I'll be back to show the finished window and its installation soon after Christmas Day.  Happy Holidays to all!

To visit our FaceBook page, please click here and "like" us .. and to see more of our projects at the Boehm Stained Glass Studio website, please click here.

Entryway window glass cut

All of the glass for the entryway door window has now been cut.  Using the manila folder patterns, each piece was traced with a black or silver Sharpie as shown below. (Click on any photo to enlarge).

Here are some stained glass tools, shown clockwise: Toyo brand pistol grip glass cutter, (blue) running pliers for cracking glass in a straight line, groziers to trim and snap off small pieces, silver Sharpie for marking dark glass .. and the purple rough rolled glass with manila folder patterns.

After each piece was cut and trimmed, the edges were ground on the electric grinder as shown below.

I'm wearing rubber fingers purchased from Staples.  They come in 4 sizes .. Find them here. They are invaluable for avoiding glass cuts and protecting your manicure.

The purple sponge shown in the photo above draws water from the reservoir which is below the grinding surface.  The water serves to cool the spinning grinder.  To enhance the effectiveness of the water and to protect the life of the grinding wheel, I recommend adding E-Z Grind Advanced Formula from Glastar to the reservoir.  For more info on this product, click here.

Most of the glass chosen for this window was cathedral, but we decided to add one piece of translucent wispy pink glass as a point of interest.  Here it is, below, with the pattern laid on top of it.  Also, I hoped to locate flat red one-inch wide marbles for the "eyes", but alas, they were nowhere to be found. Instead, I cut some brilliant red cathedral glass as shown below, with the pistol grip glass cutter.

And here is the window after the glass has been cut. The paper pattern or "cartoon" has been pinned to the homasote work board and a metal bumper, or "jig" is placed around the perimeter.  The jig serves to hold the glass in place until after the entire piece is tack soldered.

Note that the grape rough rolled glass for the "heart" appears dark when on the homasote work surface.  All of the glass will "come alive" when its in the light.

Next step: Applying copper foil to the borders of each piece of glass.  Stay tuned ..

To visit our FaceBook page, please click here and "like" us .. and to see more of our projects at the Boehm Stained Glass Studio website, please click here.

Entryway window for Tudor home

After shooting several recent photography gigs (click here for blog), I'm happy to back in my stained glass studio, designing, making patterns, and cutting glass.

My current project is a 13" wide diagonal window for the front door of a Tudor home.  It is a replacement for the existing window which is the initial of the surname of the previous family.  Here it is .. (Click on any photo to enlarge).

My customer was in need of inspiration for a new design, so I suggested she look around her home to see if there was anything that caught her eye.  Yes .. There is a beautiful stained glass light fixture in the kitchen which she and her husband both liked.  We decided to go with it.

After two meetings, we worked together to choose the glass, which will be primarily cathedral (clear) glass. This glass will provide privacy for their front foyer but will also enable them to see who is at the door.  Below is the design. 

We chose a mix of clear glue chip, clear artique, and blue, grape, and yellow rough rolled glass, all of which will work together for a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind window.

I then prepared the pattern .. See below.  My husband Eric took the measurements of the existing window and made a paper template on which he traced the design.  Using carbon paper, I then traced the design onto a manila folder.  (See below)

Note those 1-inch wide blue "eyes", actually flat marbles. The search is on for red ones in the same size.

I then cut each pattern piece using double-bladed pattern shears which give some "breathing room" between each piece, as shown.  This will accommodate the copper foil and reinforcement tape which will follow.

Next, each pattern piece will be traced onto the glass using a black marker.  All of the glass for this project will be cut by hand.  Stay tuned for the next update showing the glass cut. 

To visit our FaceBook page, please click here and "like" us .. and to see more of our projects at the Boehm Stained Glass Studio website, please click here.