Event...

Looks like I won't be doing the autism event after all. I decided to cancel my booth after discovering that the person organizing it had said she was donating to one cause and had changed her mind and was instead donating to another. The other cause however was not named, which, aside from being illegal (to solicit without naming your charity) is, in my opinion, totally unethical.
So, I will continue to make some puzzle piece items, but, will instead partner with a good local charity to donate a portion of the sales to. More to come...

New Items!

To follow on from the Puzzle Piece Fusing post I recently did, I thought I would share some of the new pieces. There are more to come and more items that I want to grind and fire polish to make extra sparkly, but, here are some of the new items, that have been added to the Facebook page.

I think the puzzle piece ones turned out nicely! I also really like the subtle one, it's not too 'in your face'.

Soldering (Almost) Finished!

It actually stands up under its own weight now...

Today I finished off the last piece of soldering. I will still need to remove a couple of mushrooms (where the solder bleeds out of the other side of the piece) and get rid of the little spikes that you sometimes get.
So, all I need to do is finish that last bit, frame it in zinc and patina, then it's ready for sandwiching!
The glass will need to be sandwiched in tempered glass because it's going in a door and that's what building codes require, but, other than that, it's really close to going in!
After this piece, I have two more to do, since I also need to do the sidelights, but, I promise I won't bore everyone to quite the extent I did with this one!

Puzzle Piece Fusing

So, my friend Laura and I are going to be having a booth at a local autism event next month and I figured I should probably make some additional stock, especially since I've sold a few pieces lately.
The thing that inspired me to try glass fusing was a puzzle piece pendant I saw on a friend, so, given that the puzzle piece has become somewhat of a symbol of the autism community, I thought I would try and make a few puzzle-inspired items to sell.
I've seen a technique where an image is etched onto dichroic glass, leaving just the picture you actually want. It's achieved by choosing a design and making a mask for it. It can be something as simple as a leaf or an initial, or, in my case a puzzle piece. I took my glass fusing teacher's advice and managed to locate a craft punch in the correct shape. I punched out a piece of masking (today it was duck tape - it was all I had, but next time I'll find some better adhesive backed something) and set it on the glass. Then, I applied etching fluid, which, magically, removed the dichroic coating. Once cleaned and topped with a clear capper, it looked like this, below!

Left side - etched puzzle piece, middle is a collage of dichroic bits and the right side is a piece of dichroic that was only etched slightly - we'll see how that one turns out)

I also learned something - the dichroic glass pieces you get from Hobby Lobby don't etch well. I had a coupon so figured it was the cheapest way to try the etching fluid. It etched off the green layer, but not the gold, even after 2 applications. But, it did mask the green, so, I figured I would fire it just to see what it turns out like...

More Soldering!

Side 1 soldering complete.

Today brought the completion of the soldering on the one side of the panel, the big turnover, pattern removal and the start of soldering on the reverse side.

Reverse side soldering started

Removing the pattern from underneath really showed how different the colours are on a different background! I simply cannot wait to see it in our door.

Latest Door Progress

I've been working on the piece for 3 days this week, but kept forgetting my camera, so, you're only getting pics today!
First news - I finally finished foiling and grinding. That's a huge relief! Here is the pic of the foiled piece. The tape and pins you see are to keep the 'strong line' reinforcement in place and also to keep things in place, since the strong line tends to act like a spring.

Foiling complete!

The next pic is after today's soldering! I've secured most of the piece now, but, especially the areas with the strong line, so, I was able to remove the tape and pins. Just soldering to finish (both sides), putting on a zinc frame and patina and then decide whether to sandwich it permanently between two panes with silicone, or to just butt it and silcone up next... We will see on that front.

Start of soldering!

More Leaves!

Yes, I know this is getting old now, but, I'm taking a picture after each work day on the panel. This is today's end point, most of the leaves are cut and fit, just a few left.
I also brought the border pieces home with me to foil.
As for the colours, the background looks more blue than it actually is because the pattern was printed on blue paper, the only paper the Kinko's I went to had in the size I needed..

Woohoo! We Have Leaves!

The first of the leaves went into the panel today! The background is now fitted, although as foiling happens I will likely need to adjust things a little.
But, today, I was able to add the first of the leaves, which will progress in colour towards the top. So exciting to finally see a little colour!

Another Day, Another Pic!

After today's grinding and fitting session, I would say the panel is now about 2/3 fit. Eek!
My goal is for the end of Saturday to bring an end to the fitting portion, so on Sunday I can move onto foiling.

Door Piece Update!

After today, this is how the door piece looks. I have added the border and am now starting to 'fit' the rest of the pieces.
I'm hoping that I will be finished with the grinding portion of the panel by the end of Saturday. Then onto foiling and soldering!

Progress!

Past the halfway point (for cutting at least!)

I've had 2 days of work on my stained glass piece for the front door and I feel like I have made pretty good progress. All the white pieces are cut and most of the grey background pieces are cut.
I have a lot of grinding to do and I also have the 2 borders and all the leaves to cut. Then I need to fit everything before I can start foiling and soldering. But, looking good so far! I'm so excited to see how it turns out!