Polkabot hanging

Finally took a shot of this window hanging in the sunlight.

Just in time for Halloween

Finished her finally. She’s now hanging with 5 other skeleton windows of mine at the Dunn Bros. coffeeshop on Lake and Bryant through mid-November.

Pretty far

Not finished but pretty close. I cut up a piece of kitschy cabinet glass for one of the borders. Still contemplating whether or not I’ll dress her.

Friday night

This is the window as it stands Friday night. We’ll see how far I get by Sunday.

Dunn Bros. Coffee Lake St. and Bryant Ave., Uptown

I’ve had 6 of my largest windows hanging at this coffeeshop since the beginning of September. In a couple of weeks I will hang 13 skeleton windows for Halloween and Day of the Dead through November. Gotta finish Pink Twist soon. photos: Bodil Diseth

Pink Twist progress

Pink Twist

The body is pretty much done, next is her pink beehive hair-do and ice cream on her cone.

Old painted window

I spent almost 3 hours completely dismantling this 18 x 40 inch window from the both the outside of a friend’s house and part of the buffet inside. To our surprise it had a sheet of rootbeer colored glass behind it obscuring the brighter painted panel. Was it too bright for the homeowner without it? I don’t know what the new design will be but these pieces are now part of my painted scrap glass inventory.

Pink Twist

The body pieces are matted and fired, ready to cut to size. I painted a bunch of additional stuff to possibly use for something later since I had the room on the pieces (really, I was just playing with a brush). Looking forward to the fun part of assembling the window now.

Fischer glass

For almost every Wednesday over the last 4 years, I have spent the evening with good friends Ted Bair and John Salisbury (owner of Gaytee Stained Glass Studios) eating pizza and talking and seeing all things stained glass in John’s studio. For the last 2 years as John finally put the Studio up for sale, I had been living with the prospect that our Wednesday evenings would eventually come to an end. That moment is here as John has sold the studio and 40 years of material and memories. John has been instrumental in my development as a stained glass artist and his knowledge and generosity has fueled a passion I had not experienced with any other media I had worked with in the past. I owe him so much and dedicate my work to him going forward. This is yet another sheet of Fischer glass I was sent home with last night, the last piece of glass I was humbled to receive before John closed his shop for good. I’m on my own again with my stained glass "hobby" and it is the friendship that I have forged with him that inspires me to continue to build the best windows possible. I can never thank you enough John.

Pink Twist

Pieces are painted and ready for the first firing. The cone is 70’s cabinet glass embossed in a diamond pattern. She might have a bird in the window also.

Pink Twist

Trying to get some pieces painted and fired before I lose access to a friend’s kiln. This will be the sister piece to my Swinger window. The pink glass is Fischer.

Tying up loose ends

The workspace is cooling off now after finishing the Redbud windows. I had the pieces of this small window foiled but not soldered for a few months now. Finished it last night while cleaning the work table for the start of another window.

What to do, what to do

A couple more big sheets of Fischer glass just waiting for the right idea.

Finished Redbud windows

The Redbud windows are done and I installed them yesterday. Of course I forgot my camera. These were taken at my house while I was cleaning them.

More Redbud window progress

The left window is done and the right window underway.

Soon to be something

A newly acquired 30 x 40 inch sheet of Fischer glass, almost too beautiful to cut. Almost.

Redbud windows progress

The left window is cut and foiled, ready for an evening of soldering.

Redbud windows

Started a pair of commissioned windows this week. The 18 x 20 inch windows will have some hand-painted pieces bordered by opahl and glacier glass.

Above and Below

One of my first painted pieces. Getting the hang of vitreous paints applied with a tracing brush.

Dunny

My 4-eyed gold mirror glass version of the ever-so-popular vinyl toy.

It’s there in the back

It’s there to the right, in the back. The panel in the front is NOT mine.

Nocturne

A few years ago I was pressured by a good friend to submit a window for the National SGAA Convention window competition. After balking and more balking, the offer of free glass and shipping made it hard to say no. The contest had a theme— "Light", and beyond stipulating the finished size, each contestant was sent a box of cast glass pieces that were required to be included in the panel. As these things go, I imagined that all of the participants got the same pieces, thus leveling the playing field. Mine was a very bland set of roundels and square-cast pieces. After seeing the winning pieces it was obvious that others had received different and in some cases, outstanding pieces of glass to incorporate. I never received any confirmation receipt of the piece nor notification of winners. Just the same box I shipped it in returned without a note, etc. Upon seeing the subsequent issue of the SGAA journal I saw my panel in the background of a photo so I at least know it made it. My friend Pam told me some of her fondest memories of her dad was when he would catch fireflies in a jar for her. I gave her the window.

Patron St. of Surfing progress

This gives you a feel of my typical work style. Just a few sketched lines and then I start cutting pieces into place. It takes accumulating the right pieces to get an idea rolling. I had a great piece of Blenco that looked like an old surfboard and once I acquired the Jesus head and a beautiful German Nimbus (halo), I split the praying hands and everything fell into place.

Patron St. of Surfing

Another window built almost entirely of salvaged scrap glass right down to the acid-etched Maltese Cross. What would Jesus do? He’d ride waves all day, every day, of course.