Just about the time the last comments about the Turner Transom found their way out into the world, the snag resolved itself. The parts came in that we needed, the glass got cut–and it didn’t break–and we were able to get the piece assembled on the table.
On the table, as noted; photo by Kevin Elliott
Of course, stained glass isn’t really meant to be viewed as a flat piece, but instead to have light shining through it…
That’s more like it; photo by Kevin Elliott
In the event, the 36 x 12 inch piece, constructed in came throughout for the best possible strength, is leaving us. The client is taking care of installation, so we’ve got to say goodbye to it, sending a little bit more of our work out into the world for others to enjoy. But we’re sure they will enjoy it who see it, and we hope that you’ve enjoyed seeing our progress in making it!
This won’t be the last piece we do, of course. We’ve still got the Perry Panel to work with, and we’re about to start a couple of exciting new projects. As ever, we’ll keep you posted about our progress on them–and if you’d like your own piece to be among those projects, drop us a line! We’re happy to hear from you via our “Contacts” page, by phone at 830-890-1509, or by way of the form below!
And remember to reach out to Elliott RWI for your writing needs!
Not too long ago, we got started working on the Turner Transom piece, a custom order for some good folks in our local area. We drafted the designs, got them approved, got the cartoon compiled, and started cutting glass and came and doing a dry-fit all together. We tend to piece the work together as we go along to make sure we’re keeping ourselves consistent and because things happen when working with glass. Sometimes, the material’s…temperamental and decides it’s going to be a little…ornery. And it happened to us as we were working on the transom, specifically on the right half of the sun, as you can see below where we had to stop work.
There are several ways to go about cutting glass to use in the kind of work we do. One of the oldest is among the most labor-intensive, involving hot fires, heavy metal, and a steady hand. In many cases, we cut the glass we use by means of a diamond-bladed cutter and a specially designed pair of pliers. For pieces like the sun behind the tree in the Turner Transom, though, we usually use a ring-saw. Occasionally, any of the cutting methods will reveal an invisible flaw in the glass–by breaking it where we don’t want it to snap off. So much happened with the right half of the sun, above.
That introduces two complications for us on its own. One is that we have to recut the piece, but occasional material loss is something that anyone who works with goods has to expect. It happens, and nobody really likes it, but you accept it and move on. A little more of a complication, though, has to do with our glass-matching. See, we work hard to make sure that each piece of glass fits into its context well, and that means matching the pieces of glass that are going into equivalent things. In this case, it means that not only do we have to recut the piece that snapped, we’ve got to recut the other half of the sun; it’s the only way to make sure the halves line up right.
And there’s one other item of concern. When the glass broke, so did the saw. It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg thing, certainly, and it doesn’t much matter which made the other happen. Both are broken, and so both need fixing, delaying the project slightly. We’re on the mend, of course, and getting back to work on the Turner Transom, the Perry Panel, and other jobs just as soon as the parts get in (they’ll be in presently, we’re assured).
If you’d like to have yours be one of those jobs, please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via our “Contacts” page or via the contact form below to see what all we can do for you!
We’re happy to have done the work we’ve done, but we’re far from sad that there’s more work for us to do–like a new project we’ve begun that we’re calling the Turner Transom. For this project, we were approached by our clients, folks who have some property in our own beautiful Texas Hill Country. They asked about our putting together a transom window so they can get a little more of the kindly sunlight for which–along with wildflowers, barbeque, and high school football–our part of the world is rightly known. They gave us the dimensions of the piece we’ll need to make–36 x 12 inches–and we took our first steps: drafting a design:
We ran that by the client and got the approval to start work on it–because we don’t get going on a custom piece for any client without their input and approval. For us, for a piece like this–one we’ll be putting into a metal frame, since a transom stands a good chance of needing to take some stresses–moves from a design draft to what we call a cartoon. That is, we print the layout out at full size, because having something in hand is a whole ‘nother thing from seeing it on a screen, and working in glass is as much about the feel of it as about anything else. That much done, we began making our reference pieces, giving ourselves something to lay under glass or over it so that we can get a good view of how the individual pieces will work with the specific glass we’ll end up using:
How we’ve got it on the shop table as this post gets written. Photo by Kevin Elliott.
This part of the process is important for a couple of reasons. For one, it gives us a standing visual aid as we compile a piece of visual art; seeing what we’re doing while we’re doing it helps us make sure it’s done right. Architects and engineers work from blueprints, writers work from notes, and painters work from sketches; we take our cues from other arts to work in our own. For another, each piece of glass–not only the ones we make, but the materials from which we make them–is unique. Not every piece of blue glass, not even every piece from a single production run, will look exactly the same, for example, and making those differences make sense in a transom window–or any other panel–demands care and attention that we’re more than happy to give.
As with the Smith Panel Combination about which we posted previously, we’ll keep putting out updates about our work on the current project. We think it’s important to bring people into what we do, show a bit of the expertise and experience that goes into crafting works of stained glass that will add to a home’s value and enrich the lives of those who live in it–and we hope you continue to enjoy the ride!
We’d love to work with you, too! Please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via our “Contacts” page or the form below; let’s talk about meeting your stained glass and art glass needs and getting you your heart’s desire!
Heart's Desire Stained Glass 