Glass Shopping in Wissmach & Youghiogheny

My friend Joan and I went on a roadtrip to PA and W VA. We just had a great time! Our main focus of this trip was to get to Wissmach Glass in Paden City, W Va, and also to Youghiogheny Glass in Connellsville, PA. But of course it's not a road trip if you don't manage to fit just about everything into it. So we also stopped at the Flight 93 crashsite in Schencksville, PA,(very sad..let us not forget their heroism that day.) We went to Pittsburgh and had a very nice dinner at the Church Brew Works, which is a very old church in Pittsburgh that was going to be torn down until someone bought it, had it desanctified and made into a brew pub. We didn't manage to get there during the daylight hours..so sadly we got no pics of the stained glass windows. All the same it was a nice place to visit. And we got out of Pittsburgh just in time..we found out that evening that the G20 Conference was going to be held in the Convention center (which we drove by that night.) Imagine, a couple of days later and we'd have missed that opportunity.
We also visited Fallingwater, which is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home built over a stream. Fallingwater is located in Mill Run, PA and is well worth the visit. It is just beautiful there. The Pennsylvania Conservancy now owns and operates the tours of the home. It was built for the Kaufmann's who owned the largest department stores in Pittsburgh (which later became Macys)but I digress. Mrs. Kaufmann also was a Tiffany collector and there are many pieces of Tiffany on display in the house. I was in awe, as during my genealogy search I found that I am distantly related to Mr. Wright (7th cousins)so it was truly an honor to be able to see one of his houses.
Last but definitely not least, we did get to Wissmach and met some extremely nice people, including Mark, the owner of Wissmach Glass. They were kind enough to show us the way to the glass they had available for sale and we even received an impromptu tour of the glass making. All together a wonderful visit and that we enjoyed very much. I wanted to take it all home with me..but sadly there's only so much you can fit into the back of a Jeep Liberty.
We also visited Youghiogheny, unfortunately we were in such a hurry most days we forgot (I forgot) to call and reserve time for a tour, but we did get to see the Youghiogheny store and purchase glass there. Such beautiful glass, many beautiful and reasonably priced items in their gift shop. I'm ready to move there just to be closer to all of this absolutely lovely glass!
Needless to say we were in glassers heaven. I'll post pictures of what I bought soon.

De

The Cattails

Living in an area that has lots of water and lots of cattails I just had to design this one. And it's one that I will no doubt make as I'd just love to look at it (until it's sold of course!) This will be made into a fairly large round panel, I'm thinking about 30" in diameter. And of course I just got back from a glass shopping trip where I purchased some of the most beautiful Youghiogheny glass that will be just perfect for this panel! More about that trip later.

Hope you enjoy the cattail project! De

New Student Artwork ~ The Maine State Flower

This panel was made by one of my students recently, since we live in the great State of Maine it was only fitting that this panel would appeal to her. She did an excellent job on it I think. The pattern came from Aanraku's Official State Flowers II book, with an addition of the two outside borders.
She used some very pretty glass in this panel which brought out the texture and organic quality to this piece.
Way to go Sharon!!

Some Famous Faces

Human faces are not easy to accomplish in stained glass, I've seen a few artists that have been successful with it. Chantal Pare' and Jean Beaulieu come to mind as artists that are able to capture human features very well.
This is my stab at it..I think they are recognizable at least, but would have to be done as larger panels in order to achieve the details involved.
At any rate they were fun to work with and I appreciated all of the terrific feedback I received from my peers on AOG, without it they wouldn't have turned out nearly as well!

Thanks guys. De

The Stained Glass Pattern Depot

http://stainedglasspatterndepot.artisansofglass.com/

This is a brand new, and beautiful stained glass pattern site has been created by my friend and fellow glass artist Kev to give us both the opportunity to offer some of the patterns we've both designed for sale. The Depot gives the buyer the opportunity to browse through the patterns and purchase them to make your own stained glass art! There is an option to purchase the patterns using Paypal, however, if you aren't comfortable or do not have a Paypal account you may contact us directly and we'll certainly work with you to make other arrangements for purchase.

We are offering patterns that we have created to date, and will be adding more as they are created. We'd also like to offer that if you don't see something that is just what you are looking for please don't hesitate to contact either of us for a custom design. We would both be very pleased to do our best to create the design of your dreams.

We are able to email these patterns directly to you, one full color pattern and one black and white, numbered format. So it will be a speedy transaction and you will have the patterns very quickly and can get started. You will only need to have them enlarged to whatever size you desire.

Please don't hesitate to contact either Kev or myself if you have any questions regarding a particular pattern or are looking for a specific design. We'd be only too happy to help you or answer your questions.

And above all, enjoy perusing our site, and please drop us a comment to let us know you were there and not only what you liked, but what you may think we could improve upon. We love feedback!

Cheers! Denise ~ Pisces Glass Works

I'm On It!

This pattern was inspired by a beautiful shot of my friend Becki's friend JB and his horse playing polo. It was a great action shot, just begging to be designed! I certainly hope that JB and family enjoy seeing this pattern. It was just a pleasure to do.
The panel, if done, would be about 42" X 35"..not a small piece, and 467 pieces..probably many of those will be small..lol. At any rate, hope that you all enjoy viewing these nice polo ponies and their players! Cheers, De

Beautiful Arabians from Desert Rose Arabian Farm

These are my two newest patterns, with a big thank you to the kind owners of Desert Rose Arabians and my friend Yvonne for putting me in touch with them. These two portraits are of "Dutch" (head study) and Degas (the baby frolicking) With a name like Degas I'm sure he's going to go places!

I had a lot of fun creating these patterns, and the owner of the horses tells me that it's perfectly fine with him if I offer these patterns for sale. I would hope that they will one day be made into beautiful glass art!

More will follow because for the life of me I just can't stop creating patterns of my favorite animals.

If you are interested in learning more about Desert Rose Arabians please visit their website at: www.desert-rose-arabians.com. You will find some very exceptional horses on their site, along with many other offerings to horse lovers!

Artisans of Glass Retail Site is LIVE

Live at 5! LOL. The Artisans of Glass forum is very proud to present a retail site to promote their members very delightful and well made art glass products and patterns available for sale.

This effort was made possible by our illustrious leader Kev. He's always looking for ways to promote the members of his site and he's hit the money with this one.

It is a new venue, so at this time there is limited content there, but we're definitely hoping that it will grow by leaps and bounds.

Please visit when you get the opportunity. It is easy to make purchase on this site, each member can opt to add a Paypal button to their site which will take you directly to Paypal for purchase and contact with the buyer of your choice! Other arrangements can likewise be made with each Seller just by emailing the seller directly!

We hope that this retail site will contain some very high quality art that you will be proud to have in your home! And don't forget to leave us a comment to give us some feedback!

See it at: http://retailgallery.artisansofglass.com/

My Interlocking Star Finished

LOL, this was a pattern that was a free use pattern which may be found at this link: http://www.glasscrafters.biz/CTGY/pat_06
This is a fun and easy project to do and looks great no matter what colors you choose to make it in.
In fact, it was so much fun that many of the talented folks on Artisans Of Glass have made these and posted a special thread containing all the beautiful Interlocking Stars that they've created. So if you're interested in glass and seeing all of the beautiful work that has been posted there you may find Artisans at the following link as well: http://artisansofglass.com
Hope to see you there!

Tree Frog

This cute little frog is one of my favorites..and may become a gift for someone I know that has a fondness for these little guys...I'll be sure to post the finished panel. This will be the next one I work on I think.

With Love from Maine

Here are some patterns I worked up on Glass Eye that are reminiscent of sights that you might see if you came to visit the State of Maine. There may be a few more I'd like to get accomplished and I'll be sure to post them when they are done. It was my aim to do another book of just patterns relating to New England.

The Polo Pony

What can I say...it's a rainy day in Maine..and besides I had a request from another horse lover..how could I refuse. Plus, I actually love creating these patterns!
Hope you all enjoy the Polo Pony pattern. They actually aren't ponies, but that's what they're referred to on the polo field. We do have a pretty active polo group up here, which holds it's games not far from where I live. I used to ride with them when they trained inside at a local indoor arena...my horse would NOT have made the team. LOL. It is a very exciting, rugged sport, with game riders and horses!

Enjoy! Denise

Just the "Sax" man.....

The inspiration for this design came from a recent vacation to Nassau, in the Bahama's. We happened along the pier to find a very talented gentleman playing a "mean" saxophone and enjoyed listening as we meandered down the sidewalk. I had to try to capture the sun, the environment and most of all the sax player. The colors will be changed in the shirt I'm sure...my version of Glass Eye doesn't allow me the flexibility to use actual glass manufacturers colors in my designs...ah well, when I'm rich and famous...currently waiting for that to happen..riiighhht.
Hope you enjoy seeing the pattern!

The Jumper ~ New Panel Design

Well guys I've been at it once again, I've got more patterns stock piled than I'll live long enough to do. But I continue to work on the horse patterns because I'm addicted I guess..lol. Hope you enjoy seeing this new one. It was designed to be approximately 36" X 27"..and it contains 342 pieces..not too bad. Here tis!

Dressage Horse Panel Completed

After a very long winter, and many other irons in the fire, so to speak, the Dressage Horse panel is finally finished. This panel is of copper foil construction, with an adj. U Zinc came framing, which has been sponge soldered for a textured finish and patinaed with a black finish.
I'm happy to finally unveil the finished product. It has been a total labor of love, but I'm happy that it's done and I that I can move on to a new project (or maybe many smaller projects).
I certainly hope that you enjoy seeing it at long last, and please feel free to leave me a comment or feedback!

Denise

Student Art - Sharons Funky Owl

I should have posted this a long while ago. There's a nice story attached to this one, that just proves that you can come up with a design from some pretty neat objects. My student, Sharon, found an old copper planter at an auction she went to and purchased. The exterior of the copper planter had this embossed image on the exterior, which she thought was interesting. So she made a rubbing of it and brought it to the shop. She wondered if she could make a stained glass design from it. "Why not?" I said. And so we did. I think it turned out very well and she now has this piece proudly hanging at home!

Way to go with creativity Sharon!

Dragonfly Software/Glass Eye "Design of the Month"

Hello All,

I just can't believe it, but a design that I created and manufactured (Porsche 911) for a client was selected as Dragonfly Software's "Design of the Month". Dragonfly Software created a wonderful program called Glass Eye 2000. Glass Eye 2000 is the software that I now create many of my designs with. It's functionality is amazing, it's a very quick to learn program and has enhanced my ability to design, make changes, email designs to clients, etc. As you can tell, I just love it and feel that it's given my creativity wings! If you are interested in viewing the write up, just go to WWW.DFLY.COM and double click the blue button "Design of the Month".
BTW, when you visit their site you may also download a free trial of Glass Eye so that you may try it for yourself. I can't say enough positive things about how much fun it is to use!
My design should be the focal design for the month of April and then will be seen on their site as a past design, as they keep them on for an indefinite period of time.
I am so pleased and excited that they felt that my design was worthy of this honor!
Thanks for listening!

De

Salsa anyone?

And I don't mean the type you eat with Taco Chips! I've been taking Salsa dance classes for the past month and a half..what a great experience. I'd highly recommend that if you enjoy dancing to go to your local dance studio and take some Salsa lessons. It will be your next new and very enjoyable exercise program! I love everything about this dance, the music just invites your feet to move. And it's taking off in my area..just ask the Salsa Mafia! LOL So, of course I had to design a pattern around this particular dance and there may be more dance panels coming soon!

Tennessee Walking Horse

A friend of mine happens to have a few nice examples of this breed, and it also happens to be an American breed of horse. With that in mind I decided that if I'm going to produce a book, at some point, of horses "made in the USA" I'd better include a TWH...shorthand for Tennessee Walking Horse..lol.
Walkers are known for their very comfortable "running walk", which is extremely comfortable to sit to and covers ground very quickly. It's also very comfortable for the horse to do and the TWH's are the only breed known for this gait!
Hope you enjoy seeing the pattern!

More Horse Patterns

Here are a few more that I've been working on but haven't posted as yet. And I'm currently working on a way of allowing people to purchase the patterns using Paypal and having the colored and workable pattern copies emailed directly to them. Stay tuned..I think some kinks need to be worked out.
Hope you enjoy the patterns!

Denise

Snowstorm Creativity

Snowstorm Creativity

We've just had a good sized snowfall over the last day or so, and since I'm really not too fond of cold temperatures I found other better ways to spend my time. Those of you who are real died in the wool horse types may like these.
I must admit that now that I've gotten started I feel that I may be headed to putting together another book...not that it will be a best seller or anything...but it will be fun to do!

I've never felt that there were realistic enough patterns out there to satisfy me. Being a life long (or nearly) horse person I was always looking for specific breeds, a horse was not just a horse...four legs and a tail. I wanted certain characteristics. So I decided that perhaps I should take the task on of seeing how realistic I could get with glass, that wasn't an un-doable project.

I hope I'm getting there, but you guys can leave comments and let me know how I'm doing.

That being said..I would prefer that no one copy these designs...or contact me if you have interest in that pattern.

Current Student Art at PGW's

This nice piece is appropriate, since we live in Maine and are surrounded by towering Pine Trees! Sharon has been a student at PGW's for about 2 years and she has just created some fabulous art glass pieces, three dimensional items and some very originally designed artworks. I've been very pleased with her progress and she's done extremely well in this artform she didn't know much about in the beginning!

This piece will be edge finished with narrow pieces of Rainwater (a Spectrum glass) followed by an outer edge of a Rainforest glass of nice greens, browns and whites (also a Spectrum glass). It's going to be just beautiful when it's complete!

Happy New Year! And what's happening in the shop now.

I'm hoping that everyone will have a prosperous, healthy and Happy New 2009! After all we've got to look forward with hope that things can always improve!

Now that the holidays are past us I'm going to go back to working on a project that I designed of a dressage horse I took a picture of in Florida at a beautiful facility called White Fences! It is Dressage horse central! Loved my visit there and really enjoyed meeting the people and watching the Dressage show. I just couldn't wait to come home and try my hand and recreating the photo using Glass Eye 2000. Watch out..addiction central is GE.

It is my hope that you enjoy seeing it...I'll be sure to post the finished product!

D

Christmas Elf hard at work!

Christmas was upon me when a couple of people I know suggested that as long as they'd known me I had not made them a gift out of stained glass...well, I took that on as a challenge and began, at a very late date I might add, putting together some gifts for some of my favorite people. And favorite people at work that have to put up with me on a daily basis..got to sweeten them up right?

Hope you enjoy seeing the boxes and initials that I made! Hugs, Denise